Nerves were kicking in, I wasn’t sure if I had enough outfits, shoes or enough of my drawings. The day arrived when I was taking the early train to Jaipur. It’s an experience in itself! The train station known for their mouth watering chai (Indian Tea) in the tiniest cups for 10p. I would need at least 2!
The buzz of people at 5am, it was difficult to tell what time of the day it really was, the country never sleeps. By the time Jaipur came, it was a warm, sunny afternoon, and I was so ready to finally see our new collection in real life!
I met Neelofar and our artisans, just talking in that big, airy room filled with blocks and paints, it just took my breath away. I couldn’t concentrate on any conversation, my eyes and mind were both wandering, thinking about what designs I can create with these for the next collection. It was all I had imagined, my designs I had in my sketchbook, now transformed onto pure cotton in front of me, sprawled out over a huge table.
Before we got stuck in, we were brought snacks and tea (yes... again!) and then the printing continued. It was amazing to see how focused they are on their work, even whilst chatting to them, they don’t look at you, as one second of distraction to glance up can damage the prints. (I wouldn’t have enough patience!) but that is their heritage and what they are born to do. It fills them with pride to be able to continue their family traditions and art techniques in order to bring in an income.
The day finally finished with the sampling with every colour you could imagine, which are in production as we speak and we hope you will love them!
We would also love to hear any feedback or if you would like to hear more about our adventures, do let us know!
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Originally people started to wear a turban to keep their head cool. The cloth was kept soaked in water overnight and and tied in the morning. It was a way of escaping from the harsh and scorching heat of sun in the hot climate of desert, protecting the delicate skin with pure cotton.
It’s basically a very long piece of fabric, about 9 meters long or even longer in some cases, it emerged by Rajput warrior community who would wear them as a royal mark,and is also used identify an individual's caste, creed, religion, region based on his "Paag'' and ''style of wrapping".
The style of turban changes every 15 km and there are more than 1000 kinds of turban types and their styles of wearing.
There tends to be different colours for different season and festivals. The climatic conditions changes the shape & size of turbans and colourful and royal for the princely status. At times, exhausted travellers also use them as makeshift pillows, a sheet for covering the body and a towel. In fact, turbans can be unknotted and be used as ropes too so they are incredibly versatile! A turban signifies a man’s honour and knocking it over is taken as an insult, placing the turban at someone's feet means you are surrendering, while the exchange of a turban signifies brotherhood.
Warm ochre is the colour considered most sacred and is worn during weddings and festivals along with vibrant magentas and reds. These are the vivid colours that inspire us the most and we’ve ‘woven’ them into a lot of our products so far.
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