It stays with you when the seasons change a familiar length of cloth. It covers you when the sun is bold and warms you on cool evenings.
It is masterfully made, a song of dexterity and skill and all the plans that weavers make for the future. That it can say all this in simple threads ingeniously tangled is kind of a miracle.
Hand painting cloth with natural dyes is an ancient practice in India, known as kalamkari—which translates to “pen work.” The freedom to place natural colour in a painterly way requires considerable skill and natural dye knowledge.
Traditional embroidery has always had a role in the world. It has always been a visual statement of skill. It has always been an expression of beauty. It has always worked to transform a plain piece of cloth into something extraordinary.
These jackets are made from beautiful kantha quilts. Favourite prints, saris, and beloved lengths of cloth are stitched together with plain and coloured threads.
We use natural dyes extensively in our own production. This is the best way to know how a dye behaves and to see the changes that happen from harvest to harvest.
