Sound Horn Please Feature: Kokum

I'm coming out of the woodwork to write about an incredibly talented designer, Roopa Rathi. Upfront declaration- she happens to be my sister- but that doesn't in anyway colour my appreciation for Kokum's work. It has been a pleasure watching her press the reset button on life, taking the vow to never be chained to a desk again, diving head first to making her dreams come true, taking baby steps in setting up her own brand, figuring out things like profit margins, minimum inventory requirements, shipping logistics, marketing, while at the sametime having to keep the creative fuel going.

Here's a glimpse of few of Kokum's recent collections,

The Summer Wedding Collection: A wedding collection that is refreshingly not about the bride.

L: A beautiful green georgette sari with gold lines running diagonally across it and with an orange kundan work border.
R: Georgette sari with broad shimmer work border.

L: Red coloured Pure Chiffon sari with gold badla work all through and a 4 inch long rose self- print at the base of the sari. The blouse is as seen in the picture and is a red and orange printed silk blouse.
R: An off-white jute silk sari with a red tussar silk border with off-white motifs on the border. 
 

L:  Banaras georgette sari in yellow colour with woven zari star motifs all through the sari. The sari has a broad violet and gold border with red piping.
R: Pashmina silk sarees in pink and blue


The Pink Marigold Collection: 

L: Orange chiffon pallu with hot pink banarasi pink pleats.
Center: Georgette sari with a cream polka dots skirt base with a hot pink pallu with sequins twinkling through.
R: Red Kota Silk saree with white checks interspersed through the saree. The saree has a copper woven zari border.

 










Series of georgettes and chiffons in varying hues from pastel lemon yellow to bright pink.

To check out more of her work please go here. The photos above are just a glimpse of the breadth of her work. The rest of the iceberg, hasn't been photographed before being sold. As I'd mentioned, Roopa is still learning the ropes in being an entrepreneur.

Good luck, Roopa! As with several people featured on SHP over the years, here's hoping that Kokum and you are extremely famous someday!

Aperitifs and Aniika: A Summer Trunk Show

It was when summer evenings had started getting chilly, that I received an invite from Meghana Rao- Aniika's founder and the behind-the-scenes tour de force. 

In the past year, a slew of websites selling Indian handmade products to a global audience have debuted. Among them, Aniika has been a firm favorite- I like Meghana's eye for the products she curates and that the designer products on the site don't leave you with a lousy feeling of being ripped off,  just because they've been priced in dollars. 

 The venue was the beautiful interiors of  Devi, one of Manhattan's premier Indian restaurants. Here are a few Aniika's beautifully crafted products that were showcased in Devi's balcony, among floor-to-ceiling paintings of Rajasthan royalty, Rajasthani marble pillars and jali windows, and intricately carved heavy wooden doors. 

A few more pieces of gorgeous jewelery...

 

My favourite....

Remember the gorgeous interiors that I'd mentioned earlier? My fingers were twitching to capture some of them with Meghana in the foreground. A tired Meghana, who'd waited post 9 pm at night, just so that I'd be able to wrap up work and come to the trunk show, refused to pose and so behind-the-scenes she remains until I cajole her the next time around ;)

If you haven't shopped at Aniika already, go take a look.

SHP Feature's: The 2012 Roundup

Last summer I came across a quirky clock, very similar to the one below, at a friend's home in Seattle. Upon enquiring, my friend mentioned that she bought it in Pune and didn't remember the artist's name.

A few months later, I received a notification that a 'Nobodyelse' had liked SHP's Facebook page. My interest was piqued and I clicked on the notification which led me to a Facebook page with the same clock! I dropped a note letting the owners of the page know that I had come across their clock in Seattle and adored their simple yet attractive design style. And that's how I 'e-met' Mangesh Todkar and his lovely wife Leena. 

Mangesh and Leena are inspired by their everyday lives in India. Here are a few of their inspired designs. 

Nobodyelse also makes earrings, nameplates, murals, wall hooks and have recently branched out to lamps and tea light holders. Please go here, to see more of their quirky products.

Loud and Spirited... that's Shor Sharaba for you!, so runs their tag line. Trsha Jhaver and Rasshi Ganeriwal, the founders definitely live up to their motto. Throw the mundane 'Best', 'Regards' or 'Cheers' out of the window. Bah! Here are a few ways in which Rasshi signed off all her emails to me, 

Make some Shor oye,

Bling, BLASH, Bright, SPLASH.. Jhataaaaak mataaaaak, Razz MATAZ!!

Being loud,

Her emails definitely made me smile. Quite a few firms can take a note out of Shor Sharaba's book on  inculcating brand spirit so thoroughly. Here's how the girls describe themselves and the brand,

Welcome to Shor Sharaba! We do things that we love! 

We make things for the young and urbane who love to live life to the fullest. Shor Sharaba is where Uma Thurman meets Meena Kumari and Gabbar catches up with The Godfather! Super Heros in new avtaar, Filmigiri’s newest sansaar!! Moo Moo, Bow Bow, Oink Oink, its loud and laajawaab! We are Bright, HAPPY, Quirky and bindaas!!  We are two crazy sisters; Trsha, the Shor and Rasshi, the Sharab(i)a.

