Match Box

Shailee AdkeTextile DesignDiploma Project Documentation

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

background

project proposal

an introduction to aari

init ial ideas

inspiration

artisans’ participation

some motifs

prototyping

final products

feedback from panel

a new beginning

survey results

mood boards

paper iterations

fabric iterations

product patterns

product layouts

prototyping

final products

references

credits

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contents

background

Between August 2008 and September 2009, IIMB

conducted a year long study with 100 poor families in

the urban slums of Ramanagaram. Entitled ‘The Financial

Diaries of the Poor,’ the study tracked the daily cash

inflows and outflows of these families. According to the

study, most of these families are indebted to several

creditors and have very little means of livelihoods. Very

few individuals are permanent employees, working as

sweepers with the municipal corporation, for instance.

Others work as temporary or contract workers with private

or government agencies and have no security benefits.

Of the 100 households in Ramanagaram who participated

in the study, there are 20 families who are skilled in

embroidery - a traditional skill of women belonging to

Muslim families in this area. Many girls embroider intricate

designs on their bridal trousseaus. IIMB saw potential

to upgrade the skills of these traditional crafts persons,

expand the range of their designs and products and create

niche markets for them or provide them links with existing

markets to provide sustainable livelihoods for them.

IIMB approached Srishti with a project which involved

training the women from in ‘aari’ embroidery and producing

accessories with surface embroidery for a niche market.

Since I have always had a keen interest in both ‘embroidery’

and ‘accessory design’ and I also have the required skills,

I chose to work on this project in collaboration with IIMB.

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project proposal

INTRODUCTION:

My graduating diploma project as a student of Textile Design in Srishti

School of Art Design and Technology is part of a larger and long term project

- a collaboration between Srishti and the Indian Institute of Management,

Bangalore (IIMB).

IIMB had already chosen Ramanagaram as their site of study and development.

They discovered that the women in Ramanagaram are traditionally skilled in

embroidery and wanted to explore ways and means whereby their present skill

sets could be harnessed and accentuated into livelihood opportunities for the

families of these women.

My initial idea for the diploma project was to design textiles-based accessories

using embroidery, which coincided with IIMB’s project brief and hence I chose

to work on this project

OBJECTIVE:

My project involves a group of women in the urban slums of Ramanagaram,

who are traditionally skilled in embroidery, more specifically trained in ‘ari’

embroidery. My objective is to enhance their skills through participative

methodologies and design facilitation in order to develop accessories that I aim

to design for the contemporary market.

I plan to design specific accessories with surface embroidery, namely jewelry,

pouches, handbags, belts, scarves/stoles, footwear, etc. for a specific target

audience as part of a collaborative process of co-creation with the Ramanagaram

women embroiderers.

The women in Ramanagaram currently have a limited target audience, which

consists of buyers only in and around Ramanagaram. My contribution to

their practice would be to expand their possibilities so that they can cater to

customers in urban spaces like Bangalore and other big cities.

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CONTEXT AND MOTIVATION:

For me, the products I hope to design working alongside the Ramanagaram

women must emerge both from context and process. The biggest context, of

course, is the Indian economy and the strides it has been making in recent

times in terms of it being integrated into the global economy. In the times we

live in both the global and national economies are being increasingly driven by

what are called the ‘creative industries’ which are in turn looking to “design

thinking and processes” to bring about innovations in a variety of sectors. In

this context, the United Nations Development Program suggests that creativity

and culture-linked industries were more resilient to the economic crisis that

exploded in 2008.

“The report, titled Creative Economy: A Feasible Development Option, examined

40 case studies from developing countries between 2002 to 2008 which ranged

from Africa’s fashion industry to South America’s soap operas, from India’s

Bollywood to Nigeria’s Nollywood, and from Jamaican reggae to Argentina’s

tango. It found that creative industries not only have the potential to help

developing countries diversify their economies, but that they are also one of

the most dynamic sectors of the world economy. Defining creative industries

as “cycles of creation, production and distribution of goods and services that

use creativity and intellectual capital as primary inputs,” the report shows that

while international trade slumped 12%, global exports of creative goods and

services increased more than twofold to $592 billion in 2008 from 2002, when

the figures were first measured.”

