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01 Oct Toile de Jouy, the Fabric Symbolic of French Savoir-faire

Posted at 11:35h in Artisan, Culture, DESIGN, History, Technique by Nidhi Garg 0 Comments

[caption id="attachment_2870" align="alignleft" width="364"]

In 1785 Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf invented the first machine for printing wallpaper, later printing on cotton fabric at his factory in Jouy-en-Josas, hence the prints were known as Toile de Jouy[/caption]

The term 'Toile de Jouy' (meaning, "cloth from Jouy") refers to the printed cotton produced by the Oberkampf textile manufactory at Jouy en Josas in Normandy from 1760 to 1843. It is most often associated with a Rococo pattern of Shepherds and shepherdesses encircled with floral garlands, usually in blue or pink, on a white background. The term is generic and encompasses a wide range of designs from Neoclassical to more generalized floral patterns.

25 Sep Handwoven Diaphanous Muslin, The Story of the World’s Finest Fabric

Posted at 14:17h in Culture, History, Sustainability, Technique, Technology by Mira Gupta 0 Comments

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[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" css=".vc_custom_1601061701764{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column css=".vc_custom_1601056653257{padding-right: 15px !important;}" offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_column_text]Muslin- The word ‘Muslin’ is believed to derive from Marco Polo’s description of the cotton trade in Mosul, Iraq. Another view is that of fashion historian Susan Greene, who wrote that the name arose in the 18th century from mousse, the French word for “foam.” The word is most likely derived from the port of Machilipatnam, called Masulipatnam earlier, from where muslin was exported to South Asia, the Roman Empire, Ethiopia, and Egypt, where it was famously used to wrap mummies. It was often traded for ivory and rhinoceros horn by Greek and Arab merchants.

24 Sep A Humble Origin & Fascinating Stories of Fashionable Madras Checks

Posted at 00:46h in Artisan, Culture, History, Sustainability, Technique by Nidhi Garg 0 Comments

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The Origin of Madras Checks Fabric

Around the 12th century, Madras Checks was a piece of handloom clothing for India's peasant class in the village called Madraspatnam (Madras now Chennai). The local weavers would extract the soft fibers from the "tip-skin" of native trees to weave 36" wide square handkerchiefs, which were then block printed with bright colored check patterns. They were worn as a garment similar to a sarong wrapped around the waist and extending to the ankles, called a lungi.

16 Sep Book Review on Chikankari Embroidery, A Lucknawi Tradition by Paola Manfredi

Posted at 22:07h in Artisan, Culture, Embroidery Series, History, Perspective, Technique by Nidhi Garg 0 Comments

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Chikankari Embroidery, A Lucknawi Tradition.

As I turned the pages of Paola Manfredi’s pioneering book on the past and present of Chikankari Embroidery, one of the most luxurious and evergreen traditional embroideries from the Indian Subcontinent, I feel proud of the culture that has patronized the excellent details and flair for this artistry. Nonetheless, the attention to detail is so nuanced( whether it is a small-cap or a full bodice) that I believe it will be an injustice to the research and images shared in the book if one attempts to discern everything in one read.

11 Sep Natural Dyes – The History of Extraction of Beautiful Plant Pigments

Posted at 18:07h in Culture, Farming, History by Mira Gupta 0 Comments

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08 Sep Matisse’s Art and Textiles. How Textile Stimulated His Creative Powers To A New Pictorial Reality

Posted at 21:57h in Artisan, Culture, DESIGN, History by Nidhi Garg 0 Comments

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MATISSE'S ART AND TEXTILES: Last week, As I was researching the works of artists who found inspiration in textiles, I came across the book ‘Matisse: His Art and His Textiles.’

Matisse had a blood association with textiles as he was born to a family of expert weavers in the French town of Le Cateau-Cambresis and brought up at Bohain-en-Vermandois in Picardy in Northern France. Since the Middle Ages, this region had been the center for manufacturing textiles- linen, wool, and silk. By the end of the nineteenth century, when Matisse was growing up, Bohain was renowned as a luxury fabric producer. - embossed and patterned velvet, tulle, voile, and above all, silk. It was second to none in supplying the top end of the Paris fashion trade.

