Tag: handmade

The Source | Bombay Paperie

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Walk in to gape at the massive antique wooden table right in the centre with all paper products on display – as if it were an island on its own; stacks of paper lined on the sides and graded by colour – as if gazing at a rainbow so near;  colonial architecture holding various exhibits of paper and paper products – as if to belong together; further in (by this time I have already decided my favourite spot) to the back and then to the corner is a dedicated section flaunting images of the craftsmen at the mill, their work in progress and a showcase of the different processes in the making of the paper – as if inside a museum making a connection felt through the story they are trying to tell —- Bombay Paperie – where paper is made without cutting trees and sold planting just love.

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More than just clay- MITTY |Source|

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“My inclination is more towards teaching people and its more about my hobby and interest rather than the sale.”

For any history student – like me, the first connection you will probably make when you come across shelves of unglazed earthenware and hand sculpted art pieces are the chapters on the Indus Valley and Harappan civilisations! and then start to think about how ancient the traditional craft of pottery is… what its roots are? how has it evolved over the years? why we don’t come across enough people who practice/teach it?….and how it is the most underrated art form!!

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#DidYouKnow taking up pottery has numerous benefits? Other than being a wonderful creative outlet there are dozens of physical and mental advantages from expressing oneself by creating something that requires full concentration and focus on the activity itself. It helps with the sensory development and motor skills for the young and is beneficial to those prone to arthritis in the hands as it promotes joint movement and dexterity. Pottery also works as a super de-stress agent and is often described as being therapeutic and relaxing…….

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Fine handworked linen for the home: DIT STORE |SOURCE|

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“Has this shop always been here?!” I mumbled while trying to recall as I walked into the small, quaint store. Looking at all the exquisite linen products, i felt like i was stepping into my grandmother’s cherished linen closet, not a store at Colaba causeway. I have spent a large chunk of my college days roaming around causeway making it my second home and having wonderful memories with friends, food and shopping at every corner!  So imagine my surprise when I was recommended this store by colleagues (while working on a film) who are not even originally from this city… it is one of the things I value most about what we do, sourcing these fine old gems everywhere we go.

DIT was established in 1942 by Mrs. Josephine Mendes who began her career as a seamstress at the store and managed it all the way through her 90’s! why call it DIT? “Well it was mom’s pet name ” explains her son Frank who now runs things here. He was a commercial pilot back in the day and swooped in to help Mrs Mendes at the shop when things at home started to go south.  Mr.Frank loves reminiscing about the old days.. talking about everything from his friends and family, to his travels around the world and how fabulously his mother used to dress up the store windows.

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Defining Spaces: Bead Curtains |The Source|

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If you don’t already know, I work on art directing confined spaces and locations to their best potential use, and style them to suit a script/ character of a film or advertisement. The biggest challenge always is space division and the only thing that gets me thinking over and over and over again.

I like to believe I have the space planning part nailed, though creating a great depth, function and connect of one area to the other by experimenting with newer options is what keeps me in check. While we can use different styles of screens, glass doors, furniture, drapes, lights, sculptures etc. to divide and define spaces; Glass Bead Curtains are on my hit list these days because I just LOVE the way they catch the light and glisten up like a perfect tease to a space. It is a pleasant layer that allows privacy yet a subtle disconnect.

As beautiful as this may sound it is an uphill task to source bead curtains to the right dimensions and style. And if you want to make them on your own – local wholesale markets like Pydhoni in Bombay (Mumbai) help, but its just tedious to get ‘glass’ beads in this china made world that we live in and then to string them together! – don’t even want to get to that……

This week MMT introduces you to “Memories of A Butterfly “ by Sreeti Mondol who says that it is a simple and malleable concept – the bead curtain.

What we love about bead curtains is that they not only allow for a play with color, light and texture, but also enable us to create natural connectors between spaces. They have the ability to create privacy without disconnecting an area from the rest of the house, office, bar or restaurant. - Memories of a Butterfly

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One should note that all designs by MOAB are hand-made and every piece is customized so as to suite the clients’ design and functional needs! Sreeti surely has created an edge by exploring extensively, in style, material, dimensions and design. The variety of materials used includes– Pure Glass, Crystal, Australian Shell, Bone, Treated PVC, Stained or Sprayed Acrylic, Acrylic Crystal and Wood, just to name a few.

You can work along MOAB to design a bead screen to your tastes or better, just pick from her creations to suit your space. MMT’s favorite is the BlueGreen MOSAIC Glass Bead Curtain because of its intricate and modern design. Her other designs include, ‘Moroccan Blue’, ‘Bold Polka’, ‘Champagne Gold’, ‘Glass Crystal Multicolored’, ‘Pomegranate Gold’, ‘SeaBlueGreen Aztek’, ‘Topaz Leaf’, ‘Acrylic Crystal’s’ and ‘Chandelier Decor’.

View much more and contact Sreeti Mondol – Director and Principal Designer for Memories of a Butterfly through her facebook page linked here and/or her website www.memoriesofabutterfly.com; having been at this for almost a decade, you can be sure to find the advise and help you need from Sreeti.

BLOCK AND PRINT – not just a clothing dye. |Inspiration|

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I have always thought the beauty of block printing lies in its tedious process - the detailed designing of the patterns, carving of the blocks, layering of colors and of course the history of its artisans!

Even though block printing is a widely known art of printing on fabrics and textiles not many are aware of its extensive use on wallpapers and leather products. In-fact block printing was the standard method of producing wallpaper until the early 20th century and is still used by a few traditionalist firms.

I happened to stumble upon an enlightening video on the Victoria and Albert Museum website that inspired me to write this post and share my two bits.
The V&A video shows the woodblock printing process William Morris went through to create some of his timeless wallpaper designs; for this pattern he used 30 different blocks, 15 colors and took about 4 weeks to complete the entire printing process!!!
(Sharing a few screenshots for a quick scroll but I encourage you all to watch the full video – linked above.)

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