I have cited the above to point out that creativity, design thinking and process

and innovation today is also linked to both the equity and prosperity of different

communities with a view to preserving and enhancing the unique creative

capabilities and potentials embedded in the culture of such communities.

These communities, like the Ramanagaram women skilled in ari embroidery,

as an creative artisanal community, must be so empowered and integrated into

emerging business and innovation models so that it fulfills what the report

mentions: “it has been widely recognized that culture not only is an integral part

of the country’s development strategy, but also generates income, employment

and export earnings.”

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I have been interested in the empowerment of artisanal and craft communities

throughout my period of study in Srishti which provides opportunities for

students to encounter and work in such an environment with the intention of

both preserving cultural heritage and unique craft skill sets and also how to

provide these to the community’s advantage in the emerging market spaces. My

interest in facilitating such a process as a young designer goes back to some of

my earlier projects.

1: Internship with Kumaon Grameen Udyog (KGU)– CHIRAG, Uttarakhand

(May-June 2009)

I designed stitched products out of waste fabric at KGU as a part of their

livelihood support and marketing programme--

At KGU, I was taught how to use a sewing machine for simple stitching. I

designed products which required very basic stitching since the women involved

had very limited stitching skills. I stitched the prototypes myself and asked

them to replicate them. I made pouches, bags, potpourri pouches, fabric toys,

and quilts for babies. I also held a one-week workshop with the ARC (Adolescent

Resource Center) and taught basic embroidery and crochet techniques to group

of adolescent girls.

2: Project with Upasana Design Studio, Auroville (Jan-Feb 2009)

I designed motifs and patterns to be woven as a part of Upasana’s ‘Varanasi

Weavers’ project which aims at reviving the craft of weaving and the upliftment

of weavers at Varanasi--

I did not get a chance to meet the weavers in Varanasi, but worked at the design

studio at Auroville. I used my basic knowledge about ‘weaving’ and ‘repeat

patterns’ that I had learned in Srishti and the styles of ‘motif families’ that I

gathered from the research and training at Upasana.

I designed motifs and patterns for running material for children’s wear. My

collection was inspired by ‘insects’ and included 3 families namely ‘bees,’

ladybugs’ and ‘caterpillars.’

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I have also received some directions from reading the works of those who have

worked hard to preserve and encourage the tapping of the potential in the crafts

sector in India – minds like Ashoke Chaterjee, Poonam Kasturi and Rajiv Sethi.

As an Indian, I want to be part of sustaining the unique and varied cultures of

craftsmanship found across communities in India. Interestingly enough, a large

part of these crafts traditions are located in the textile medium which is my first

source for both inspiration and action.

In 2000 Ashoke Chaterjee, Distinguished Fellow, NID, made out a case for

Design for Development: Restoring People to the Centre of Design Education &

Practice, where he states:

“Other opportunities too have emerged. These include movements for the

empowerment of women and for consumer protection, the new respect for the

knowledge and wisdom of indigenous tradition, the revival of crafts world-wide,

the search for alternative patterns of income generation and employment to

meet the needs of expanding populations, the growing respect for institutions

and professions that have a capacity for inter-disciplinary team-work, and the

search for values more enduring than their brand-names. Each of these is a

potential partnership for ‘design for development’. India is in a unique position,

and has a unique responsibility, to demonstrate design as an indispensable

force for development. It has traditional value systems, linked to systems of

learning and production that identify quality in human terms.”

In her ‘The India Report – Revisited’ – a position paper presented at the

Development by Design workshop at the Media Lab MIT 2002, Poonam

Kasturi, another advocate for livelihoods for artisans and empowerment of their

communities wrote:

‘’The Government of India set up the National Institute of Design in 1961

based on the recommendation of “The India Report” a document submitted by

the late Charles and Ray Eames. Over the years it has done pioneering work in

different areas of design. One of its most successful development projects was

the adoption for development of a group of villages in Rajasthan. Working in

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collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad the project

was a successful experiment that underlined the necessity of approaching the

concept of development in an integrated manner. But this is all in the past.’’

