29 Apr

Posted at 16:13h in Artisan, Culture, DESIGN, Embroidery Series, History, Sustainability, Technique by
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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_1619725349713{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_column_text]Gota Work or Lappe Ka Kaam

This past year allowed us to work with many embroidery techniques from India, which are traditionally practised as embroideries of gold. A few days ago, when we wrote about one such Embroidery of Gold- Zardozi Embroidery, we received a great response. Therefore we feel encouraged to share more on Indian embroidery techniques from the genre of 'gold.' One such technique is Gota Work or Lappe Ka Kaam. 

23 Apr

Posted at 16:24h in Art, Artisan, Embroidery Series, History, Sustainability, Technique by
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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_1619207173048{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_column_text]Chikankari Embroidery from India - As a child growing up in Lucknow in the 1960s, I recall being dragged along to the stores when my mother and aunts shopped.  Much to my boredom.  Except when we went to the chikankari shops.  Even as a child, I found the gossamer tenderness and transparency of the craft fascinating, and I'm not alone in this.  In 1903, George Watt described it as "the most artistic and delicate form of the indigenous needlework of India."  Laila Tyabji compares it to a dragonfly wing.  

02 Apr

Posted at 11:31h in Cotton Series, Earth Democracy, Farming, History, Sustainability by
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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_1617338351795{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_column_text]Cotton was the primary commodity of the first days of an Industrial production system that changed the world.With the arrival of the British East India Company in India and their overlordship on the cotton manufacturing (among other things) on the Indian Subcontinent, the ever so romantic and prosperous Story of cotton and cotton farmers that I discussed in my earlier post came to an erratic end. 

SEED SELECTION AND GROUND PREPARATION FROM HISTORY OF SUSTAINABLE COTTON

READ MORE ON OUR COTTON SERIESI will talk more about the India story at the end of this article. Let us first look at the Story of cotton in America.

28 Mar

Posted at 15:01h in Artisan, Culture, DESIGN, Embroidery Series, History, Sustainability, Technique by
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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_1616956674552{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_column_text]If there is any embroidery that is solely in the realm of women, it is phulkari, and that too the women of Punjab.  Translating to 'flower work,' it is vital in the history and culture of its state of origin, steeped in its history, its customs, and rites of passage ceremonies. More than any other embroidery of India, it is significant- less for commercial reasons and more for the insight it offers into women's lives historically. 

15 Mar

Posted at 16:05h in Cotton Series, Earth Democracy, Farming, Sustainability, Technique by
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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_1615836859728{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_column_text]Sustainable Cotton: As I turn through the pages of the book 'A Frayed History. The Journey of Cotton in India'. I find nuggets of great information, which I plan to compile and share succinctly in a series of articles starting with this one. Cotton, the wonder fiber, was at the start of history, found in two parts of the world—India, and Peru, as has been inferred from the study of old inscriptions and arts. Sir George Watt, a Scottish Botanist who worked in India as a reporter on botany, has shared very early research that says cotton was considered sacred in India. In those times, the word used for cotton was 'karpasi.' The sacred threads of a Brahman were made of 'karpasi' to put on over his head in three strings.

21 Feb

Posted at 21:22h in Art, Culture, History, Sustainability, Technique by
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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_1613962117888{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_column_text]Persian Carpets: There is something about the Persian carpet that makes it the most potent and symbolic of all textiles.  Of course, it's just a floor covering, so why has it made its way into art, poetry, music, and fashion? Delving into the history and the marvelous workmanship may answer these questions.  

31 Jan

Posted at 01:16h in Art, Culture, History, Sustainability by
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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_1612074858499{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_column_text][caption id="attachment_3565" align="alignleft" width="368"]NATURAL INDIGO DYE INTERESTING GLOBAL HISTORY IN BRIEF The Singh Twins painting of the story of indigo, showing both its value as well as the suffering caused[/caption]NATURAL INDIGO DYE: Blue is the color of the sky and the sea.  It is the color of the sapphire and the tanzanite. It is a color we take so much for granted when we wear our denim and fleece that we forget that at one time, it was worth its weight in gold, worn only by the richest and royal. Indeed it was called Blue Gold.  It also has a turbulent history associated with famine, slavery, and human suffering.

08 Jan

Posted at 15:25h in Art, Artisan, Culture, DESIGN, History, Sustainability, Technique by
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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_1610085540880{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_column_text]Textile Crafts of Japan : I had a pink hand-painted pajama set as a child, which came in an artful box, with the inside flap mirrored and beribboned. I loved this so much I never actually wore it but pulled it out at intervals to admire it. This was my first exposure to the miracle of Japanese crafts.

02 Oct

Posted at 15:28h in Artisan, Culture, DESIGN, Sustainability, Technique by
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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"][vc_column][vc_column_text]Textiles of Africa [caption id="attachment_2947" align="alignleft" width="380"]THE MATERIALS & PROCESSES RELATED TO THE CULTURAL TEXTILES OF AFRICA A Kuba chief in formal attire. Note the cut pile border. Image from The Worldwide History of Dress.[/caption]Textiles of Africa occupy a unique spot in the history of world textiles: Their use ranges from clothing, tent awnings, wall hangings, and bed covers: they also indicate the wealth of the owner, and in many cases, his social standing and possessions.  Historically, textiles in Africa have also been used as currency. Therefore it is a pity that most western perception of this genre centers on its 'craft.’ Of course, African textiles are craft-based, but they are so much more than that.  Africa is a massive continent, with immense cultural and geographical diversity, so the only way to examine its textile traditions in such an article is to divide the elements under heads:

25 Sep

Posted at 14:17h in Culture, History, Sustainability, Technique, Technology by
1 Like
[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. 
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