ETSY Shades of Grey

The sound of stillness

Brilliant Purse Organizers !

So, how many of us have rumbled through our purses ?!  I know I have! Its annoying to look for my phone, when it's ringing mercilessly or to look for keys when you are standing right outside your home!  And I've always wanted something to organize my purse!  And then someone came up with something that looks like this and many variations of the same:

$59.00
From Plaid Doctrine

While some may prefer the above, it fell short of a few things that were my requirements.  One, with this kind of organizer, I was limited to big purses only!  Secondly, when I went with my friends for a night out, I had to pick out from the purse organizer, the necessary credit cards, cash, keys, my license and my phone!  And it would be such a hassle to remember to put it back into my purse bag for work the next day!  So, I decided to create an organizer that
1. organized everything
2. is movable from my work purse to my party clutch, and
3. is small enough to fit any size purse, and
4. could close to prevent things from falling out

and lo and behold:
a set of 3 :-
S - this smallest size has 5 pockets that can separately hold the cash, the cards, the phone, the keys and some makeup too and most importantly it is small enough to transfer into a party clutch !
M - this size is good to hold papers floating around in your bag, books, makeup, receipts, etc. This has 2 pockets.
L - the largest can hold an IPAD, books, chargers and it has 7 separate pockets for eye glasses, sunglasses, pens, etc,

$55.00
From Ichcha

$55.00
From Ichcha

Details:
Transferable & Small - Easily move the smallest size from your work purse to your party clutch and back to your work purse!
Keep it opened or closed - These all have zips so you can either keep it opened if you like to see everything, or closed, if you don't like to see the clutter.
Professional - So what if it's inside the purse! It doesn't need to look ugly, just because no one else is looking in!  Made in tweed, it give a professional look.

And the bonus is that it is cheaper for so much more!  Why wouldn't anyone want one?
Found at --> http://www.ichcha.com

So the journey continues to our final destination, Karnataka.

Along with work, we had time for a little bit of playing. Check out Hampi! It is spectacular! An ancient empire ruin, still untouched, spread across acres of land. The bright blue sky truly made the view amanzing. I hope you enjoy and one day get a chance to go visit it yourself. Highly recommended.

Part 2 - a bit of inspirational tour

Our adventure in Jodhpur brought us to new artisans and a little bit of sightseeing. 

Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan

Words are too less to describe it's awesomeness.

See for yourself.

Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

City of Jodhpur, Rajasthan

2013 - Travels Through the Streets of India Part 1

Travel through the streets of India, face the reality of the world, and soak up the treasures of an ancient country. Each year our trip starts off with anxious nerves and excitement of new cities as well as old friends. Soon, without knowing it, the time is up and we're packing up our goodies for our way back home. And now we unveil all we saw to you, our friends. ENJOY!

The beginning...

 

Working on the next round of inspiration! Will share them shortly. 

Sale at Ichcha

Hi Everyone! We're coming out of our hibernation period. Winter markets were good and now we're preparing for our next trip to India to work on our next collection. Loads of new prints and handmade products to look forward to. In the meantime, we're going through our inventory and putting up a sale as a THANK YOU to everyone's support in 2012.

The curtains are hand block printed with natural dyes. The natural dyes come from Indigo, Pomegranate skins, Flowers, Leaves, barks, and other natural products found in nature. They hang beautifully in homes, letting in the natural sunlight. The colors change through the day as the sun rises and sets.

There are two types of scarves. Block printed as well as embroidered. Both are hand made and carry with them the story of the artisan who helped create them. They are a product of an artisans love in his/her art.

Other various goodies include purse organizers for those who need some organization in their purses! This also comes in handy when you switch your bags a lot, the smallest pouch can go from your day work purse to your night clutch without the hassle. Our necklaces are all handmade with recycled fabric! They're so cute worn with any outfit and feel comfortable against your skin.

Thank you again 2012 for such a good year. We hope 2013 is just as good as you!

Ichcha Holiday 2012

 The Holidays are here! Which means: family, presents, food, and shopping! 

I don't know but as soon as we cross over Thanksgiving, the need to buy warm and fuzzy things for friends and family kicks in. I have been browsing handmade and ethically produced shops to see what good I can be a part of. I'm sure the presents that I buy will be valued because of the love and thought that went into creating those products. 

December also means MARKET TIME. This time you'll be able to buy products from ICHCHA at various markets throughout the city. We'll be updating if any last minute additions are made but for now the list is this: 

December 9 - LANGE EYLANDT MARKET

December 16 and December 17 - ARTISTS & FLEAS

December 22 and 23 - HESTER HOLIDAY MARKET

Christmas in NYC wouldn't be complete without the handmade markets throughout the city. Make sure you get out to see all they have to offer. Till next time, keep warm and drink lots of hot tea! 

Pics from ARTISTS AND FLEAS. We had a great time meeting Brooklyn artists. The place has a good combination of design and creativity. The market takes place every weekend by the waterfront.

DIY Block Printing!

Today, I came across this BLOG POST.  I was very happy to see that more and more people are appreciating and encouraging the block printing process.  The post shows that there are simple ways to the more involved ways of block printing. 

The block printers we work with in India, do the more involved process as that is what has been done for the past 3 generations.  And it is a family honor that they have to, and want to, keep.  Their simplest process includes (1) first create the resist (which is a few hours manual job!), (2) print with the resist, (3) then they create a dye using flowers, spices, barks, basically anything from nature (4) then they put the fabric in that dye, (5) next they wash the fabric 2-3 times to remove the resist (6) and the last step is to dry it under the hot sun! It gets more involved when several colors or even different colors need to be made and dyed in! 

But this post in "apartment therapy" shows how anyone can block print at home via the simple methods.  Of course, the difference to note is that the DIY simple projects use paints for block printing, not natural dyes.  Read the Blog Post for yourself !

To compare, here are pictures of some of the steps that is involved in dyeing with natural dyes

Dyeing in natural dye

Drying

Believe it or not, he is making the RESIST!