I believe that it was not “all in the past”. Several fresh initiatives in the

crafts-based textile field pertaining to design intervention, facilitation and

empowerment of crafts communities and artisans have been made across the

country by alumni of Srishti (Smita Moorthy with ANT) and institutions like

Dastakar, Anubha Sood and Rajiv Sethi.

Anubha Sood, a graduate in Social Policy and Planning in Developing Countries

from the London School of Economics, talks about ‘Crafts as Sustainable

Livelihood Option in Rural India’:

‘’The handicrafts sector is a home-based industry which requires minimum

expenditure, infrastructure or training to set up. It uses existing skills and

locally available materials. Income generation through craft does not disturb

the cultural and social balance of either the home or the community. Many

rural communities depend on their traditional craft skills as a secondary source

of income. Their skills in embroidery, weaving, basket-making are a natural

means to social and financial independence. Craft is basically a commercial

activity. In order to make a living from craft production, the artisan needs to

sell his/her products regularly, realize a viable income from each sale and be

assured of regular sales in the future. Production for home consumption is

radically different from production for a commercial market. Given changing

and competitive markets, the traditional craft skill, however beautiful, needs

sensitive adaptation, proper quality control, correct sizing and accurate costing,

if it is going to win and keep a place in the market. In other words the right

combination of human, financial, physical and social capital is essential.”

Or there was the proposal, driven by Rajiv Sethi, to set up new ministerial

‘Department for Artisans’ to provide “focused attention” to “particularly the

marginalized cross-section of society” and “fine-tune several ministries to

concentrate on their core activity rather than peripheral issues sapping their

energies.”

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But wherever and whoever takes this approach, as a design student I am

interested in the track that is emerging. The IIMB project is one of many such

approaches and tracks and has therefore interested me.

PROCESS AND METHODOLOGY:

The IIMB-Srishti project is expected to be rolled out over a long term and my

project forms only a tiny part of it, it plays a role in setting the ball rolling within

a given framework of time. In fact, it is decided that my project will serve as a

“test” for the long-term goal of using design thinking and processes to create

sustainable livelihoods for a marginalized community of textile-based artisans

who also belong to a marginalized community and gender.

The aspect of the project with which I am involved will be a participatory

approach that will focus on collaboration and co-creation with the women.

Facilitation and hopefully true empowerment, transfer of conceptual and other

skills will take place and the women themselves understand and incorporate by

doing ‘design process.’ This should bring them to higher levels of confidence

in themselves, in the design process, in their visualization capabilities, in the

expansion of their skills and in the expansion of their product sets in terms

of both range and refinement without any loss of their original essence. The

products that emerge from this effort will be tested in a specific market.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

1 – Embroidery (and crafts in general) is a means of expression. There are

certain stories that the designs hold, which have values. How do I induce this

sensitivity in the artisans and help them bring out these stories and values to

the market in the form of embroidered products?

2 – How do I create an identity for these artisans in the present contemporary

context? How strongly will their products represent their contemporary identity

which is located in their past?

3 – What does it mean to provide someone with a livelihood opportunity? How

do we help them understand the importance of sustaining this opportunity?

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4 – How do I make the artisans understand what the market needs, and how do

I bridge the gap between them and the consumer?

5 – How do I explain and impart ‘design process’ to the artisans? How do I

help them develop a ‘visual vocabulary’ for themselves and enter an iterative

process? How will this affect their traditional process?

6 – How is my role as a design facilitator important to the artisans and to the

project?

7 – How can I use participatory methods to make this process more fun and

enriching for me and for the artisans?

8 – How is awareness about ‘design’ and exposure to ‘market’ going to change

the artisans’ way of thinking?

