Kalamkari, Ikat and Hand-sketched Art at Valluvar Kottam

A couple of weeks ago I posted a link on facebook to the Craft Council Annual exhibition at Chola Sheraton. There were some great textiles and jewellery artists there- and Brass Tacks sources a lot of fabric from some of the artists who were there. I'm not sure why the Craft Council exhibition at Valluvar Kottam is given less importance. A part of me really dislikes the presentation of it all- it goes against everything we try to do at Brass Tacks (giving crafts better presentation and more of an urban context to appeal to an urban population). The place is set up a bit like a mela, with stalls arranged in rows (there is some order to it- though one never knows if it's by state or by alphabetical order). I think this year it might be by State- because the first two stalls are from Andhra Pradesh.

But forget about the presentation for an hour: if you like crafts, you've got to go there! Here is an opportunity to meet some of the craftsmen who don't get to make it to the annual event at Chola Sheraton. I saw cool archery equipment, drums, art, crockery, masks, and of course my true love: textiles! As I walked around taking in all the crafts, the environment made me feel a bit melancholy too. It must be tough making ends meet as a craftsmen in a rural area- without easy access to markets, without infrastructure, and competing with mass produced goods made in factories (and those prices). How does a craftsman survive without a marketing firm or a design firm helping them with their business?

Below are a few pics of the amazing art I saw there (can you believe these are sketched by hand on Tussar silk?)

And here is the talent behind these paintings: Jayanta Kumar Meher

Also visit the first 2 stalls as soon as you enter on the left. The first one is Eswarudu's Kalamkari stall. Okay, I admit I might have walked away with some of his best fabric pieces on the first day, but he has a lot of fabulous wall hangings and sarees and fabrics left. He's a very interesting person too, with a long history in Kalamkari and natural dyes.

I just had to share his business card with you. I love the instruction below the email ID (Mr. Eswarudu doesn't have access to email in Machilipatnam, so he calls his son in Bangalore to check email, and he communicates the emails via phone)!

The second stall is owned by 3 brothers who run an Ikat weaving business. They are one of Brass Tacks' core suppliers and they've brought their amazing Telia Rumal collection of cotton sarees and dupattas with them.

The exhibition is on at the Valluvar Kottam Exhibition hall, from 10am to 7pm, until October 2nd.

Brass Tacks Living Campaign

Rather than have a separate creative shoot to showcase each collection, we've decided to start a Brass Tacks Living campaign. The idea is to do a photo-journal style story on women who personify the Brass Tacks ethos in their ambition, their Do-It-Yourself spirit, their confidence and their sense of personal style. This month we've done a story on Rati Rajkumar, Chief Product Officer at BankBazaar.com

Mind work and Action work

I’m the youngest of 3 children and my mother starting working right before I was born. I remember many occasions when she would come home tired from work, only to find out that we hadn't done simple things around the house like taking the clothes inside if it rained, answering the doorbell and phone, switching off fans as we went from one room to another, etc. Whenever our answer was anything to the effect of "oh we forgot" or "we didn't know", she'd yell in exasperation and say, "Make it your business to know!!"

For many years we used that phrase (“make it your business to know”) in jest around the house. But now, running a business, I totally see what she meant. My mother was probably frustrated, spending a whole day at work where her brain had to be 150% alert, constantly thinking about small details as well as the bigger picture, constantly anticipating things that might go wrong and taking an effort to circumvent those problems even before they arose.  

I had a similar situation at my workshop recently: my pattern-maker had finished grading a certain style, and my production manager was supposed to go into production as soon as the grading was done. My pattern maker never told her the grading for this particular dress was done, and my manager never asked! It was a classic case of “I didn’t know she wanted it” and “I didn’t know he finished it”. And I had one of those “make it your business to know” moments!

Why does this happen at the work place? My production manager had an interesting insight on this. She said I spend my whole day doing “thinking work” while the rest of them spend their entire day doing “action work”. Essentially she was saying that I had the mental bandwidth to go back and forth between small details and the big picture, while the rest of them put all their effort into executing the instructions that I give out. This also results in falling into a routine of only doing things that they are specifically told to do. In this example, I was following up with them everyday asking what patterns were graded and what the status was on production. I skipped a day, and the next pattern was missed because I wasn’t there to ask and instruct.

I can understand that “action work” leaves little brain space for thinking work. I know that on a day when I’ve been driving around doing errands, having staff meetings, and talking to suppliers about orders and generally trouble-shooting, it’s hard to sit down and do creative work. And in the hours that I do creative work, I quickly forget the world around me (clothes drying in the rain, errands that were supposed to be done) and time flies by.

Perhaps the solution is to choose time periods of the day that are set aside for “mental activity” and the rest for “action work”, but I know it’s easier said than done. I’m still figuring out the solution to this one, but in the meantime I decided to learn the basics of tailoring- partly because as a designer it’s important that I know how to operate a machine, but also because I wanted to get a feel for what my tailors do (and what it would be to do “action work” all day).

I was really surprised to learn how long it takes to get a feel for the machine, controlling the speed and handling the fabric, while paying attention to quality the whole time. Below are my first few pieces of straight lines (or my attempt at straight lines) and pin tucks. I’m so grateful I have a team of talented tailors at my workshop – their pin tucks are impeccable!

 I'm also grateful that I have a supportive team, both at the workshop and the store, that does Action work so well, allowing me to focus on some of the thinking work.