For The Love Of Handloom

The feel of handwoven fabric. The texture. The weft and the warp. The intricacy of design. The symmetry and also the idiosyncrasies of made-by-hand. The centuries old craft traditions that are reverently passed on from one generation of artisans to the next. The story behind each gorgeous yard of a sari.  The wonder at the skill, the passion & the sheer hard work that goes in to create something so beautiful. 

Oh, the love for hand woven Indian textiles - you and I, we know what that feels like!

And because we love our textiles so much, we need to do what we can to save them. 

The What

You might or might not have yet heard about the powerful emerging lobby in India that wants to repeal the Handloom Reservation Act, that has been in place since 1985 to protect traditional handloom weaves and the interests of marginalized weavers. This influential lobby is in favor of bringing in power looms which will flood the market with cheap, low quality, machine made replicas of textiles (especially saris) and take away the livelihood of thousands of weavers and their families. And of course, if this does happen, the loss of invaluable textile traditions, skill and knowledge will be inevitable and irreversible.

What You Can Do

We need to lobby against the repeal of The Handloom Act. Dastkar has started an online petition and we need to sign it and share it with as many like minded people as we can. For now, this is what we must do and support the weavers. 

Please do pause, and sign the petition right now. It takes less than 10 seconds. And you are very welcome to take more time and also share your views and opinions on the petition if you like.

For more information, you can take a look at The Handloom Act and read this, and this, very well written articles.

You and I
We will help preserve & protect what we love

A request to all An Indian Summer readers
From India and everywhere else
Anyone who has been inspired by the beauty of handwoven textiles 
Do Sign the petition
And share this post far and wide


I will see you again in a couple of days. Be good, my munchkins!


[Image credits mentioned on images. Creative storyboarding: An Indian Summer]

The House Of Things

The House of Things. What an evocative name! Conjures up visuals of a lovely rambling home, filled with treasures, finds and surprises. And that is exactly what this gorgeous new boutique store, creates for us, online. With an ever growing curated collection, The House Of Things is the new destination for eclectic & luxurious objet d'art. Housing one-off rare finds to limited edition collections from global designers and artisans, The House Of Things values the increasingly rare notion of individuality and uniqueness when it comes to the objects we bring in to add beauty and character to our homes.

The House Of Things is the creative brainchild of Astha Khetan. Astha started her work life at a London based digital media agency, and then returned to India to manage Unilever's special projects. Her spirited love for handicrafts and penchant for travel inspired her to launch The House Of Things. The key team also includes Sabina Chopra, who brings in decades of experience as a mentor and brand consultant to India's fashion & design industry, and, Manisha Prakash, who, after studying at Instituto Europeo di Design at Milan, has worked with numerous premier apparel & product designers in India. The team is passionate about quality, design and showcasing under-the-radar products and talents. Their combined efforts are very well reflected not just in the gallery of products they have put together but also the seamless experience of browsing & shopping online at The House Of Things.

What I also love about The House Of Things is the diverse & global nature of their collection. From fine furniture and resplendent paintings to exceptional curios, precious jewels, sculptures, antiquities, rugs, textiles and accessories - the curated marketplace brings under one roof select products from designers and brands like Jay Strongwater, Noelle Kadar, Taherally's, Paul Bhosle, JewelCraftz, Andraab, Airdiem, Sunita Shekhwat, with many more in the pipeline.

 

Another unique offering from The House Of Things is personalized and individual attention to your needs by way of their Concierge service. Offering custom designing & production and curated sourcing , the concierge team at The House Of Things, also assists with the entire process of shipping, insurance and payments. They ship worldwide and pride themselves with impeccable attention to detail and efficiency when it comes to fulfilling a customer's desire. 

The gorgeous products showcased in this post are but just a glimpse of the array that The House Of Things offers. Make sure to keep checking the following links to get updated with the latest in their treasure trunk:

 Shop  |  Facebook  | Instagram  |  Pintrest

 Happy shopping!

[All Images: The House Of Things. Creative Storyboarding: An Indian Summer]

Another New Year

Where do you start?

How do you begin?

Afresh

In the wake of a new year

You begin with what is at the top of your mind. And there are two things at the top of my mind right now. The first one ~ heartfelt warmest wishes and hopes for all of you, my favorite people. May you have a year you cherish and remember fondly for many years to come! And second, Goa is on my mind! I will tell you why in the coming weeks, but for now, look at this little gem I found! Le Roi Arthur, a boutique and cafe in Verla Canca, Goa , has been conceptualized and is run by Chef Romain Auguy and Designers Melyssa Falque & Florence Dor. I was drawn to the lovely pictures of their quaint space and the eclectic collection of handmade bags, jewelry, accessories and home decor items they have curated. Le Roi Arthur has been duly bookmarked to my list of places to visit in Goa when I am in Goa next, which is going to happen very soon. I'll see you there :)

Sigh. Isn't it all so pretty?

Speaking of Goa, I need some help. So my dear readers, those of you who belong to Goa or are currently staying there, please drop me an email to say hello. I would love to hear from you!

[All images: Le Roi Arthur. Creative Storyboarding: An Indian Summer]

 

Indian August

If An Indian Summer hadn't been An Indian Summer, it would have been Indian August. Yes, Indian August was one of the names I had shortlisted for the blog, and so imagine my utter joy and happiness when I found out about a beautiful store filled with handpicked treasures, called Indian August! An invite from the lovely founder - Sanjogita Kaul and the lead designer - Aditya Pandey was all I needed, and here is my pick of treasures from a splendid afternoon spent  at Indian August, chatting with Sanjogita and Aditya and clicking hundreds of pictures!

Indian August is located in Delhi NCR at Noida and has five floors filled with gorgeous fashion, design and art from skilled craftspeople and select designers from India. Home decor, pottery, furnishing, stationery, furniture, apparel, saris, art, jewelry - you name it and you will find it at Indian August. Indian August recently launched their online store too and ship all over India. 

Sanjogita, the multi-talented lady behind Indian August, had been associated with NIFT for twenty years. Her work at NIFT led to an exposure to the richness of Indian craft and an astute understanding of modern design sensibility. Sanjogita started Indian August with the aim of combining these two facets creatively and offer a platform for free expression to designers, artists, craft enthusiasts and revivalists who integrate Indian handcrafted traditions to reflect a contemporary vocabulary. The product range and the actual products at Indian August reflect Sanjogita's philosophy and passion beautifully!

Indian August plans to expand over the coming years to be accessible to design enthusiasts through out the country. Their online store has a large selection from the products available in the store.

To those who can, I highly recommend a visit to the store. Before you know it, you would have spent more than a couple of hours browsing through the loveliness spread over the five floors: The basement has Home Linen, Saris and stoles on the Ground/First, Home & Personal Accessories on Second, Third floor has Apparel and Furniture on the Fifth. For others, those who are not in Delhi NCR, check out Indian August's online store - it is updated with new collections and products on a regular basis. I am planning my next trip to Noida just so that I can visit Sanjogita and her beautiful store again; hope to see you there too! :)

~ Links ~

Indian August

Indian August's Online Shop

Indian August on facebook

[All Images Copyright: An Indian Summer & Indian August]