Have a peek into the Pottery Bazaar 2013 ... :)

 

Just got these pictures from Rekha Bajpe Agarwal ... from over at the Delhi Blue Pottery Trust. Thankyou soooo ... much Rekha ... I know you are right now swamped with tons of things  ... I should have shot some of these images myself, last year ... ;))
But I was a kid at the candy store ... seriously forgot all about the camera ... and I am sooo looking forward to seeing all those artists again this year and hoping for so much more ... :)) 

                                                

 

 I am not going to say much over this post ... just that the place ... the people ... and its the best setting one can wish for. Hope to hear from all of you who'll be dropping by... :)
See you all there ... and remember ... do bring along sturdy bags to carry back your treasures ... :)))

                                               Rekha Bajpe Agarwal ( Delhi Blue Pottery Trust)

And when you see the lady above ...
SMIIIIIILLLLLLLLLE  AND WAVE , PEOPLE ... SMIIIIIIIILE AND WAVE ... ;))
o.k so I am dead already ... :)

The Potter's Bazaar 2014 ...

There is something about the winter weekends that we all look forward to ... a bit of warm sunshine ... a bit of green somewhere  ... combine it with loads of creative people and make the location something as amazing as Anandgram and we are talking about a lovely weekend.
For all the collectors  ... for all those looking to start a new collection ... or those wanting to have a peek at the amazingly creative potter's from around India ... DON'T ... miss the Pottery Bazaar 2014.
If you have already been there before ... well just imagine what awaits this year ... if you haven't ... well take my word for it ... I love it each year. And sure I'll be there too ... nooo ... not as a potter ... but as a passionate aficionado of pottery... hanging around to be bitten by the creative bug ... :)
Get the details of the event on face book here.

Some flea market fun ... :)

I think it has been a super long time since I posted about my jaunts to quaint places ... we have just one such place in Gurgaon ... :) ... and my co-sister often beats me to being updated on the latest finds there ... one day soon ... my brother -in-law will throw me out of the house after one of her awesome ;) shopping spree's there ... yes, I created the shopping Godzilla in her ... :)) or should I say she is one hell of a bargain hunting Godzilla ... :)) ... and one that I use just too often to my advantage ... ;) ... giggle-giggle ...

 

 ... but this time around, I made a trip because I was hunting for some interesting accents for a project ... nothing worked out for the project ... but I am making some space at home  ... for ... ahmm ! some cute finds ... ;)

fell in love with these wooden balls ... and there were a whole lot of them ...plain ones to ones with carvings ... ah! the possibilities ...

 

... wood lanterns ... not particularly liked them ... but they can make an interesting accent piece/s ...

 ... finials ... balls ... shelves ... candle stands ... wow ... ah ... I love ... I love ...

 ... for a person like me ... who love loves creating layers with textures ... some of the weather beaten pieces are gorgeous ... and I am pretty sure many of you are going ... oh! I looove that and that ... and what I'd do if I had that ... :)) ... I know ... there is a very special feel when you head out to these kind of places. Hope you enjoyed a virtual trip with me ... have a few more pic.'s from other markets I have been hunting around in ... yes! in  this blistering heat of North india ... and ofcourse many times ... my lil' babe in tow ... oh! the perils of being the daughter of a designer mom ... :))

P.S - its not my daughter who complains  ... :( ... that is me ... already I have lost the coffee table top décor to her ... :(( its her domain now ... at this rate I'll need a second home soon ...  yes, for those of you laughing at me ... its not funny ... ;)

Getting cozy with Cushions ... :)

I launched our first line of cushions this Diwali and in case you missed out ... here is a peek into our cushion range. Thankyou, to all of my customers for all their great reviews. I am glad you all are loving our pieces.

 This time, we used silks, crushed tissue with Zari work on it. And my fav. are the Shibori range ...  again in silk with all over Kantha stitches.

  Almost all of them have co-ordinated backs ... and its wonderful to use both sides.

 I had a time of my life creating these pieces ... we used textiles headed out to the fashion designers and repurposed them for styling up our interiors ... ;))

I have to tell you its an amazing feeling sitting with mounds and mounds of textiles and then co-ordinating them ... with fabric for the backs ... visualising the final pieces ... :) I get so caught up in all that ,... that I have had frantic calls from home wondering where I disappeared ... ;) Ah! those precious moments where you pinch yourself,that I do this for a living ... :)

... this, here is another of my super fav. one ... and as one of my friends (who came over to see and to check them out and ended up buying half my store) said ... it makes your mouth wanna go 'pop' ... :)

 ... we used a sea green backing in silk for it with these tiny paisley designs all over ...