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

- Understanding ‘interaction between design students and artisans for product

development’

- Understanding my role as a ‘design facilitator’

- Designing for niche/premium market segments

- Learning about publicity and marketing of products

- Learning about costing of products

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REFERENCES:

‘Ramanagaram Financial Diaries’ - Rajalaxmi Kamath, Arnab Mukherji, Smita

Ramanathan (IIMB)

‘Creative Industries Fared Well During Recession’ - Diksha Sahni

‘Design for Development’ - Ashoke Chatterjee (Playn’ Speak Library)

‘India Report Revisited’ - Poonam Bir Kasturi

‘Craft as Sustainable Livelihood Option in India - Anubha Sood (Craft Revival

Trust)

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an introduction to ‘aari’

Aari embroidery is done primarily by the Muslim cobbler

community in India. The zari thread or the metallic thread

is quite commonly used in this style of embroidery. It is

done with colored silk or cotton thread as well.

The word ‘aari’ comes from the hooked needle used in the

embroidery called the ‘aar.’ It is similar to the one used by

cobblers and in crochet. Aari looks like a fine chain stitch.

A frame called the ‘adda,’ usually made of wood or bamboo

is used. The fabric is stretched across the frame and tightly

secured by stitching and tying. The design is traced and

holes are punched using a needle along the design on the

tracing paper.Then a paste of chalk poweder and kerosene

is rubbed over it onto the fabric. The paste seeps through

the holes on to the fabric creating a mark on it. Once the

design is traced on the fabric, the embroidery begins.

THE ‘AARI’ PROCESS:

Punching the traced design with a

needle or pointed device

Stretching the fabric across the frame

and securing it tightly

Rubbing a paste of chalk powder and

kerosene over the punched design

The traced design on the fabric

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Embroidery in process Cutting off extra threads from behind

Rubbing diluted glue over the

embroidered fabric from behind

Removing the finished fabric

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STEPS SHOWING THE EMBROIDERY PROCESS:

The hook is inserted through the fabric with the right hand while the thread is

held onto the hook in the left hand under the fabric

Then it is brought to the front, without letting go of the thread in the left hand.

The hook is rotated 180 degrees

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The hook is inserted a short distance ahead on the stitch line, maintaining the

stitch size. The thread is put around the hook

A complete turn is made around the hook and it is turned 180 degrees counter

clockwise and brought to the top of the fabric

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While keeping the thread slightly straight, the hook is rotated 180 degrees

clockwise

The hook is again inserted a short distance ahead. A full loop is rolled again

around the hook and the process is repeated

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init ial ideas

Before I began my design process, I met with Devika

Krishnan, founder, Studio Sattva and Arthouse. Devika is a

graduate in industrial design from the National Institute of

Design, Ahmedabad, and has vast experience in teaching

and training artisan groups in art and design. She gave me

some really helpful advice. I have listed it below -

- Discuss ‘colors’ with the artisans

- Target college going girls as your audience

- Jewelry can be a big hit among them

- Products can be sold in colleges

- Finishing needs to be given importance

- Create a brand and an identity for the artisans

- If one of them has leadership qualities, she can supervise

the others

- Instead of forcing them into something that is completely

new to them, try themes that they are familiar with

- They are good at drawing mehendi. Make them draw

mehendi designs and try abstracting those to come up

with motifs

- Look at islamic art and architecture for inspiration

- Fabric selection is important

- Zippers, lining, buttons, etc need to be paid attention in

terms of matching colors and good finishing.

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The brief that I received from IIMB stated that the

objective of the project was to design specific accessories

with surface embroidery, namely handbags, footwear,

belts, stoles/scarves, etc.

I decided to look at college going girls (age group: 18 to

25 years) as my target audience. Apart from the above

mentioned accessories, I found that jewelry was something

that was quite in demand with the target audience.

Earrings, pendants, anklets, bracelets and hair accessories

seemed to be very popular among the young college crowd.

I did a quick market research about the various accessories

available in the market. I visited some stores in Bangalore

for my research (Small Shop, Plum Tree, Anokhi, Ambara,

La’kiru, Julie Kagti, Cinnamon, Window Leather and Bags,

Shoe Wagon, Gopuram silk and roadside stalls on Brigade

Road and Commercial street)

The stores I visited mostly stocked handbags, clutch purses,

batuas, mobile pouches, stoles, juttis and chappals. The

materials used were silk, cotton-silk, satin, cotton, jute,

leather, etc.

