I don't like you, yet.

'2014'

I am talking about you!

2014 and I haven't started right. We haven't hit it off yet, so to say. 2014 has been poking me, surprising me, pulling the rug from under my feet, messing my hair on good hair days and generally being an ill-mannered brute.

I typically like New Years. And they like me. End of December, we get ourselves a hot cuppa each, and chirp and get happy about fresh beginnings, end of winters, advent of spring, possibilities, hopes, fun plans and more. 2014 and I did the same; or so I thought. I could have been speaking Greek and the nincompoop 2014, French! 

Frustrating it is, I tell you. And no less upsetting. Ask my boy cat. He understands, for from time to time, he licks his front paw, keeps it on my knee and looks up at me wistfully. For what it is worth, behind that wistful look, he must be abusing 2014 on my behalf. He is a good boy cat like that. I can't really say what I want to say to 2014 on this blog, as this blog is safe for work and safe for home. It has pretteh pictures and some moms and I am sure atleast a few dads, are showing these pretteh pictures to their kids. So no, I can't say bad words here, howsoever tempted I might be. I'll let my furball do that for me. Go Jui, go!

So you may ask, why am I sharing my tirade here and now?

Well, for one, who else do I share it with if not you? Aren't you my favorite folks? You ARE. Like it or not.

Secondly, given all this rug pulling business, I need to recoup. reassemble. regenerate. refocus. recycle. [well, not really recycle, but what the heck - let's put an eco-conscious message in there while we are at it]. 

 And while I hit the Refresh button this month, two things shall happen:

One, I'll continue to update my other pretteh blog - An Indian Summer Likes. So if you haven't checked it out yet [Oh my God, how could you have not!], please to do so on a daily basis. It has inspiration and prettiness and niceness and decor and fashion and mountains and witticism and cats and illustrations and sigh, all things that I like. You will like them too. All pics in this post are from there.

Second, a task for you, my dear spread-all-over-the-world friends. Kindly tell 2014 to behave itself for I am losing my patience, and am just about to put on my ninja gear and give one tight slap to the bully and ask it to go stand in a corner. Right after I beat the shi cra [this safe for home and work thing, man!] After I beat it up badly. Ok!

Remember An Indian Summer Likes is where the action will be, for sometime. Bookmark it.

And while we are talking about things that are making me mad, this Mark Zuckerberg chap - what, just what does he want! You lovely people show my little blog such love and like An Indian Summer's facebook page, and then Mark goes and changes things around! And then you can't see what I share on the page in your news feed. Highly disconcerting this.

So if you are connected to An Indian Summer on facebook [if not, Oh my God, why not!], please do the following:

1. Click here and go to the page
2. Like it if not liked yet! Erm ok, pretty please, do so if you may wish? [Before you think that I am getting influenced by the badly behaved 2014]
3. Just hover the mouse cursor over 'Liked' button and click on 'Get Notifications'. You can also check mark the 'Add to Interests Lists' if you wish. That's it. You'll not miss a single dose of goodness from this blog henceforth.

Lookie! Here's how:

 

 

Auf wiedersehn for now. See you on the other side, folks. Be good and be happy!

  Catch you on An Indian Summer Likes

Will be back here soonish

Drop me a hello here, here or there anytime!

 [Please find credits and/or source of images used in the post here]

   

Roads Well Traveled

Wanderlust, travel, roads, bazaar, unique finds, indigenous crafts, beautiful objects, preservation of craft traditions - all these descriptive phrases, make a recurrent appearance on my blog. And anytime that I find another person, a group, a store, or a project sharing my passion for above, I can not wait to share my delight with you. RoadsWellTraveled, conceptualized and run by Minu Chawla and Sebastin Sager, is one such store that offers not just hand picked products, but also invites you to explore and discover little nooks and corners of the world. An online destination for the nomadic-at-heart connoisseur of world culture, artefacts and objects, RoadsWellTraveled takes pride not just in it's curated collection but also in the mission of doing its bit to preserve dying art and craft in different parts of the world.

Another interesting aspect of of RoadsWellTraveled is their emphasis on art and not just the artisan. As Minu described in her email to me:

"There are enough NGOs and fair-trade organizations trying to provide the artisans with a sustainable livelihood. However not enough encourage them to do so by practicing the craft that they learnt from the forefathers. In the quest of making more functional, more marketable products, the original art/craft practice is rapidly dying. Through RoadsWellTraveled, we hope to honour the artisan traditions in their truest forms."

The Museum is an integral and growing section of RoadsWellTraveled website, and this is the place where Minu and Sebastin document the history, tradition and stories behind the crafts they curate. The aim is to build awareness and preserve that what is original.

 

Both Minu and Sebastin come from a corporate background, and they gave up their jobs to follow their heart. Combining their love for travel, indigenous crafts and entrepreneurship, they founded RoadsWellTraveled in Berlin, a city that's home to both of them.   

Step into the world of RoadsWellTraveled, and shop the bazaars Mesoamerica, Indus, Kalinga and Ceylon. They have exciting travel plans, and I can't wait to see what new treasures they find in the bylanes of the world.

Connect with RoadsWellTraveled on facebook and get inspired by their beautiful boards on Pinterest.

[All images: RoadsWellTraveled. Creative Storyboarding: An Indian Summer]