A good design blurs the boundaries of disparate disciplines and times. It interweaves narratives from Society/ Art /culture/ Technology/ Psychology and other disciplines and sciences.
For ages now, Architecture has been an inspiration to product design. For instance, the Mughal architectural motifs reflect in the gilded jewellery from that era. This further is seen in a lot of Rajput Jewellery pieces where these aesthetics are shared, signifying the cross cultural influence of design.
From our experience of watching Indian palaces built in the Renaissance period, we can easily map the influence of colonial ruling in them. This has subconsciously settled the idea of the Art Deco architecture and design in the Indian mind. Every age has thus brought with itself the specific material cultures from a new place-- and this settles over time, one layer on top of the other. Much like sediments forming a rock with layers, each gives us a hint of what it meant to be living in those times.
The impact of industrialisation has exposed them to the fast pace of life, music and fashion. It has also got them miles away from their traditional practice of wearing and making bead jewellery. Only a handful find the mention of beaded jewellery exciting and relatable.
To fulfil the needs and wants, many would push them to work as daily wage labourers- Some in nearby towns while others in the adjoining states(Gujarat).
Project homecoming was a part of World Bank initiative wherein we envisioned for the women of the village to be entrepreneurs who could then choose to stay back at home, look after their children and families while also developing fine beaded jewels.
The design were divided in categories:
A: Designs that were not specific to the skillset of the area and were generic in approach to encourage new women to join the skill.
B: For women who were semi skilled but were not neat with their approach. Smaller designs that could be achieved with 2- 3 steps of learning were a solution to this. We would push them to practice it with finesse, ensuring quality. The designs being a few step process and quick to learn would be easy to achieve and gratifying to try more.
C: Further challenging would be to try intricate and elaborate pieces- for the highly skilled artisans to feel challenged and would keep them ambitious.
As time would pass we would shuffle the women in these categories for peer learning and to feel encouraged to try other complex designs.
There was some resistance to take up the bead work. They found it intense and rigorous to the brain. To penetrate through this mindset and to get them the taste the fruits and advantages on taking up the bead work the solution had to be in simplistic repetitive designs (Modular). Where a single unit is repeated and assembled to achieve the final product. Besides it solved other problems-
The artisans could take a sample basic unit to their home to practice and make it from their home. This was allowed for only few who were not in position to report at the center everyday.
Modular designs made it easy to regulate quality while helping reduce the making time for the product.
The entire process helped us know the skill set and interest of every single artisans. We could assess and appoint artisans for the task they did best be it quality check, beading, administration, book keeping monitoring etc.
A happy and "shy" team
]]>2018, Madhubani bihar.
“Aam, paan, Makhaan”, they say for Madhubani. Much like the mango from the Madhubani the language drips with sweetness too. What astonishes is the simple living and the vast imagination . Be it Madhubani art, the ritualistic festivals or the very articulate Sikki grass art. The land of Patliputra has a method to everything they do.
Women gather and in minutes transform the unresponsive walls into expressive murals. Gulabi alta at the feet of women is like those first strokes of colour on the fresh canvass. To put it to imagination; Madhubani is like- The room filled with chatters and as the hands begin to show the magic the chatters are slowly engulfed by the peculiar music from the grass being woven.
It is interesting to hear their stories as to how years back in time they would all in parallel be living their lives in formats and the divisions patriarchy sets for them. Dreamers- timid but persistent and unknown. Today, still the same timid eyes but their art shining bright for them to be identified, recognized and be counted as breadwinner. Redefining the Idea of a working Indian woman.
I was amazed as to how they could precisely understand the complex structures of form and would bring them to reality. The process includes harvesting the grass, dying it in bright hues and then using a single tool "Takua" to weave it in desired forms.
With the project we intended to challenge the ways in which the grass interacts with humans in its scale and usage in a give space. And so The Idea to weave headgears and wearables would be a departure from the usual products as Lamps, screens and furnitures.
Through the project the idea was to blur the boundaries of art, craft and expression. To explore the realm of wearable art.
Heritage, culture, primitive skills thus, in the age of today would help improve the quality of living.
In the times of forced marketing where everything is projected as “much needed” we need to actually bring down our wants to needs.
Our products, technologies needs to be a part of a closed-loop chain.
Observations in the past says anything that has gained interest of the masses has been a result of a perceived fear or a perceived desire. It thus becomes crucial to make “slow” (by slow we mean the organic growth.) a fashionable thing.
At kilchu we are trying to look back at our homegrown materials, techniques with a fresh perspective. The freshness of brand would lie in its authenticity. A reflection of healthy and conscious living. We aim to have conversations with people's intelligence and not just engage them in their frivolousness. Our design language would mostly be holding its ground on simplicity, comfortable and clean dressing.
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