I discussed my findings with the IIMB and AEPC team. We

decided that for the pilot round we should stick to simple

products that do not require any complex stitching. We

zeroed down on a list of products to try out for our pilot

round: drawstring pouches, headbands, clutch purses,

earrings and pendants. After I started working on my

designs, we added a few more products to the list - simple

footwear, stoles, mobile pouches, laptop sleeves.

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inspiration

I decided to work on three themes, namely ‘Islamic Art

and Architecture,’ ‘Mehendi’ and ‘Nature.’ Here are the

inspiration boards I created for the themes.

I showed these boards to the artisans and explained to

them how as a design student, I follow a certain process

where I take inspiration from various objects or visuals that

I see. I told them to look at these visuals and also think of

things related to these themes that they see in their day to

day life. I asked them to sketch them from memory.

Most of the embroiderers are muslims living in the town of Ramanagara. ‘Islamic

Art and Architecture’ is something they see regularly and would be comfortable

working with.

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The artisans are very fond of ‘mehendi’ and are skilled at it too. I wanted to

show them these pictures and also draw some designs from memory.

‘Nature’ is something everyone can relate to. We see flowers, trees, and other

elements of nature around us all the time. Thus taking inspiration from nature

is always a good option.

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artisans’ participation

As a part of getting the embroiderers involved in the

process of designing the motifs and products, I had a

half day session with them where I made them draw from

memory.

I showed them my inspiration boards and told them how I

derive motifs. I asked them to think of something that they

would want to derive their motifs from and draw it.

some motifs

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prototyping

The first lot of fabrics was taken to Ramanagaram and

Jawed translated the motifs into embroidered pieces. After

the first lot of motifs was completed, I cut the fabric and

made sample earrings and pendants.

I got the girls to embroider more motifs on other fabrics

and taught them how to make the earrings and pendants.

Javed, the master trainer working on

the first set of prototypes

Lubna, one of the artisans learning to

make earrings

Motifs embroidered in different color

combinations

Earrings and pendants in process

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f inal products

The first set of products included earrings and pendants,

which were to be sold individually and as sets. For our first

sale, we produced about 5OO pieces of jewelry. We also

made some pouches and headbands.

Also, the artisans had 10 metres of fabric with straight

lines of embroidery with zari and some sequins, which

was part of their training. I thought it could be used for

stitching simple mobile pouches and headbands.

Apart from these products, we also had stoles dummy

footwear (stuck embroidered fabric onto readymade

footwear) on display (not for sale)

After all the products were ready, the artisans came to a

unanimous decision of calling their brand ‘minchu’ which

means lightning in Kannada. I worked on the pacakging

for minchu and taught them to pack the products.

We had our first sale at Maharani Ammani College, Malleswaram. The next sale

was held with Srishti students followed by sales at IIMB and Wipro, Bangalore.

The response was good and a lot of students placed orders for stoles and

footwear (the produts that were not on sale)

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feedback from the review panel

After the first round of prototypes were ready, I had a

review meeting with my panel in Srishti. The points that

constituted the feedback I received from the review panel

are listed below:

- Look at making the products more 3-dimensional

- The motifs are very traditional

- Try making contemporary designs

- Nature as an inspiration does not reflect in the designs

- There is a gap in the design process

- Look at different materials instead of shiny silk

- Use colored cotton or silk threads instead of zari

- Define your target audience and focus on them

- Do a new market survey with them

- Make color boards and theme boards and work on them

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a new beginning

After receiving feedback from the panel, I started my

design process from scratch. I had a little over one month

to come up with a whole new set of products.

I started by doing a market survey with my target audience

(girls in the age group of 18-25 years) I conducted a survey

with the following stores in Bangalore that sell accessories

for youngsters.

STORE SURVEY:

Anokhi: Bags, Jewelry, Stoles and Hair bands are available.

The material used is cotton. The accessories are priced

between Rs. 150 to Rs. 1000. Bags and stoles are popular

among youngsters, and so are traditional/ethnic designs.

