Card holders...a first for Bethany

 

Trying to use the same kind of materials in different ways to create a fresh look is one of the challenges of our designers. Syamala has just finished a small range of bags from Bethany Leprosy Colony to match a colour scheme for Ten Thousand Villages USA for Summer 2011. The tape is ready for two other collections for Fall and Festival 2011 but the sewing will happen later. The colours are wonderful this time and we have a very snazzy ladies laptop bag as well as some really great small purses and visiting card holders.

Our very own laptop bag for women

Now Syamala is in on the train (for 39 hours!) heading towards Vishakhapatnam on the east coast where she will work with some silk embroiderers and another group of paper workers. She is making baby photograph albums for Sweden with embroidered silk covers and handmade paper. Watch out for those.

Hrishi has moved from working out new multiple designs from one warp for Bharat Mata Kusht Ashram weavers to creating wooden products with Ashish Chand from West Bengal and Babu from KRTC Tamil Nadu. I don’t know what they are making just now but I hope it will include some really nice jigsaw puzzles.

The need to get multiple designs from one warp has arisen as we try and bring some new tablecloths into our shops. A 200 meter warp is the most economical way to work but then that might mean 65 large tablecloths all the same colour and pattern which does not work well for retail sales. Hrishi promises me that we shall get a general theme running through each warp but quite different looking cloths. He is working on four warps. Sounds like we shall need a special launch in the shop!

Bethany handwoven tapes get a completely new look

Amazing couple of weeks here in MESH Design Studio.  The artisans from Leh in Ladakh could not return home because of a really heavy snow storm so they stayed in the studio an extra week refining their skills and making some very smart little products with tailors’ waste.  They were so glad to reach home and we were amazed that they managed to take home blankets and new suitcases and even a television set…all on the plane!

So for a few days we had three Ladakh artisans and two women weavers from Bethany Leprosy colony and on one day the tatters from from Anand Crafts also.  Great use of the resources to have three workshops going on at the same time with Syamala in charge.

Meanwhile Hrishi was in Little Flower Leprosy Colony, Bihar preparing natural dyed wool for a new soft woollen scarf range.

The Bethany weavers are in the studio for one month working on summer, fall and holiday ranges for Ten Thousand Villages, USA. There are wonderful colours and patterns emerging with every passing day.

Sandhya, Bethany Leprosy Colony weaver learning pick-up

The tatters from Anand Crafts are finishing an Indian range of cards with decorated elephants and doorways…lively bright colours and traditional styles using an old Victorian craft!

Then Sunday afternoon saw us testing eight hired computers ready for Openentry free website training that started on Monday. Richa from OpenEntry support office in Nepal trained nine participants from eight groups and one MESH trainee in how to use Openentry templates and Google spreadsheets to create websites for their organisations. We were blessed with good electricity and good Skype connections to Nepal… only one small power cut.The wifi for eight computers stretched to 13 and everyone left with websites up and running,and the skills to make the additions themselves.  Lunch times were interesting as the website makers mingled with the weavers and tatters and MESH team.

Mohammad Nasir from SMK (centre) especially hard at work creating his website whilst Sajad Ali (Care Kashmir) and Balasumbramanian (Kshema Rehab and Training Centre) smile for my picture

Made from tailors' waste

I noticed a faint but sweet smell of wood smoke in the car when the three design workshop participants from Leh travelled with me from the youth hostel to the studio on Monday morning.  Tsering Gurmet, Tsering Chondol and Sonam are all members of an organisation called People’s Action Group for Inclusion and Rights.  Sonam is quite deaf but well able to lip-read Ladakhi and the other two have some orthopaedic disability.

 They are in Delhi for a week to upgrade the quality of their present product range and plan for a longer design intervention with Syam in Leh in the summer.  They use waste paper and tailors off-cuts to make a whole range of interesting products.  Having sorted out the simple problems like using matching thread instead of what happens to be available and making sure that all the sides of a straight bag are indeed straight (!) they have been beavering away at some new products…

Such pretty waste too!

 

Endless possibilities when the waste fabric is this stunning

And something for the table too

"Now let me show you what I mean about matching sewing thread with your fabric..."

Fantastic news since they arrived in Delhi is that their organisation president Mr. Md. Iqbal has been selected by CNN IBN to receive the Real Heroes of India award this year. Every year about 25 Indians are honoured with this award (and remember the population here is huge!) He was in the studio on the first day and we caught him discussing ideas with Syam.

Mr. Md. Iqbal Real hero of India and Syam deep in discussion in MESH Design Studio

This week we have a paid workshop in MESH Design studio. Hrishi, our design consultant, is conducting a workshop on packaging for four groups all of whom are members of Arunim, the trading organisation of National Trust. They are all cutting and folding fantastic shapes in paper and card samples of packaging materials for food, paper and candle product ranges. Hrishi’s focus is boxes that do not require glue so that they can be flat stored and assembled by the disabled people working in the production units and rehabilitation workshops.

The participants are from Muskaan, Athak Prayas and Monovikas all Delhi based organisations and one gentleman from M.P.Welfare Association for the blind based in Indore.

MESH Design studio is funded by IM Soir for a limited period, these paid workshops are MESH’s attempt to introduce an element of sustainability to the studio. To find out more about MESH design Studio services please contact Hrishi or Syamala on +91 11 26172579 or e-mail jackybonney@mesh.org.in

Almost Finished

 

A couple of days each week for several weeks I have been working with the tatters from Anand Crafts which is women’s group located in a leprosy colony in Delhi. They were taught tatting, crochet, embroidery and beading by Mrs. Eve Goldsmith an English woman who visited India every six months for 9 years.

Now we are working on Easter and Christmas cards and some personal accessories including necklaces. Coming up next is some new Indian style designs using this old Victorian craft and targeting both local and export markets.

A woman in Australia saw a blog about these tatters written by someone in U.K. and has sent a donation of cotton for their tatting. WoW!!! What a lovely present for the tatters they will be very happy when they get to hear about it and how amazing that news goes fully round the world and bounces right back.

Hard at work!

Plans for the Quarter

Wish everyone a very Happy New year!!!!

We are new to blogging and are working our way up to provide regular updates of our work in MESH Design Studio. Remember MESH is a non profit organisation working with leprosy affected and disabled people to improve their livelihood. Check our website for more http://www.mesh.org.in

We are four regulars in the studio; Hrishi and Syamala design, Narayan weaves and does lots of other technical stuff and Basu helps with everything.

We’ve just been planning the things we should try and do in this first quarter of 2010 in the designing department. Here is some of what is planned:

Hrishi is hoping to design a new range of kitchen linen with our Faridabad weavers and he will spend some time in Little Flower on new silk scarves and mini jacquard weaving. I am working on some silk covered photo albums and other Kosa silk embroidery designs… oh and some block printed cloth covered note books too. That will take in two supplier groups in Champa and Vizianagaram with the block prints from Mangalore maybe. And some hand woven bags from Bethany for 2011. Also some screen printed aprons from Mangalore and wooden/bamboo toys from Ashish in Bankura

Watch this space for news of how it all progresses!

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