Look Up!

Look up, please. 

As I'm slowly taking steps to get back to blogging, I've been going through SHP's inbox for what's almost one year's worth of mails- I noticed that a lot of the emails were from readers asking for advice on where they could shop online. One that I found most interesting (and challenging) was a request for an Indian planter's chair for an empty corner of a living room in Ottawa.

As a one stop solution, I've updated the Shop Indian and Favourite Indian Designers pages right on top of this blog. So, all you NRIs looking for things from the motherland, happy link clicking!

A photoshoot gone sour....

~ Visited SHP today, after what looks like a year. Noticed that I'd accidentally deleted my last post here and never done anything about it. Tracked it down and learnt a lesson: You never really 'delete' anything on the internet. Once it's out there, it's out there. 

Re-posting and wondering if I should start blogging again. Anybody out there? ~ 

Here are a couple of photos from a guest post on accessories that didn't happen. I'd had such a fun time shooting the photos, that I decided to go ahead and publish them here. 

Let's start at the very beginning, after all it's a very good place to start- My first purchase from Amethyst, Madras close to a decade ago. It still continues to be a favourite.

A pair of silver bangles bought from a Tibetan stall on a cold Thanksgiving night at Boston's Quincy market. It was an impulse purchase, and I didn't realize then how frequently I would wear them.

Half-dozen silver bangles from India + ones with cowrie shells bought from visiting Indian artisans at the Asia Society, here in NYC. 

My favorite pair of silver earrings, seen here with a palm leaf bangle bought from a Colombian street artist in Manhattan. I own several palm leaf bangles from Madras, and though its Colombian version has colour combinations and motifs so different from the traditional Indian ones- Stumbling upon a reminder of home when I needed it most, helped bridge the gap between my old home and the new one in a small way. For those of you interested in buying products made from Madras's regional palm leaf craft, The M.Rm.Rm. Cultural Foundation has some beautiful stuff.

Half an hour into the shoot, I wondered why a post on 'accessories' had to be limited to jewelry...

Perspective: Indian jutis indoors, Peruvian jutis outdoors

Did I start out by calling this post a photoshoot gone sour? Nah, I think I will now only recall a fun few hours spent taking photos that I wouldn't have taken the trouble to otherwise. Sometimes, you need to stop and smell the roses. Sometimes, you need to stop and appreciate your jewelery. Equally important. Equally nonsensical.

And the Artnlight giveaway winner is.....

Neither Vineeta nor I expected such a tremendous response to the giveaway. So, we thought that everybody who participated, even if they didn't leave a comment, should have a shot at winning the gorgeous blue tray. So though it ended up being a little more work for us, we included all of Vineeta's Facebook friends who shared the giveaway on their personal pages, but didn't leave a comment and every new Like on the Artnlight page for the duration of the giveaway. 

We ended up with 227 entries. Yep, you read that right! We collated all the names, and cross checked the list to ensure that there weren't any overlaps and then finally used a random number generator, and it through up Surabhi Surendra. Congrats Surabhi!

I curiously clicked on Surabhi's name and ended up spending a good 15 mins reading through one of her blogs, Know Andamans- It's a treasure trove of information for people wanting to travel to Andamans. Surabhi- I think you've done an excellent job putting it all together. 

Vineeta sent me three posters that she'd designed as a personal thank you for everybody who participated in the giveaway. Like she asked me to, I'm picking two to post here, so here goes!

Vineeta and I would like to personally thank EACH and one of you for participating: Thank YOU so much!

This is not a plug, and Vineeta definitely didn't ask me to. I was so captivated by her new work, that I felt that it definitely deserved a shout out- Please go check out her new Rajasthan Royals here. 

Here's a peep,

 

 And if in Mumbai on December 10th and 11th, you can visit Vineeta Nair at the Christmas Bazaar @Blue Fog. Details here. 

Artnlight Giveaway!

I come out of the woodwork to blog occasionally. This is one of those rare occasions that needs an appearance.

Five years ago, Artnlight and RangDecor were my first introduction to the design blog world. I was captivated by Archana's and Vineeta's images and how they captured the ordinary. Vineeta asked me to write a guest post to celebrate Artnlight turning five, which was a post I'd intended to use to turn the spotlight on her photography skills. Instead, here's a post that is still doing exactly that.

With decoupage as a medium, Vineeta managed to turn the beautiful photos that she captured, into an even more beautiful and lasting line of products. Here are a few of my favorites from her gorgeous Rajasthan series.

 

Vee, is kindly giving away this gorgeous tray from her Rajasthan- inspired series as a giveaway for SHP readers!

You get three shots at winning it,

1. Post a comment on this post
2. Like the Artnlight Facebook page and post a comment below letting us know that you have.
3. And if you've already Liked it, spread the word about the give-away on your Facebook page and post a comment letting us know.

Please leave a comment confirming you have liked the page/spread the word on Facebook, so its easier for us to pick the winner from one place- The comments section below this post.

Also, please remember to leave THREE comments, if you've done all three of the above and want to increase your shot at winning!

This giveaway is open till November 30th. 

The winner will be announced on December 1st. Good luck!

Congratulations on the anniversary Vineeta! 

And here's hoping that Artnlight as a source of creative inspiration never ceases...

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.

Interviewed by POOL Magazine

I was interviewed in June by POOL Magazine. I've avidly followed/ read the magazine since its debut. So, it was an immense honor to find an interview request in my inbox on what was until then an ordinary day in May. 

Please go here, to read the interview online in the June 2012 issue of POOL. 

I missed the deadline and turned in the interview a little late, so I'm pretty much at the very end of the magazine. Weak perhaps, but in my defense it's years since I've answered so many written essay-form questions!

Have a good weekend!