Cinnamon: Bags, Stoles, and pouches are available at the

store. The materials used are cotton, silk and metal (for

jewelry) The accessories are priced above Rs. 500. Stoles

with contemporary designs are popular among youngsters.

FabIndia: Bags, Jewelry and Stoles are available. The

materials used are cotton, silk and metal, beads (for

jewelry) The accessories are priced between Rs. 150 to Rs.

2000. Stoles are popular among youngsters. Traditional

and ethnic designs are more popular.

Fastrack: Watches, Eyewear and Bags are available. The

materials used are Nylon, denim, plastic and metal (for

watches) The accessories are priced above Rs. 500. Bags

with funky/bold and graphic patterns are popular.

Julie Kagti: Bags and Stoles are available. The materials

used are silk, cotton, metal, stones (for jewelry) The

accessories are priced between Rs. 150 to Rs. 3000. Bags

with traditional/ethnic designs are popular.

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Kahawa: Bags, Footwear and Jewelry are available. The

materials used are cotton, silk metal (for jewelry) and

leather (for footwear) The accessories are priced above Rs.

500. Footwear with traditional/ethnic designs is popular.

MotherEarth: Bags, Footwear, Jewelry and Stoles are

available. The materials used are cotton, silk, bamboo,

banana fiber and metal. The price of the accessories

ranges from less than Rs. 150 to more than Rs. 1000.

Jewelry and stoles with traditional designs are popular.

Plum Tree: Bags, Footwear, Jewelry and Stoles are

available. The materials used are silk, cane and leather.

The accessories are priced above Rs. 500. Bags and

footwear are popular. Both traditional and contemporary

designs are popular.

Ritu Kumar: Bags and Footwear are available. Materials

used are silk, leather, cane, etc. The accessories are

priced above Rs. 1000. Bags are with both traditional and

contemporary designs are popular.

COLLEGE SURVEY:

I went to a few colleges for the survey (Maharani Ammani,

Mount Carmel, IIMB, Srishti)

I also conducted an online survey which was taken by

girls belonging to my target age group from other cities

(Ahmedabad, Delhi, Pune, Nashik, Chennai, Kolkata,

Jaipur, Indore, Mumbai, etc)

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survey results

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Most stores sell bags and footwear

Most accessories are priced between Rs.150 to Rs. 1000

Traditional /ethnic designs sell more in stores

Most students like to buy bags, footwear & jewelry

They would spend about Rs. 150 to Rs. 500 on accessories

Square, teardrop and sphere seem to be shapes/forms that appeal most to the

target audience

Geometric and graphic patterns and bright colors seem to appeal most of the

target audience

CONCLUSION:

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mood boards

Based on the survey results, I made a few moodboards for

colors, patterns and products

COLOR:

Purple Red

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Black Peach

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COLORS:

Green Pink

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PATTERNS:

Blown Ink

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PATTERNS:

Nature

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Random

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Geometric

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PRODUCTS:

Bags

Shoes

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paper iterations

The next step was to start making paper iterations. I tried

blowing ink with a straw to create random patterns

BLOWN INK:

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I then abstracted the patterns created by the blown ink

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paper iterations

NATURE:

paper iterations

NATURE:

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paper iterations

NATURE:

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paper iterations

RANDOM:

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fabric iterations

After some of the paper iterations were shortlisted, I

started translating them onto fabric. I tried out khadi silk

and some printed cotton fabric for these fabric iterations.

The colors were based on the moodboards I had made

before.

Since small pieces of fabric cannot be embroidered on the

addaw I stitched all the small pieces of fabric together and

stretched the collection across the adda for the embroidery.

Some of he fabrics used in these iterations looked dull and the bright colors of

the threads did not do much to create a contrast. Designing for college going

girls in the age group of 18 to 25 years, I had to constantly keep in mind what

they would want to wear/carry. I referred to my color boards and bought new

fabrics that were bright and eye catching.

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product patterns

I finalized on the following shapes and sizes for my products and started trying

out layouts in terms of fabric color, thread color, scale and placement of the

motif, etc.

