SHP Feature: E'thaan

The story for E'thaan starts with Ritu Varuni's architectural thesis. She lived in Nagaland for a year to conduct research for her thesis. It's usage in traditional architecture and craft among the Nagas was an eye opener and inspired her to start a bamboo craft development project in Arunachal Pradesh. It's now been 18 years and Ritu's love slowly took the form of E'thaan. E'thaan is a Lotha Naga word meaning something 'new'.

 Tortoise Coasters

Ritu had also begun to work with Sanjhi and wood craft artisans from North India since 1999. Over the years as her organization gained popularity she was frequently asked if she had a shop. On her move to Delhi, entered Bharati Chadha, Ritu's friend who was a marketing expert. And together they started E'thaan in 2004. Ritu and Bharati's love for traditional craft and their desire to support the artisans is visible in that they pay the craftsmen fully on completion of a product and take the risk of sale on themselves.

L to R: Handcrafted tealight holder in stone, Bookends hadcrafted from stone and Carved tile door knobs

A mix of strong ethics and an innovative use of traditional handcrafted woodwork led to them being awarded the UNESCO Seal of Excellence Award in 2006.  

 Sanjhi teak floor lamp

Apart from the products featured here, E'thaan also makes gorgeous pieces of furniture. They  specialize in wood, stone and bamboo interiors, with a focus on energy conservation. Please visit their website here to take a look at some gorgeous divans, side tables and floor lamps.

 Carved Roti Box

I came out of hibernation to do an SHP Feature to thank Bharati. I bought this absolutely gorgeous Masala Dibba from E'thaan a while ago and Bharati's professionalism left me gasping. She asked for my parents' phone number; called and confirmed that she had mailed it out and then called them a day later to check if it was delivered to their satisfaction. Thank you Bharati! I think a combination of Ritu's passion to work with artisans and Bharati's personal touch will definitely bring more awards E'thaan's way.

 Carved wood masala dibba with ceramic containers

Also, E'thaan will be at the Dastakar Bazaar from 8th to 19th October at Crafts Museum, New Delhi. Please drop in to drool. For all the non-Delhites take the drooling online to their website or Facebook page. 

{Credit for All Images to E'thaan} 

Craftsmen from Morocco at Work

I absolutely love Moroccan architecture, design, lanterns, embroidery and I could go on; as would anybody reading this blog.

Here are a few gorgeous images from a Moroccan home that was a spotlighted on Elle Decor a few issues ago to give you a taste of Morocco invading a home.

Hopefully, you've now fallen in love with Morocco too? Then this video by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York of Morrocan craftsmen at work should be a treat for your visual senses.




The craftsmen are working on a wing of the New galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia and Later South Asia. You can find more information about the new wing here.

The Met along with the Rubin Museum of Art, happens to be one of my favorite museums in Manhattan. If just the wing is so beautiful, could you imagine how gorgeous treasures must be treasures that the museum is going to house there soon?!

I bid you goodnight or good morning, as the case may be, with a huge smile of anticipation on my face.

Tip: If you are in town and visiting the Met, call me. Else, make sure you go looking for the Spanish section. When you stumble on a sunlit courtyard with intricately carved balconies and a high ceiling covered in tiles you know you are in the right place ;)

The Fasinating Art of Re-creating Photos of Old Hindu Deities

First, there was performance artist Pushpamala N re-creating the familiar Raja Ravi Verma oleograph of goddess Lakshmi to much acclaim.

 Image from here

Photographer Manjari Sharma recently launched an interesting project to do similar work at a much grander scale. I'm not sure if I agree with her statement that there aren't photographs of Hindu deities in India- as far as I remember most homes have/ had multiple! But reiterate, interesting project nevertheless.

Darshan from Manjari Sharma on Vimeo.

What do Royalty and the Streets of Delhi Have in Common?

...........The fashion designer JJ Valaya. JJ Valaya recently turned photographer and the results are a stunning mix of gorgeous textiles and antique jewelery. As soon I laid my eyes on the stunning black and white images, I had to come back from obscurity to do this post.

