Hope you all had a good long weekend. “dress your home” turned 1 on July 1st; so we’re officially a year-old now, and I’m taking small baby steps in growing this blog. I’ve decided to continue with the store tours as it gives me immense satisfaction to sift through dozens of home decor stores, decide which one fits in with my philosophy of serving a purpose, finally followed by the actual visit.
Last Saturday, I went to Namma Angadi which means “Our shop” in Kannada. Located in LB Shastri Nagar off Vimanapura, it’s a non-assuming, stone-walled building in a neighborhood most of us never would have a reason to go to. Anjula and Girish were quite helpful in helping me navigate down the narrow, winding roads from Old airport road to Namma Angadi.
Namma Angadi is a marketing platform for traditional arts and crafts made by young workers in Kundapura, who were formerly child workers. It is promoted by a NGO called “The Concerned for Working Children.”
Above-18 workers are trained in various trades such as tailoring, embroidery, pottery, painting and weaving at the “Namma Bhoomi” vocational training center in Kundapura every year. The products made here are then marketed and sold through exhibitions held across Karnataka all around the year.
I know we’ve all read how everyday things like newspaper, wood and coconut can be reused to make interesting products. But doing is another ball game altogether?
How to reuse and re-purpose waste cloth into bags and doormats
Seeing these colorful bags made from remaining pieces of cloth used for making kurtas rekindled the DIY blood in me. I was like, “Wow. This is nice, especially the door mat.” It’s so easy to discard things we don’t use, and here someone thought about making a nice, environment-friendly bag and selling it for under Rs.100.
If only we refused those plastic stinkers at More/Reliance Fresh and used these cloth and jute bags for grocery shopping, they would have a future and the world would be a better place to live in.
Where to shop for jute bags – a great shopping accessory
Are you also fond of Jute bags like me? I fall for the color, the texture, the ease of use and the style. After all, there’s very little one can go wrong with here, right :) Namma Angadi stocks a huge variety of these bags in different shapes and sizes. These would make for great gift items.
Where to buy wooden blinds, terracotta pots in Bangalore
The shop ran out of stock of terracotta pots – something I looked forward to buying during my visit. Wouldn’t the Tortoises look cute in the balcony along with the plants? If you’ve been hunting for a place to get bamboo blinds made, then consider Namma Angadi. A blind of this size would cost you around Rs.450 at Rs.35 to Rs.40 per sq.ft.
No brownies for guessing what these objects are made of. I almost jumped on seeing the newspaper waste basket, because I had made a similar one a while ago- infact, the first post on this blog. However, what makes this basket different is that the sides are supported by rolled pieces of paper as well. Quite sturdy in design, it sells for Rs.100 a piece.
How to make a piggy bank from coconut shell
For all you DIY lovers, here is challenging project to get started on. The second one, a piggy bank made from coconut shell, is any day better than all those ceramic pieces we buy. Wondering how they managed to scrap the insides of the coconut? Well, that’s the tricky part as the bottom is a wooden piece joined to a coconut. It’s neatly concealed with the curvy white design.
The ladle in the basket is made completely from coconut. It took a lot of self-control to resist buying this Rs.40 serving dish. The wooden bowls and the ladle would be a welcoming addition to one’s kitchen. The fruit basket is made from arecanut leaves.
Don’t the paintings on the bamboo pen holder seem familiar? But it’s not Worli art, it’s called “Hase”. A popular form of folksy expression, it is found in the villages around Shimoga to depict stories revolving around everyday life.
Image courtesy:
All images shot at the shop with permission
2 Comments
Girl, you are on a roll! These new posts of yours take my breath away! What a cool find this is, and what a quaint name – Namma Angadi!:) Next time I come to bangalore kanditha hogbeku!
Thanks so much, Sharon. Your kind words keep me going :)