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product layouts

I tried out layouts on the computer before trying out samples on actual fabric.

I find it faster and easier to visualize. After trying out a number of layouts I

shortlisted a few and tried out samples and then decided which ones I would

use for my final sets.

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product layouts

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product layouts

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product layouts

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product layouts

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product layouts

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prototyping (embroidery)

After trying out samples on the new fabric (casement) I

began prototyping the final products. I finalized 7 designs

out of the various samples that I had tried out. The form

of the bags and shoes was deliberately kept simple so that

the focus stays on the embroidery and the colors.

The embroidery took a long time as the fabric was thick.

Also, the artisans are used to working fast with zari and

hence working with cotton threads slows them down

The artisans found the process quite enjoyable as they had never worked on

designs like thses before. They are very used to the typical traditional embroidery

that they would do for sarees, dupattas, kurtas and shararas for people in and

around Ramanagaram.

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prototyping (bags)

All the bags were stitched at a workshopped owned by

‘Maa Fabrics.’ The tailors are really good at their work and

stitching bags is their speciality.

The lining used for the bags was poplin cotton matching

the color of the bag. Each bag was stitched with stiffening

inside. The bigger bags have a small zipper pocket on the

inside and almost all the bags have magnetic buttons.

prototyping (shoes)

The entire process of shoemaking from the samples to the

final products was a great experience for me. I had never

seen a shoe being made from scratch before. I observed

the process keenly and learned a lot about shoe making.

The shoes were made at a small unit near the Shivajinagar

bus stand in Bangalore. There were three craftsmen who

worked on hundreds of shoes daily.

There were mistakes in some shoes because I did not have the pattern ready

before I started the embroidery. I had to reject those shoes and start all over

from the embroidery stage after I aquired the pattern from the shoemaker.

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f inal products

To improve on the first round of products it was very

important for me to keep certain things in mind. I had

to focus on my target audience and use fabrics, colors

and designs accordingly. I had to pay special attention to

finishing and the whole look and feel of the products.

I have learned a lot in the process of making the final

products. It was very important to manage time, as I had

to shuffle between Ramanagaram and various places

in Bangalore since each process was taking place at a

different location.

It was also very important to keep taking feedback from my

review panel and make changes to the process/products

accordingly. The artisans in Ramanagaram were very

helpful and took in every word of the feedback and co-

operated with me in every way.

references

‘Ramanagaram Financial Diaries’ - Rajalaxmi Kamath, Arnab Mukherji, Smita

Ramanathan (IIMB)

‘Creative Industries Fared Well During Recession’ - Diksha Sahni

‘Design for Development’ - Ashoke Chatterjee (Playn’ Speak Library)

‘India Report Revisited’ - Poonam Bir Kasturi

‘Craft as Sustainable Livelihood Option in India - Anubha Sood (Craft Revival

Trust)

Embroidery blog: www.embroideryaddict.blogspot.com

www.indiamart.com

www.sashaworld.com

98

credits

Swati Unakar, Meena Vari, Deepta Sateesh

MENTORS IN SRISHTI:

Prof. Rajalaxmi Kamath and Smita Ramanathan

MENTORS IN IIMB:

Javed, Lubna, Reshma, Pushpa, Atikha, Ruksana, Sania, Geetha

EMBROIDERY:

Maa Fabrics, Dickenson Road

BAGS:

A R Footwear, Shivajinagar

SHOES:

Photography - Taushik Mandal and Sujay D’sa

Image processing - Taushik Mandal

Model - Rasika Mujumdar

PHOTO-SHOOT:

Prachi Prabhu

Avy Verghese

Devika Krishnan

B R Poornima (AEPC)

Ratna (ATDC)

Amit and Sangeetha (IIMB)

Manya, Tanya and Mrs. Mohta

Mary Jacob

Jaishri and Suchitra

Aditi Goenka, Rutika Sheth, Tapan Badesha, Tejas Pande

Mamma, Pappa, Grandma and Amit

THANK YOU:

Match Box

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