I'd like to share all the crazy patterns and colors we came across during our trip, not only in India but Myanmar as well. I'll upload more tomorrow! Enjoy!
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Saturday Morning
India is great for still retaining the hand dyers, the printers, and the tailors. And working on Ichcha has brought into light how many things we can do for ourselves utilizing these great tools. Like for example, most of the clothing for the wedding was designed by us and we were the ones running around getting things dyed. Multiple trips were taking to the hand dyer shop in the middle of chaos until we got the correct shade. The dress for the Haldi ceremony was printed at our Block printing community, making it it even more special. We chose the blocks and the placement of each mark. Here are a few pics I'd like to share of our dyeing extravaganza.
Friday, January 3, 2014
A new year
To being the new year, I'd like to recap our latest craft trip merged with a a big fat Indian wedding celebration. The wedding brought on with it, new clothes, family reunions, and loads of awesome new family members.
The trip started with our craze filled trip to old and new block printing facilities. Our trips never get old, something new always keeps us entertained. See for yourself!
Monday, September 30, 2013
A day at the slum
I have been strolling down memory lane and came across my old blog. I found some good shares for our new followers of ICHCHA. This is the first one, I thought I'd share - my day at a slum in New Delhi, India.
Dated: April 2011:
Our day at a slum in New Delhi was very interesting but also very uncomfortable! The majority of the people who lived there are garbage collectors. As soon as we walked into this area, we saw that the people were living side by side with the the garbage, tied in 10 feet+ large white bags! There were uncountable flies everywhere - a very disease prone area! Most of the houses that we saw were concrete, not tents as I had expected. This confirmed that this slum was one of the better slums of India, but a slum nevertheless. I managed to take a few pictures on my iphone:
Avoiding the stares and unnecessary comments of the people, we made our way to this NGO called 'Jan Sandesh' led by Shanti Paswan and Malathi. Jan Sandesh means Message to the People. This is a very small organization that started in 2000 but only started picking up a few years ago. However, even now they make very little things as they don't get a lot of orders. Shanti and Malathi, the two ladies who we met, are working at Jan Sandesh on a volunteer basis, in other words, without any salary. They have employed 30 women from the slum who are willing to work on handicrafts. Shanti told us of various issues when it came to employing the women of these slums. She said that many of these women who are collecting garbage, do not want to do these handicrafts because it is harder and they can make more money collecting garbage in a month than they can by making handicrafts. It's sad and unfortunate, but most of these people want to do nothing but get lot of money. Some other issues that Shanti told us are that some of these women leave after sometime because they get married and go away, or they have no interest in making these handicrafts, or they are simply lazy. I was surprised because I had ignorantly thought that any slum or poor person would happily want to take up "good" work - one that brought them "up". But surprisingly, that is not the case. Shanti and Malathi have to work very hard with these women to convince them to work with the organization!
This organization started by re-using newspaper to make bags. Now they also make textile handicrafts and textile jewelery. It is definitely commendable to see these two women give their time and energy in a slum, which is know to get dangerous as the sun sets - just to make a difference! Below are some of the products they make :
Made from recycled fabric. It's filled with cut up used plastic bags, that would have normally ended up in a landfill.
An IMPORTANT UPDATE about the post above - June 10 2011 (2 months later):I've observed that by searching "Jann Sandesh" or "Shanti Paswan" or "seema puri", a few people have come to this blog. I wanted to share with you my experiences with Jann Sandesh.
In April, after hearing about Jann Sandesh from Shanti Paswan and Malathi, I was very pleased and decided to work with this organization. We(Ichcha) gave them a few designs to work on. However, things didn't end as they started. In fact, they ended soon after we handed them our designs. We were open, but they didn't care to discuss any options. If Jann Sandesh is really what an NGO is supposed to be all about, they should have followed through what they started.
So for those of you who are thinking of working them, please be aware. Sadly, their intentions may not be as social as they seem to portray, after all.
