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Good morning! How was your weekend? I came across Lowe’s creative ideas through one of my favorite DIY sites How About Orange. Dusshera vacations start tomorrow and the school is closed until November 1st. Yes, two weeks. Every year I plan a vacation around this time of the year but strangely it slipped my calendar this year. So, to keep my son and myself busy, I was looking for some DIY ideas and get some projects around the home done during this break. Floating shelves and getting a home office in order is still on top of my list. And this is another cute one I thought. If you have got any matkas (erracotta pots) left around, just clean it up and turn into a basket with this DIY. Image courtesy: Lowes Creatives Ideas Floating shelves and how you can convert a terracotta poti toa fancy magazine or other…

It was past 6 p.m. on Saturday evening. After a long day, while we were returning home, my husband casually said, “oh, I forgot to tell you, Dastkar is happening at Ezone this year.” I was like, “what, serious?” And then, it came back in a flash. A friend had texted me that morning about a craft mela happening at a venue which is literally a stone’s throw away from home. It was enough to get me a on a high for the weekend and the tiredness of the day vanished in thin air.

Datskar, nature bazaar, happens every year around this time of the year at Palace Grounds. Dastkar and Kala Madhyam are the two events I look forward to every year but I’d somehow missed the announcement this year. Here’s a brief take on Dastkar 2012 after two visits and still eager for more.

What I liked:

The sights, the colors, the excitement of the kids to try the potter’s wheel, ladies undecided over fancy beaded jewelery, colorful birdies, kites, and a bit of every state served on a huge platter called Dastkar.

The path leading to the venue is decked up in ribbons of all colors and patterns. Nothing matches the vibrancy of a art and craft exhibition. Dastkar is the mother of all such exhibitions so the excitement doubles up.  Phew! Honestly, it’s overwhelming. But, for art aficionados like me, this is as good as it gets.

Yea..most men don’t come there by choice, but by force accompanying the ladies..sorry guys. But, could see the desperation on many of your faces to get out and the huge sigh of relief as you walked past the exit. I overheard one gentleman saying at the entrance even before entering, “ah dekh liya..ab bas yahin se chalen.” It can get exhausting and you need at least an hour to get a feel of it.

Many stalls from last year were missing this time. I spoke to quite a few artisans and felt sad for them as the venue perhaps played spoil sport. They were not getting as good a footfall as Palace Grounds does.

I read this somewhere: Germans need the Greeks because they have this zest for life that makes the Germans happy.  It doesn’t matter if Madame Merkel reluctantly says Ja or Nein to fund troubled Europe.  Sometimes it is also about knowing how to spend the money. And who knows it better than the Greeks, even if it’s borrowed money.

With PIIGS, eurozone and austerity hogging the limelight this week, I thought it befitting to take a sneak peek into a simple hotel in Mykonos, Greece built by two small town Germans. What caught my eye was its simplicity, the story of its owners, their dreams and the happiness that shines through their smiles as they do what they love to do.  There is no sign of opulence; the decor is so rustic that it perfectly blends with the natural elements.

What is luxury to you? Couldn’t have been said better:

“What is luxury? Luxury for me is to say, okay, I’m doing what I really want to do.”
Thomas Heyne

I’m yet to meet someone who is not turned on by the sea and sand. In Heyne’s words, “It’s open air, the stars. Go five steps and you’re standing in sand. Everybody comes here on holiday—they’re in a good mood.”

Are you a green, eco-friendly person? I know, what a dumb question – who is not these days?  If you like bamboo, then you’ll love this post for having discovered Rebecca Reubens. Seriously, the moment I discovered Rebecca’s work, I was floored and wondered how on earth could I not have heard of her before.

Rebecca runs a store called Bamboo Canopy in Ahmedabad.  The store carries sustainable products designed by Rhizome, which she founded in 2009. So, how did it all began? Not one fine day in a single aha moment. After being associated  for 7 years in the international development sector with the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan coordinating projects in Asia, Africa and Latin America, she decided to pursue her PhD to assess the market and feasibility of selling sustainable design in a more organized manner.

Rebecca says the response for bamboo products has been overwhelming so much so that they cannot meet demand with the current infratructure and are in a expansion mode. She is proud to have broke even within six months. Currently, products are primarily retailed through Bamboo Canopy and other outlets such as Dhoop in Mumbai, Good Earth and TRIFED.

It’s time to delve straight into the pictures. So shall we?

Rebecca says the store is housed in a beautiful, spacious bungalow in Ahmedabad. The lovely surroundings definitely shows in the pictures.

Let’s start at the begining – entrance of the store.

A peek inside from the store window. Can you spot those bookends?

I can’t get over these two pictures and I’m sure you’ll agree with me: I first spotted the open shelving for wooden boxes on Apartment Therapy two months back; and it’s remain etched in my memory ever since. I forgot to bookmark the link and believe it or not, I hunted for this post for three days. No exaggeration! That should explain why there was no post on Friday. Most cities in India, except the ones in the South, have zero to minimal wood work done in homes. When I moved from Bangalore to Pune, from a fully-furnished apartment to a house with just walls, it was a harrowing experience. We lived out of boxes and eventually invested in two steel almirahs (what an eye sore!) and a wooden cupboard. The house was far from being elegant and remained a cluttered mess. I look at these pictures and wonder what…