Why Ikat will always be my favourite

Ikat has always stood out among all textile crafts for me. When I was young and didn't know the technique behind the patterns, I used to just soak up the flavour of the design with its irregular outlines. The fabric spoke to me, calling out to be touched and cared for. And I loved them all: from the simple, bold, geometric motifs to the intricate, detailed designs. I used to get lost in some of my mother's Orissa Ikat sarees - they had seashells, birds, tortoises, and squirrels (that could look really hideous if it was a graphic print, but the abstract ikat version is classy and timeless). The fabric had a lot to do with it too; the comforting smell of cotton made me want to wrap myself in those fabrics just to be surrounded by the smell of cotton.

Ikat textiles are so much more than patterned fabrics. They represent a skill which has been handed down from generations ago, a skill that is a labour of precision, technique and love. I feel sad that many of our traditional ikat techniques are already lost. The skill required for an intricate ikat motif hasn't been preserved. When I visited an Ikat supplier a few weeks ago, he asked me not to choose fabrics from one folder. "Those are museum pieces", he said, "we can't make them anymore". We can't make them anymore? Aren't we supposed to be getting better at this, not sliding back?

The precision required for a warp and weft ikat design (this means the yarn has to be tie-dyed for both the warp and weft yarns, and measured in such a way that when it is woven the warp and weft intersect where the yarn has been dyed) is not something that be be taught easily. I'm still trying to figure out why so few young weavers are learning this skill, when it appears that the demand for these gorgeous textiles is still high. I'll find out more in a couple of weeks when I go to visit a  young weaver who makes some of Brass Tacks' Central Asian inspired fabrics. For now it's dawning on me that some of the fabrics that I use for Brass Tacks' collections might become museum pieces for the next generation. I feel proud that I'm giving Brass Tacks shoppers a piece of our history, and in the process sharing a piece of my childhood. But for the same reasons I feel frustrated that I can't do more to change the situation.

Seashells in flowing water (Orissa Ikat)

Warp and weft ikat, in a traditional geometric design (Andhra Ikat)

Hata Ikat, Spring 2012 Collection

Kalamkari, Chintz, and textile crafts

I've been surrounded by Kalamkari textiles all my life. We've had kalamkari table covers and bed covers at home, and my mother used to wear soft kalamkari cotton kurtas and kaftans. When I started Brass Tacks I didn't feel inspired enough by Kalamkari. I had seen so much of it growing up that it was too commonplace for me. But after meeting Eswarudu, a fantastic Kalamkari printer, and seeing some of his work, I've grown to love it.

My first Kalamkari order for Brass Tacks was made into a draped silk dress. Yes, it's true the fabric is washed in cow's milk, and printed with natural dyes from vegetables and flowers. For me that makes the fabric so much more appealing because of its close connection to nature. 

And what is just as incredible and cool, is that in India we still have craftsmen working in villages, using traditional methods and processes to make gorgeous textiles that find their way into urban stores and homes. I wonder how long that will last. 

I'm sure we will invent techniques and ways to print a similar "look" on fabric, as the number of textile craftsmen who produce Kalamkari, Ikat, etc, reduce. But there is something special, nostalgic and romantic about the process of doing these by hand. 

I saw some dresses on net-a-porter recently that looked exactly like Chintz prints. I haven't seen great contemporary Chintz prints, but the ones in my textile books are beautiful, just like the prints on these dresses.  

Isabel Marant (net-a-porter.com)

Clements Ribiero (net-a-porter.com)

The Online Store

Whenever I take a hiatus from blogging, it's not because I've run out of things to say. It's actually the complete opposite, except I have less time to blog. The last few months have been busy with finding replacements for sales staff, training new hires, working on the online store, scrambling to put together the Spring 2012 collection, increasing our production capacity, dealing with a tailor crises, and more of working on the online store.

Getting the online store off the ground has been and exercise in patience and communication. I won't get into the details here because that topic deserves its own post. Right now I just want to celebrate the soft launch of our beta site: shop.brasstacksmadras.com

There are some features that need improving, and a lot more products that need to get added to the site, but the payment gateway is secure and we're ready to ship out the few products that are already on the site. We're also happy to hear feedback and suggestions, so feel free to comment on anything and everything while we're still working on alpha. We're actually dying to hear what you think.