... we have a whole range of colors to perk up the home this winter ... do drop by our website ,you could start with some window shopping don't you think ... ;))

Crafting Kantha ... :)

 My readers who know me ... can easily guess ...' I died ... :) ... went to heaven and came back ' ... and while in heaven I had to wait for this shipment headed to Australia to get packed ... damn ... I do fall for pieces I can't get ... believe me I tried every trick in the book to get this one piece in hot pink ... :(

O.K, Rajee so what really happened. Well ! I went to my Kantha lady ... :) ... and I really did not mind waiting for her to finish her consingment headed out to Australia , what better excuse for hanging around all those beautiful thingies... ah! but that thing about hot pink Kantha stole ... all true ... :(( ...

there is a ... something of a cross between a kitty party and  assenbly line work happening  here ... one is giving the final nips to all the knots  ... other checks the edges ... yet another ... stitches in the brand tags  ... and the final one  guns in what are probably the price tags ... the muscle man ( not in the picture )  ... packs  zips and ships ... how more organised can it be ...

 ... these are women from Bengal ... they live as a family and do some of the most amazing Kantha work ... what I loved were the kantha work on silk ... an Indian saree gets transformed with simple kantha work ... but mind you, very intricate and spaced very close ... and there you have stoles and dupattas that are heavenly creations. You won't be wrong, if you think I am all dizzy with the beauty.

 There is also a loom in the background, you can see ... and they create lovely jamdhani textiles on that ... some sold as is and some that get worked on with the Kantha stitches.

 Here , is a bedspread ... getting the finishing touches ... as the work is done on the textile ... loads of knots are left all over the pieces ... because of thread ends ... these ladies then sit down and painstakingly trim each piece.

 Aahha ! ... don't miss that smile she is trying to conceal ... :)) ... she loved being photographed ... real sweethearts ...

 ... if you own pieces, machine made and embroidered ... sure it has its own beauty and finess ... but the gorgeouness of a hand made piece is to be held and felt ... the slight imperfections ... because, not a machine ... but the hands of a craftsman made it...  that adds ... aaaa ... something very special ...

 ... as I see these women painstakingly work away in their own world ... can't deny ... HANDMADE ... just gets a special place in my heart ... :)
Next time you hold a handmade piece ... feel it gently ...you too will feel the hands that worked on it and made it look so pretty that you wanted to hold it ... it surely has to be  about that human touch ...

 ... sorry about the shaky picture here, but had to share with you my loot ...

... this wine color bedspread ... wooooow! ... and you'll get to see  more of it here soon ... :)) . And i promise not a shaky picture again ... ;))

If you are interested in getting to know more about Kantha pieces I stock ... feel free to write in at rajeesood(at)gmail(dot)com ... we are open to export enquiries ... and  retail orders... :)
I really hope you enjoyed a beak - a - boo ... into an afternoon out with me ...  :)

A table vignette ... and a gorgeous find for my store ...

 ... can't help doodling around the house ... :):)

 ...there is something about creating table vignettes ... the very same pieces come to a whole new life ...  and if your table vignette has gone old ... theose same fav.pieces start to ... eeeek! ... you out ... :)

 ... while I sit on the sofa and click away  ... can't help also including a gorgeous find for my store .... ;):) ... believe me I am as excited as a baby ... figuring my way around ton loads of things I never thought I'd have to ... but ... its so much fun ... besides family visiting ... summer vacation in full swing  ... I am all into photographing the pieces you'll see on the online store ...

... this beauty was a stunning find at one of my vendors ... a middle eastern coffee pot ... its called a Dalla ... read more about it as it comes up for sale  on the store ...
it is a vintage piece ... the bottom even showing the years of brewing on a hot bedouin fire ... if you are looking for a collectible piece ... this could be adorning your table soon ... just stay tuned ... :):)
Had to share a bit of what's been going on in my life at the moment ... cause I haven't been getting enough hours of the day ... and I know a lot of you are wondering where I disappear ... Thank you all for all the lovely comments you have been leaving me ... hopefully when the summer vacation ends and the schools start ... I shall have my world back in order ... I am so sure loads of you mums are nodding  ... I know you all understand ... :):)

Khoj ... Annual Exhibition 2010 ... :)

 Architect Akhil Kumar and his daughter invited me over for a beautiful preview of their collection that comes up at the Annual Exhibition of Khoj ...

 ... walking down the steps  to the design studio ... is as close I think I can experience the joy that Aladdin or Alibaba felt ... and in case you have in mind to pick up a special piece  ... be ready to be completely bombed ...

  ... the pieces you will get to see are all created with  love and passion by Akhil ... talk to him and you'll know what I mean. He picks up his raw  inspiration pieces from all over the country through his travels ... and one can make out how he respects the value of  these pieces he picks up ... his creativity gives a fresh breath to each one ...

... what I also loved was that he uses ethnic Indian textiles for the upholstery ... lovely striking colors ...and if you too love Indian textiles ... wow ... Mansi his daughter is adding a stunning range of Kaccha Topa textiles to the exhibition ...

... if these beautiful pictures are anything to go by ... then be ready for some more posts on my blog about my love for the Kaccha Topa textiles ... I need to discover more ...

In case you are in the Delhi ... NCR region ... mark ... 15-16 th Oct. 2010 , 10.30 a.m onwards ... and head to Gurgaon ... Khoj is located at ... A-30/2 ,Dlf Phase -1, Gurgaon ... behind DT Maga mall ...

If you want to know more, find them through my Face book status today ...

Hope all of you who get to visit it have loads of stories to share back here with me ... :)