Light, airy and extremely soft, classic pinstripes on an ecru base create a timeless piece that can be used as a towel, picnic mat, coverup or tablemat - the possibilities are endless. They have a sense of warmth and elegance, beautifully finished with hand-tied tassels on each end. This handwoven piece only gets softer with time, so it‘s created to make everyday functionality that much more enjoyable.
102 x 178 cm 100% cotton Machine wash with like colors, iron as cotton
We are our biggest customer, critic and audience - which means always designing what we’d like to see in our homes and what is most practical for our lifestyles. This often helps us weed out the non-essential and focus on user-centered, practical products.
Kara’s design aesthetic incorporates a lot of traditional Kerala patterns, which are innately modern and different from the more familiar Indian motifs on the market. It was a happy accident that Chitra and Indu’s personal leaning toward a clean, modern aesthetic and the traditional patterns they were inspired by lent themselves to the successfully marriage between tradition and contemporary forms evident in their collection.
Their design process is multi-faceted: Indu and Chitra bring up ideas to each other about a new product, discuss the pros and cons of it, do lots of research and sketches of patterns and try out a few samples to see how it functions. There is often a lot of back and forth with the weaving co-op during the development, since Chitra and Indu respect their skills as the true masters of this yarn.
Once we have a sample, we bring it into our own homes and see how our family and friends react to it. This is an essential step and since our family is composed of several generations, its always the acid test! The octogenarian grandma or the 1 year old might have very different or similar reactions to our work, both of which we consider carefully. Most of our products are multi-use and designed to last in a busy household, so we love this part of the process to see how it lives in the home. We make edits accordingly, do a photoshoot for our catalog and share with everyone online!
One aspect the ladies love to share is about the speed of handloom production. The pre-looming, which is everything before the weaver actually weaves the patterns at the loom, is one of the most overlooked and yet the most labor-intensive processes. It is also weather dependent, as the yarn is sun-dried prior to spinning it onto the spindles. It can take anywhere from a week to ten days to have a medium sized loom up and running – a step buyers are always made conscious of.
This pre-looming is also the most critical step as it determines how wide the fabric will be woven, what patterns and colors will be in the weave and how much time a certain piece will take to create. It is also a detail that they love documenting - as evident in their Instagram feed - and discussing with their co-op teams.
The New Delhi-based designer Aman Khanna creates beautiful, timeless pieces from clay—a material he describes as being both omnipresent and yet individual based on the way one uses it. This beautiful vase adds aesthetic by taking the unnecessary away. Minimal yet very unexpected in its form and proportions, it is handmade from stoneware clay. It is an unapologetically standout piece that can be used as either a vase or simply as a sculpture.
Height 18 cm, Diameter 20 cm Natural stoneware clay Hand wash recommended Handmade in India
Colour-saturated geometrics reflect off each other and create a dramatic statement in these cushions. Hand-embroidered by women in North India, they take the foreground, creating a vivid focal point. Pair them with light neutrals for a striking look or with other bold colours and geometrics for a very individual statement.
45 x 45 cm 100% wool embroidery on a cotton base, with 100% cotton canvas backing Dry clean only Insert included
