Government revival of khadi sector?

As reported through AsiaNetIndia.com on July 7, 2011, in Kerala, India, the government has decided to implement plans to increase job opportunities in khadi and other spinning and weaving trades.  To do this, the government will offer funds to repair looms used to make khadi, will offer an offset to lower the price of cotton, and more.

The khadi sector in Kerala reportedly employs 12,000 artisans, mostly women living below the poverty line, according to the Kerala Khadi and Village Industries Board.

Kerala is located in south western India.

How would you like to tour India with Smita Paul, Designer?

The skill of Japanese indigo dyers and handloom weavers is so exquisite that a travel company is creating tours around Japanese handicraft.

Why not join me on a tour through India to see organic cotton weaving, ayurvedic dyeing, ikat handloom, and more – a real insiders' tour!

To stay up-to-date as we plan for our first Indigo Handloom tour of India, be sure to follow me on Twitter (“SmitaPaul”).  Our Twitter followers will be the first to see an opportunity to win a free spot in the tour group…

How to? Through Indigo Handloom.

c2011 Indigo Handloom

The news of the handloom industry in India is grim, according to a recent article reported in The Hindu newspaper.

The cost of materials is going up, making it more difficult to produce fabrics.  Big businesses are creating big orders, but individual artisans cannot meet those demands, which go to machine production.  The young are attracted to construction jobs that pay more.

Will the Indigo Handloom business model help to preserve the very fabric of these communities?

Celebrate Cotton Day with Indigo Handloom

"Cotton Day" was celebrated on July 14, 2011 with runway fashions by Rina Dhaka, Ritu Kumar, and Sabyasachi to promote Indian cotton.  Designer Payal Jain was quoted in The Pioneer as saying that cotton "is the only fabric which has always been in vogue."

Cotton Day is the promotional genius of the Cotton Council International (CCI).

Indigo Handloom sundress -
a perfect summer celebration
of cotton!

In its official Press Release, Ms. Agnieszka Fijol, CCI Program Head, India, said “‘Cotton Day’ was conceptualized to surprise people at what is possible with  cotton.  ‘Cotton Day’ takes the audience on a journey through how others see and use cotton, how it impacts people’s lives across the world, and what creative possibilities exist in skilled hands."

Here at Indigo Handloom, we celebrate Indian cotton every day.  I design our handloomed khadi cottons, which are produced by Indian khadi artisans to be sold to other design houses and turned into garments under the Indigo Handloom label.  Wouldn't this cotton sundress be your perfect celebration of summer-cool cotton?

Khadi Hundis

Khadi Hundis

In 1957, the Khadi & Village Industries Commission started to issue "Khadi Hundis."  These paper notes, which looked like currency, featured images of laborers, and could only be used for the purchase of khadi or other village handicraft at Khadi Emporiums.

Khadi, handwoven fabric, was the centerpiece of Ghandi's call to the Indian people to support local industry as a means of self-empowerment and independence.

Khadi Emporiums still exist today in places like New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore, and continue to serve as gathering places for local merchants to sell their handicrafts, including handspun khadi.

Ghandi, spinning thread for khadi

Closer to home, you can find khadi scarves, skirts, dresses, and tops through Indigo Handloom, where we continue to support the use of local laborers preserving the ancient khadi methods of handloom.

"The Enchanting Culture of Minahasa"

Thomas Sigar design,
Minahasa people inspired

Inspired by ancient weaving techniques, modern designer Thomas Sigar featured Tenun ikat Bentenan techniques in his July 10, 2011 runway show titled "The Enchanting Culture of Minahasa."

Two hundred years ago, hand weave disappeared from the Minahasa people of the North Sulawesi region of Indonesia.  It is believed that only a few pieces of cloth remain in the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands - an irony, as the Minahasa handweave disappeared under the European Christianization of the region.

Since 2005, working with the Art Institute of Culture of North Sulawesi, Sigar has sought to revive the ancient ikat technique believed to have been used by the Minahasa.  "Tenun ikat Bentenan" can be simplistically thought of as a Bentenan (North Sulawesi) "tie-dye."

Sigar's recent designs were inspired by stone carvings dating back 3,000 years, found at an archeological site in the North Sulawesi region.  The stone was the gathering place of the tribe for conflict resolution in a process ending with the chant "Mina Esa" ("Forever One").  Some of Sigar's patterns were achieved through woven silk patola, others through hand prints on chiffon.

This story on the revival of an ancient ikat technique in Indonesia is exactly the kind of story that inspires my work at Indigo Handloom.  Our efforts today to expand the use of handwoven cloth like batik silk will preserve India's ancient textile traditions for future generations.  How much better to wear these beautiful and unique fabrics today than to have to visit them in a museum tomorrow.

Khadi: the handloom of independence

“Khadi” ~ it’s a handloomed cloth made with hand-twisted yarns.  Ghandi turned khadi into a national symbol of independence, calling for civil disobedience through a boycott of cloth made in England in favor of local, handloomed fabrics, including khadi.

Besides its place in history, khadi is amazingly soft and versatile, and is one of the handloom fabrics used by Indigo Handloom.  Pictured is one of our Indigo Handloom scarves, blending khadi cotton with silk.  

It’s fabric.  It’s fashion.  It’s philosophy.

Ikat Scarves Coming to Indigo Handloom

This fall, Indigo Handloom will be introducing ikat scarves, custom-made in cotton and silk.

In the West, the word “ikat” represents a seemingly ethnic, brightly-colored pattern, which looks like it was designed on an Etch-a-Sketch.

Handwoven Ikat

But, “ikat” is so much more than just a pattern.  The real “ikat” is an incredible process of creating a pattern in the warp of the cloth through binding and dyeing certain sections of each thread.  Once the pattern is set up, then the weaving begins.  One of the most expensive and most difficult ikats to weave is the “double ikat,” also known as the “Patola ikat.”  In this method, both the warp threads and the weft threads are involved in the design and both are dyed before weaving.

To determine whether a design is a true ikat, check the back side of the fabric.  If the pattern only appears on the front side, it is just a printed fabric, not a true ikat.  A true, yarn-died ikat has the pattern on both sides of the cloth, and each side is equally beautiful.

Just as the fashion world is embracing ikat-inspired patterns, true ikat artisans are struggling to survive.  There are just a few places left in the world where you can find traditional ikat weaving. 

Here is one article about a family who has been weaving ikat continuously for generations.

We're so pleased that you will be able to join us at Indigo Handloom in supporting this ancient tradition of ikat weaving as our scarves become available this Fall.