The sumptuous textiles of master weaver Firdose Ahmad Jan are beloved for their exquisite patterning and unparalleled softness. Extending a centuries-old artistic tradition, Jan, who lives and works in Kashmir, India, believes strongly in the historical integrity and rich background of his artistic practice, which, after all, is believed to have first started in this…
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Since the 8th century C.E., India’s Bengal region has produced elaborately conceived and meticulously woven cloth traditionally used to make wraps and covers for protection and comfort. Over time, thrift made its mark in this tradition with women mending much loved and much used fabrics with threads plucked from fraying saris and other fabric –…
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Master artisan Silpinwita Das partially grew up in Santiniketan, in a landscape she describes as “red soil, and meadows of lush green paddy fields, where rows of chhatim trees and palms charmed me from the very beginning.” Das grew up watching her father, textile artisan Ajit Kumar Das, absorbing his process and passion while forging…
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As a little girl, Shalini Karn and her siblings lived with their grandparents so their own parents could work. Karn was studious and dedicated to art-making from a young age, eventually receiving a scholarship to attend college, where she studied art. Each of Karn’s designs takes careful planning. Once she decides on a subject, she…
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Ramesh Virji Mangariya and his team of artisans make luxuriously soft, exquisitely designed scarves using Kala cotton, indigenous to India’s Kutch region in the western part of the country. One of the oldest kinds of cotton in the world, dating back to 3,000 B.C., this special varietal requires no pesticides, and for centuries was used…
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According to the artists behind painting collective Mahalaxmi Das, their work “is a combination of common and uncommon things.” Their work is created with resplendent and staggering complexity, and fantastic detail. Artists Shantanu and Mahalaxmi most often paint in the Madhubani style, which originated in Bihar, specifically in the Mithila region, which is in the…
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Avani Earthcraft was founded in 1997 by Rashmi Bharti and her husband Rajnish Jain in Tilonia, Rajasthan, a town in Northwestern India. For over 20 years, Avani has revived traditional textile methods of hand-spinning, hand-weaving, and natural dyeing. Many of these traditional techniques came from the Shauka community. The Shaukas, a nomadic group, specialized in…
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Expert textile artist Angana Bordoloi maintains a generations-spanning weaving technique to make a range of products that exemplify ancient traditions of the Mishing tribal people, who have lived in northeastern India for centuries. Bordoloi grew up in Assam, where India’s handloom culture remains especially popular. “Since childhood,” she maintains, “I’ve been nurturing a dream of…
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Master bandhani textile artisan Abdulbashir Fakirmamad Khatri hails from a family of weavers in Bhuj, India. “While studying in college,” recalls Khatri, “I learned bandhani from my uncle, and also through experimenting on my own.” In his early twenties, the precocious artist had already established a bustling textile workshop, where he managed and worked alongside…
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During her nearly three decades in India, Jenny Housego, textile historian, designer and co-founder of the Kashmir Loom Company, has ventured across the country to sit with weavers and embroiderers to forge new ways of combining traditional craftsmanship with contemporary designs. In Srinagar, the scenic capital of the Indian province of Kashmir, master craftsmen at…
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Hyderabad, India-based textile collective Ereena makes strikingly beautiful textiles. Using a type of ancient silk called “eri,” the group produces luxurious, sophisticated items suitable for a range of uses. Additionally, Ereena has provided steady work—and income—to thousands of talented artisans since its inception, while also renewing interest in an age-old artistic technique. Jamdani weaving yields…
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Designer Anupama Bose is a native of Rajasthan, India, but for nearly twenty years, the bustling city of Jaipur has been her home. Bose’s richly colored, dynamically designed saris are informed by tradition and professional training at India’s National Institute of Design. Bose incorporates block and vegetable printing with traditional methods of sari construction. In…
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In the urban Mumbai community of East Andheri, India, time-honored connections to the materials and processes that produce natural dyes for vibrant Indian silks and cottons have long been lost to the ease and accessibility of chemical colorants. In 2008, however, Rupa Trivedi, an ultrasonic engineer, set out to reclaim the power of natural plants…
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