Dated: April 2011:
Our day at a slum in New Delhi was very interesting but also very uncomfortable! The majority of the people who lived there are garbage collectors. As soon as we walked into this area, we saw that the people were living side by side with the the garbage, tied in 10 feet+ large white bags! There were uncountable flies everywhere - a very disease prone area! Most of the houses that we saw were concrete, not tents as I had expected. This confirmed that this slum was one of the better slums of India, but a slum nevertheless. I managed to take a few pictures on my iphone:
Avoiding the stares and unnecessary comments of the people, we made our way to this NGO called 'Jan Sandesh' led by Shanti Paswan and Malathi. Jan Sandesh means Message to the People. This is a very small organization that started in 2000 but only started picking up a few years ago. However, even now they make very little things as they don't get a lot of orders. Shanti and Malathi, the two ladies who we met, are working at Jan Sandesh on a volunteer basis, in other words, without any salary. They have employed 30 women from the slum who are willing to work on handicrafts. Shanti told us of various issues when it came to employing the women of these slums. She said that many of these women who are collecting garbage, do not want to do these handicrafts because it is harder and they can make more money collecting garbage in a month than they can by making handicrafts. It's sad and unfortunate, but most of these people want to do nothing but get lot of money. Some other issues that Shanti told us are that some of these women leave after sometime because they get married and go away, or they have no interest in making these handicrafts, or they are simply lazy. I was surprised because I had ignorantly thought that any slum or poor person would happily want to take up "good" work - one that brought them "up". But surprisingly, that is not the case. Shanti and Malathi have to work very hard with these women to convince them to work with the organization!
This organization started by re-using newspaper to make bags. Now they also make textile handicrafts and textile jewelery. It is definitely commendable to see these two women give their time and energy in a slum, which is know to get dangerous as the sun sets - just to make a difference! Below are some of the products they make :
Made from recycled fabric. It's filled with cut up used plastic bags, that would have normally ended up in a landfill.
An IMPORTANT UPDATE about the post above - June 10 2011 (2 months later):I've observed that by searching "Jann Sandesh" or "Shanti Paswan" or "seema puri", a few people have come to this blog. I wanted to share with you my experiences with Jann Sandesh.
In April, after hearing about Jann Sandesh from Shanti Paswan and Malathi, I was very pleased and decided to work with this organization. We(Ichcha) gave them a few designs to work on. However, things didn't end as they started. In fact, they ended soon after we handed them our designs. We were open, but they didn't care to discuss any options. If Jann Sandesh is really what an NGO is supposed to be all about, they should have followed through what they started.
So for those of you who are thinking of working them, please be aware. Sadly, their intentions may not be as social as they seem to portray, after all.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Our workspace
hello Friends,
I've been spending a lot of time in our little office/studio and thought of sharing it with you guys. It is a special place with little quirky items that bring back memories and a smile to our face. I especially love our newest addition - the block printed scarf on the wall. It takes on a whole different look once you step away from it. It's naturally dyed in Iron water and this one I printed myself!
I've been spending a lot of time in our little office/studio and thought of sharing it with you guys. It is a special place with little quirky items that bring back memories and a smile to our face. I especially love our newest addition - the block printed scarf on the wall. It takes on a whole different look once you step away from it. It's naturally dyed in Iron water and this one I printed myself!
Friday, September 6, 2013
We meet again, Fall
Fall is around the corner. I know..I hear the groans from around the world.
We had a good time soaking in all the sun this summer, watching the sunset, feeling the ocean breeze.
However, now it's time to cuddle up in our cozy fall goodies.
One look at the organic cotton scarf and I'm like, summer who? No, I will still miss summer but I am sure the warm scarves, socks, and boots will make up for it pretty soon. We will meet again next year though!
Until then, revel in the goodness of nature, with the colors changing and the warm coffees setting the mood for a cozy day.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
BRIKA feature!
So proud to share this with everyone!
Ichcha is now available on www.BRIKA.com
You can check out a variety of Hand Block Printed scarves and curtains on their site and for 7 days they are being featured at a special price. Love the site and love the various hand made products featured.
Visit http://www.brika.com/Ichcha for more!
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
NATURAL DYE GARDEN
It's been a while since I blogged about natural dyeing but I think it's time to start again!
My sister and I recently visited the Natural Dye garden started bye the Textile Art Center in Brooklyn. I must say it was truly beautiful.
It's a community garden space that accepts volunteers to come and tend to the plants. It not only has natural dye plants but also vegetables! What more could you ask for.
I participated in the Indigo dye class and will definitely be trying it myself at home now that I have a bit more confidence. The Indigo dye bath has always been a tricky project for me and after my first failure I just never tried again. But, I think that will have to change. I also have lavender in the backyard that I could stock up for some dyeing projects, not to mention the onion skins that are overflowing from the kitchen drawer. It's going to be a fun end to the summer. :)
Till next time, enjoy the pictures of the garden.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
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