Good morning! Hope you’ve got a great start to the week. Yesterday morning, I went to the Rajasthan Grameen exhibition at Chitra Kala Parishath. The mela has been on since March 3rd and yesterday was the last day. The crowd was thin and so were the stalls. Apart from the usual suspects like the jharokha, kantha worked fabrics, beaded jewellery, dye prints and blue pottery, there were a few things that caught my eye. I went in unprepared and took these pictures on the phone. The golden vase was the showstopper for me. You’ve seen variants of this before – the base is iron + other metals. But, this one was a new addition and comes in various sizes. The price starts from Rs.500 and goes upto Rs.4,500 for the larger ones. Some stalls are permanent fixtures and have little to do with the theme of the exhibition. For…
Hello everyone! Hope you all are having a great week. I’m back to the grind today after a 4-day vacation in Goa but refreshed and ready to go. Though the weather was not sunny, it wasn’t bad. While going through the FB archives, I saw an update from Dastkar about their new online partner iTokri and wasted no time in checking it out. Yes, another online site but pleasantly surprised as most brands are the ones that pull you like a magnet to these numerous exhibitions like Dastkar. If you can’t make it to one in person, you can shop for it online. I’m talking of products from brands like Jugaad, Haathi Chaap and a few others from Dastkar that are hugely popular. My favorite picks from the site on first scan are: A tarshi patchwork bag from Jugaad for Rs. 249 Unstitched fabric from Dastkar at Rs.280 for 2 meters…
Ever heard the name Hands of India? I first read about the founder sisters – Malyada and Ramya in ET Wealth . They grew up in a small town called Vrindaban. After graduating, their careers took them separate ways (a stint with the Indian Air Force and IT) and to different places but one thing stayed common – their love for fabrics and all things eco-friendly. That’s how Hands of India was born in 2006. Hands of India may not be as popular as their relatively newer, online counterparts but their story has the strength to take them places. The connection at the grassroots will make all the difference with good marketing. I saw that they conduct regular exhibitions in Chennai and one recently in Bangalore as well. Image courtesy: Hands of India