The Satyagraha House

The Satyagraha House, Mahatma Gandhi's house in Johannesburg, SA, has recently been restored and renovated by the  French company Voyageurs du Monde. It is is now open to receive visitors at it's museum and guests for stay. Heritage architect Rocco Bosman, and interior designers Amit Zadok and Christine Pulch, took utmost care to maintain the existing character and sanctity of the site and recreated the interiors keeping Gandhi's philosophy and austerity as their guiding principle.

Khadi and linen fabrics, jute floor coverings, memorabilia from the days Gandhi and the house's architect Hermann Kallenbach stayed here, period wood furniture, old photographs, simple and functional carefully selected decor pieces, all put together create an aesthetic, minimalistic and sustainable heritage home.

Mahatma Gandhi's original attic bedroom, recreated with the help of images from the Gandhi Museum in India

Watch this short video for the story of renovation of The Satyagraha House. Not only am I impressed by the thought behind this project, I also really admire the style guideline and design aesthetics used to revive this house. There is a sense of calm, comfort, and, organization, that permeates through the house and can be felt through these images.  

Satyagraha: Satya means truth, and (A)graha means request/insistence. Read more about the Satyagraha movement here.

[Images copyright: The Satyagraha House]

Wordless Wednesday

A beautiful home...

 

...in Formentera

[All images from woman.es]

And to edge in a few words on this wordless wednesday - do check the Asmi necklace giveaway post for the winner, announced today! 

 

I'll be back tomorrow, with many more words. And visuals :)

Sapna's Jewels!

Excuse me while I hyperventilate...

...for I love Sapna Mehra's pretty jewels!

I just can't pick and choose the ones that I like the best, because I like them all! I know, I know...the yada yada about not being greedy and all...but will you just look at these pretty little things?! How can I resist? Neither can you, once you look through the entire collection here and here! And 'tis being the time to give, Sapna and I have a fabulous giveaway and a generous discount offer just for you, coming up in the post!

As Sapna and I chatted over email, she graciously shared her story and inspiration with me. Reading through her journey, I could see how her passion, persistence and global experience has helped shape her beautiful collection. 

A snippet from Sapna's journey, in her own words:

I grew up in suburban NJ.  My father was an engineer and also an amateur singer and musician and loved classical and semi-classical music and ghazals.  My mother was a graphic artist and had a studio in our home where she painted landscapes, and gods and goddesses in oils. I spent many summers of discovery and adventure in Jodhpur and Jaipur, my parent’s hometowns. Later, in college, I studied Comparative Literature and loved my courses on post-colonial theory, religions of the East, cinema studies and literature of India and the fantastic. 
I moved on to work for many small businesses in different capacities and had a stint as an assistant for a Madison Avenue gallery specializing in South and South East Asian antiquities. I was able to research countless works of art and came to build an understanding of iconography and symbolism in South Asian art.  I especially fell in love with the beauty and playful elegance of Indian miniatures and with the complexities of Buddhist iconography in Tibetan, Nepali, Cambodian and Indian sculptures.

 

Starting in late 2001, I spent months at a time in Jaipur, working with jewelry making artisans and tradesmen learning about gems, traditional jewelry making techniques and the intricacies of production. In 2007, I quietly launched myself as a designer with a clear vision to produce a collection that exemplified the skills of kundan and meena artist while creating designs that were meaningful and fit contemporary and cosmopolitan lifestyles. My hope is that when people wear my jewelry, they feel inspired, empowered and delight in a bit of rustic luxury. I love the idea of the global soul!

"The Giveaway"

Sapna would like to gift a necklace from her Asmi collection to one happy chirpy reader. What you need to do is:

• Read up more about the Asmi range
• Leave a comment on this post with: 
• Your life path number (calculate here), or, the number of the Asmi necklace you would like to win, and
• Tell us "What does being a global soul mean to you?"

That's it! Sapna and I will pick one winner based on the answer. Unfortunately, there are shipping restrictions that don't allow Sapna to ship jewelry from the US to India, and hence, the giveaway is open only to readers outside of India (baaah! I am crying with you, girls!).

The contest is open for a week, and I'll announce the winner by updating this post on Dec 21st. Make sure to come back and check if you are the lucky one! 

And more..

You can buy Sapna Mehra Jewelry from her etsy store or from her site. And for the rest of this month, get a 15% discount using the code AIS15.

Thank you Sapna! You and I will enjoy the lovely comments that come in over virtually shared glasses of mulled wine :)

[Credits & Links: Sapna Mehra Jewelry, Etsy Store, Connect on facebook, Tumblr blog]



~ Winner Update | Dec 21st, 2011 ~

Thank you so much for your beautiful comments! I thoroughly enjoyed reading through your descriptions of a global soul.

Here's what Sapna had to say about the comments, and, the one lucky winner!
 

I read through all the comments many times over and am overwhelmed with the inspiring, uplifting and thoughtful responses!

I want to say thank you to all the people who posted their comments - everyone one of them describes the global soul so beautifully...I will come back and read the comments any time I need some inspiration!

A comment that really resonated for me is from Laura Bourassa. I think Laura's comment speaks to the intimate, universal human conditions, the things that connect us to each other, even as we celebrate our differences and diversity. That is 'the web of life'.  We speak different languages, live on different continents and pursue different dreams, all on this same earth. We are all actively engaged in 'the endless cycles' and that's what connects us. 

As we journey on our own individual paths, and face our own struggles, it's comforting and encouraging to remember that there are so many others that are struggling, achieving, living and loving, just like you. No one is alone.  What a beautiful thought and I'm quite moved by it! 

Congratulations Laura! 

Please write to Sapna with your shipping address and, do let us know how you enjoy your Asmi necklace :)

Serendipity

Today evening, I was watching a re-run of the Christmassy movie Serendipity, and browsing through my favorite online stores, looking at their festive collections. And it was while I was looking through Wisteria, that I serendipitously discovered this lovely home tour of their Senior Creative Manager - Paige. As I walked through her home, I fell in love with her sense of style and color. The movie forgotten, I just had to share Paige's home and my favorite images from Wisteria's blog with my favorite peeps - you! 

Here are my favorite rooms and ideas from Paige's home...

 

Quite a serendipitous discovery, eh? :)

[Image credit: Wisteria]

So, what are your favorite movies for this time of the year? 

MoonRiver

MoonRiver, the iconic store in Delhi, now has an online presence!

 

 

Founded by Radhika Gupta, MoonRiver brings together world-class designers with local indigenous artists, to offer exclusive hand-crafted items sourced at the grass-roots level and available to design-savvy consumers globally. MoonRiver takes great pride in working with local artists and communities to offer truly unique art, lighting, jewelry, gifts and home decor in their storefront in Delhi,  and now also in their newly redesigned online shop.  

All of this month, MoonRiver is hosting a fun Pinterest Party with fabulous giveaways every week! Read all about it here on MoonRiver's blog.  And shop from their beautiful collection here.

Have fun pinning and winning!

[All images: MoonRiver]

 

 

The Good Earth Story...

By

Jamun, an independent collective, specializing in media concepts and content, has directed and produced a crisp and beautiful video for one of my favorite stores - Good Earth. I love the mood in this elegantly shot project and enjoyed the brief glimpse into the design and creation process of some of the classic Good Earth products. 

The images below are screen shots of my favorites from the video. Watch the entire video here.

A peek into the design process

Few of the many beautiful products..

A chat with Anita Lal, the founder of Good Earth..

Good Earth's latest collection - Seringapatanam

Ooo...I wish I could move into a Good Earth store! :)

Credits:

Good Earth

View more of Jamun's work here, and connect with them here