Bringing home old art in the shape of plates, walls

Brightly colored peacocks, tangled flower vines, perky parrots—over the decades, these motifs have become synonymous with Paithani sarees, which celebrate Maharashtra’s rich textile heritage.

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A few months ago, the design team at clothing and lifestyle brand Jaypore had an idea: Why not incorporate woven motifs on fabrics like Paithani into everyday objects like porcelain table- and serve-ware, rustic-style ceramics and floral-print stoneware? be linked to , After three months of research, collecting and recording Paithani designs and discussions with weavers, the team created Sahyadri Valleys, a collection of tea cups, a dessert plate, pasta bowls, placemats and cushions , that celebrate the craft and inform the world. about its prosperity.

‘The team just said why don’t we take our clothes into dinnerware,’ recalls Jaypore’s business head and spokesperson Rashmi Shukla. “We chose Paithani because of its colors and unique motifs.”

Collection of Jeypore, which begins 470 points to a recent trend in the home decor space: more home brands are looking inward and collaborating with artisans to create exclusive products and collections meant to not only beautify homes but It is also to sell the story of India all over the world.

Shukla explains: “People have a heightened sense of pride in India. For a brand like us that is rooted in Indian heritage, this means coming up with collections that introduce customers to more and more heritage crafts, in collaboration with artisans, and present them with our own modern twist .

Anadi, a dinnerware collection recently launched by The Plated Project, tells a similar story. Inspired by the Gond art of Madhya Pradesh, the paintings on each item – from the dinner plate to the kulhad – reflect ancient folklore and motifs. Limited collection of 28 pieces is priced at 29,750.

Explaining the idea behind the new collection, Chitresh Sinha, founder of The Plated Project, says, “More than educating our audience about the history of art, we intend to tell a story that connects with them.” For example, instead of having dinner plates with Gond art, Sinha and his team came up with the idea of ​​creating a special “Din Aur Raat” dinner plate set, depicting a popular Gond legend of the deity Pashupati. The artwork on each of the Day Plate and Night Plate depicts one half of the story.

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Sinha believes that one of the most effective ways to attract people interested in traditional art forms is to create products that are one-of-a-kind. “They make great conversation starters around a dinner table,” he adds.

According to Shukla, such collections also help add more color to the daily routine.

“If you have a paithani saree, you are more likely to keep it closed. But here, with a cup from the collection, you can make the art of Paithani a part of your daily tea-drinking routine,” she says.

When Krishna Mehta started India Circus a decade ago, there were not many homegrown brands in the home decor space. With his brand, Mehta brought vibrant colors and loud quirky prints inspired by the country’s past and present into people’s homes. “When I was studying in America, I could take nothing back as gifts from India except the handicrafts you find in Bombay stores. That was not enough for a country steeped in tradition. The whole idea behind was that I wanted to create products that would make me proud to gift people to India,” says Mehta, founder and design director of India Circus, a brand that regularly sells India-inspired sets of cups. collection. Trays, lunch boxes, wall paper, premium dinner sets and furniture. He is currently working on a one-of-a-kind collaboration. “I recently met someone who makes some of the most beautiful hand-woven makes stoles and shawls,” he shares. “I’m going to give her our designs to weave into stoles.”

Meanwhile, Vasundhara Kumar of the label Earththree worked with an indigenous tribe in Nagaland, whom she met at an expo, to create a new collection of everyday items like trays and tissue boxes called Palmia. 1,200). Made using rattan work, the collection combines ancient technology with the aesthetics of Art-Deco style.

Chirag Vohra, founder of Mason Home, a Mumbai-based luxury home decor store, says such collaborations are beneficial for both the artisans and the brands. The brand has been working with a group of women artisans from Rajasthan for the past three years to create its Indian product range. “We help them reach a market they would not otherwise have access to. Sometimes we give them creative inputs such as ideas for color palettes, designs and raw materials to be used. Undoubtedly, our Profit is the revenue we earn from sales,” he explains.

Be it fashion or home decor and furnishings, India has a focus on all things welcome. The trick lies, as Mehta puts it, in keeping it “different and personable”.

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