Last month I did a guest post for The Handmade Co about my process and experience of working for Aham Bhumika - an NGO in Bhopal. Here is the link for the post.
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Aham Bhumika is an NGO based in Bhopal - working on
education and women empowerment for over 3 years. They have skill trained 40+
women in hand embroidery in the outskirts of Bhopal. Embroidery as a skill and
a method of making; requires least investment. Wonders are embroidered with a
single needle, thread and a piece of cloth.
Two years ago when I crossed path with the founder of
Aham Bhumika, I was overwhelmed by the quality of embroidery and dedication
towards the “handmade” concept. They were looking for design inputs to enhance
their product line.
Design is not a discipline; it is a way of life – is what
I followed while working on project Aham Bhumika.
My idea of a good product is – good material, proper process,
right detailing, optimum design and colour. Textile design is more of what you
touch and feel than what you see.
Streamlining fabric sourcing and pre-processes of
embroidery and utilizing existing fabric is what I started with. The result of
this was a small collection of zipper pouches named EYE CANDY.
Ranging from local inspiration of Gond Art to global
inspiration like Sashiko and Otomi embroideries, I made sure that design is
process driven and is as cohesive as possible. It is a need of hour for craft
design to have global aspirations along with a strong local foundation.
The fun part of working with crafts is the hands-on approach it demands to achieve desired outcome.
1 comment:
Hi Aarti! Stumbled on the beautiful blog while I was surfing the net over my pet obsession Shillong. I have stayed many years in the NE, over a year at Shillong. Loved the poetry, the hand made paper it's typed on and the Remington (hope not result of morphing). And then my son shuttles between Ahmedabad and Bhopal. Some great ideas, like the collages made out of electronic waste! My blog is called IndrayaniKaathi.com. Hope to follow you.
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