 The overnight change in their lifestyles in free India- A maharaja sharing a bench with a commoner, another standing proud in front of a slum and yet another sitting upright among the ruins of his fort....

 ..... And the contrast with a fleeting glimpse of their former glory.

For more pictures, please go here.

{Credit for all images to JJ Valaya}

SHP Feature: Shopo.in

This post was due a month ago. Krithika wrote to me when June was turning to July, asking me to feature Shopo. Though I gleefully agreed immediately, work and travel made my presence on blogland ephemeral. Krithika, I owe you an apology for having been so slow. To make it up, the list I promised is already on it's way ;) 

SHP readers- One by one I saw most my fellow bloggers fall in love and feature Shopo over the past month. So, hopefully all of you already know about and have shopped on Shopo (I definitely have!). Similarly, the next few posts will feature creative talent that you might have already seen on several blogs. But I made promises 1-2 months ago, and I plan to keep them :)

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When I first came across Shopo, I found the logo design as striking as the products featured on the site. So when Krithika wrote to me, a copy of the logo was one of the first things I requested.

In Krithika's own words, "Shopo is what happens when a geek and a weirdo get together and decide to do something useful" India definitely needs more such creative, entrepreneurial geeks and weirdos to come together :)

The Weirdo: As Krithika Nelson likes to call herself!- Electronic media graduate-turned-stressed out TV and Radio exec-turned card designer. When she realized that her card design business needed a PR boost, she decided to take her business online and found a dearth of sites that she could sell on. I admire Krithika's entrepreneurial spirit- Instead of backing down when she hit an obstacle, she decided to turn the obstacle into an opportunity! Without a business background, Krithika did everything I was taught at MBA school to do :)

The Geek: Theyagarajan aka Taggy. Software engineer who lives by the code. Errr, not the moral kind, the software kind. 8 years of friendship, few months of research, a dozen designs, re-designs later Shopo was born.

And I spent a few moments thanking the greater powers at play that FINALLY there was one site that brought so many of my favourite designers together. So, let's discover India's Etsy together....

[Top to Bottom, L to R]: Artesania,  Kya Cheez Hai, Our very own Vineeta Nair from Artnlight (my personal fave from the Rajsthan series featured here), Mish Mash Designs(Another fave!), Santushti, Varnam (AND another fave!)

[Top to Bottom, L to R]: WorkshopQ, Ssara Design, Umoya, the lovely Kanika Bahl from Anek Designs, Terra, SheSells

[Top to Bottom, L to R]: Shoposwa, Well Paper, Haathi Chaap (Fave!), Sanchali (FAVE), Vandanas, New-Improved, Aarohi Singh (Another HUGE fave), Accede Fashionz.

Here are the new wonderful sellers with their handmade products who debuted this week on Shopo:

 [Top to Bottom, L to R]: Choco Philla, 22.2 Accessories, Colors of Culture, Tantrum Shoes, Kirukk

This was supposed to be a sneak peek into the new wares on Shopo. But a combination of 2 whole days out in a heat wave (the highest we've had since 1977!) and a day of getting wet in the rain, left me sneezing by the second and trying to keep a temperature down. Apologies Krithika!

Another few reasons why I'm bowled over by the Krithika & Taggy team:

1. They don't come from rich families. They left well paying jobs and faced months of no cash in flow to bring Shopo to life.

2. Every seller on Shopo has Krithika's direct number to rant and rave or express their concern- Another lesson I was taught in b-school- flat structure and an accessible top management.

3. Every shop on Shopo let's you contact the sellers directly- hoping bigger projects come their way..

Oh and don't forget to Follow Shopo on Twitter and Like them on Facebook!

{Image credit for all photos to Shopo and the individual sellers}

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Loooongish post I know- Had to make up for my weeks of silence and the 2 more weeks of silence to follow. I will dive back feet first to blogland in Mid-August. Hopefully, I will be missed? 

Guest Blogging...

I know I've been absent from SHP this week, instead I guest blogged at Designwali for her 'Oh no! We didn't...' series.

Go here to read all about my 'Oh no! We didn't moment'