04 Sep Animal Pigments – the History of extraction of beautiful Natural Pigments

Posted at 13:00h in Artisan, Culture, Farming, History, Sustainability by Mira Gupta 0 Comments

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[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" css=".vc_custom_1599375663374{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_column_text]THE HISTORY OF EXTRACTION OF NATURAL DYES-ANIMAL PIGMENTSCan you imagine a world where all our apparel, our interiors, the objects we use in our daily lives were a uniform white or grey? We take color so much for granted that we cannot imagine that this was the case at the dawn of humanity. As civilizations started flourishing in Asia and Egypt around 2500 BC, the human need for adornment and self-actualization asserted itself in the first use of color.

21 Aug The Story of Indian Calico that changed the world

Posted at 15:35h in Culture, DESIGN, History, Technique by Mira Gupta 3 Comments

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[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" css=".vc_custom_1598046449267{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_single_image image="2351" img_size="full" add_caption="yes" alignment="center" qode_css_animation=""][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" css=".vc_custom_1598038951440{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

The Story of Indian Kalamkari : Imagine a textile that is traditionally hand-painted with a bamboo pen, has a history which goes back 3000 years, and was partly instrumental in India losing her independence. That is Kalamkari, with its Persian root ‘Ghalam’ or pen, and ‘Kari’ or craftsmanship.

Kalamkari in its current form, where resist dyed fabrics are hand painted, is believed to have originated in the 8th century AD, though painted fabrics have been discovered in the Indus Valley Civilisation. This was a time when religious traditions and tales from Hindu mythology were handed down orally by itinerant minstrels, similar to traditions in Europe. Kalamkaris with depictions of tales from Hindu mythology, were a visual aid to these minstrels. In a sense, their purpose was similar to the stained glass of churches in Europe.

16 Aug The Story of Cashmere or Kashmir Shawls

Posted at 13:31h in Artisan, Culture, DESIGN, History, Technique by Mira Gupta 3 Comments

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The Story of the Kashmir Shawl

I have a very early memory of a mouse-coloured shawl my mother had which could go through a large man’s ring. I loved doing this so much the shawl was damaged, much to my mother’s dismay. I know today that this was the shahtoosh, made from the hair of the Chiru antelope, now rightly banned because the Chiru is endangered.

Fortunately, all other Kashmir shawls have more benign origins and we can continue reading about them, marvel at their workmanship, and snuggle into their luxurious warmth if we are lucky enough to own one. In India, shawls are often treated as part of a coming of age ceremony, so a girl getting married might get her first shawl as a present from her parents

13 Aug The Story of Indian Cotton

Posted at 01:25h in Artisan, Cotton Series, Culture, Earth Democracy, Farming, History, Sustainability, Technology by Nidhi Garg 0 Comments

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[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" css=".vc_custom_1597860824004{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_single_image image="2315" img_size="full" add_caption="yes" qode_css_animation=""][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]The Story of Indian Cotton: As we enter the sixth month of the pandemic I sit in disbelief, bewildered at the might of the virus- something that has incredible power but molecularly so small. This destructive virus almost feels like prescience as I consecutively write about how mankind has manipulated the existence of indigenous cottonseed, another ‘small’ yet ‘mighty’ being of nature.

01 Oct Toile de Jouy, the Fabric Symbolic of French Savoir-faire

25 Sep Handwoven Diaphanous Muslin, The Story of the World’s Finest Fabric

24 Sep A Humble Origin & Fascinating Stories of Fashionable Madras Checks

The Origin of Madras Checks Fabric

16 Sep Book Review on Chikankari Embroidery, A Lucknawi Tradition by Paola Manfredi

11 Sep Natural Dyes – The History of Extraction of Beautiful Plant Pigments

08 Sep Matisse’s Art and Textiles. How Textile Stimulated His Creative Powers To A New Pictorial Reality

04 Sep Animal Pigments – the History of extraction of beautiful Natural Pigments

21 Aug The Story of Indian Calico that changed the world

16 Aug The Story of Cashmere or Kashmir Shawls

13 Aug The Story of Indian Cotton

The Discovery of Indian Cotton

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