The lotus diya/ mug holder is a definite fave

On a serious BIJNIS note, we do Super cool cushions, laptop bags, Laptop Sleeves, Coasters, iPad bags, Fun trays, photo frames, Wooden boxes, Sling Bags, Mouse Pads, Fridge Magnets, Clocks, beer/ coffee mugs, just to name a few.

O.K. So go check out the super cool stuff from the crazy fun sisters here. 

My apologies to Mangesh/ Leena, Trsha/ Rasshi; both their features were due in January/ February.

Aporv stands for Unique in Sanskrit and the online shopping site does do justice to it's name by carrying a unique portfolio of products by partnering with several artisans in India. You can learn more about the organization by listening to its founder Sudip Dutta's TEDx talk. 

A few of their artisan-made products,

Every products has an elaborate description of the traditional process by which they were made. You can visit them on their website, Facebook page or Pinterest page to check out more of their products.

Here's wishing the Aporv team a belated Happy B'day! 

                          

3mik.com

I received an email recently from Saurabh Srivastava and Rajeev Jha the founders of a rather interesting site. If I understood it correctly, 3mik.com is an Indian take on Pinterest, where one can post images and follow/ meet folks with similar interests. 

3mik.com sounds terribly exciting and I'm glad to see innovation in the online space in India. Here's a snapshot of their website. 

Do go explore the site.

Saffron Hue is the vision of two Stay-at-home moms, whose dream is to bring a fresh new perspective to the traditional textiles and techniques of India by using them for baby bedding and accessories. 

Saffron Hue makes hand block printed children textile products using traditional methods from the Sanganer region in Rajasthan, India. Summer 2012 was the launch of their first collection, here's a peek.

I loved the fact that the products come in lovely pastel shades and the prints have awfully cute names like Mango Mantra, Royal Parade and Monsoon. 

The collection comprises of quilts, lightweight blankets, swaddles, burp/ bibs and snuggle bags made with Azo free dyes on 100% cotton. Please visit their website here, to see the creative output of the wonderful moms.

Team Shopick describe themselves as a marketplace to discover 'unique' Indian handcrafted/handmade/handpainted products with beautiful designs from designers and creators all over India. They connect designers and artisans to customers all over the world looking for amazing products. Here's a look at some of their amazing products,

Please visit the Shopick website here for viewing more of their product range. 

Indianmyra is a site that features beautiful jewelery and apparel from India. Their collections are inspired by the various corners of India, from artisans to high end designers. Anwesha, an NGO based in Orissa and  several AIACA members have been showcased on their site. 

Indianmyra also has delicately crafted pieces from the Mughal era. Here's a glimpse into the Mughal era,

For a closer look at their lovely products, please visit their website here. 

A note of apology to Divya and Rohit, Indianmyra's PR team for the delay, as this post was due in May. Thank you for your patience!

To India, with Love....

fabulloso! is an online store that was launched earlier this year. The store is the brainchild of Gaurav Taneja, ex-Partner and Business Head - Technology, Communications and Entertainment with Ernst & Young, and Anupma Taneja, a graphic designer and entrepreneur with a successful handmade paper business - Kaagaz Exports - to her credit.

fabulloso! offers a curated selection of beautiful things for wardrobes and homes - exquisitely designed and meticulously crafted designer wear, wardrobe essentials, shoes, accessories, home furnishings and accents.

fabulloso! seems like a fun, refreshing brand; please head here to check out more of their fabulous stuff!

Thank you Shobana & Pallavi, fabulloso's PR team, for all the enthusiastic and fun emails.

Craftsvilla is an idea conceived by Manoj and Monica Gupta in 2011, as an online marketplace selling unique Indian handmade and handcrafted items. In India crafting is the second biggest profession in rural villages after agriculture. Each region is identified by its ethnic craft and it is a rich tradition that has survived the ages.

I absolutely loved these antique Tanjore paintings from Vrindavan Home Shoppe owned by Kannan Kuttappan. These definitely beat the shiny, gaudy new Tanjore paintings that seem to have flooded the Indian market in recent years.

However, many of these crafts are under serious risk of extinction because crafters are leaving their professions in search of jobs of better pay. The problem occurs because these crafters sell their items to middlemen at very low rates who in turn sell it at inflated rates in the market. If this scenario continues, a time may come when our next generation may become bereft of these arts.

All the products featured here are from Vrindavan Home Shoppe. Craftsvilla also has several other lovely stores. Please go here to explore!

Craftsvilla is aiming to change this by bringing these crafters directly online and helping them sell their creations directly to a global audience. Good luck Team Craftsvilla, I really hope you guys bring about the change you are aiming for. Please head here, to check out and support the platform. 

A shout out to the guys from Team YellowTrunk. They are soon launching an exclusive curated online portal with unique products from India. Sign up here for exclusive deals for when they launch. 

Here's wishing all you guys a great deal of luck in your design ventures and a successful 2012!