Pavizham Picnic Mat

On a soft feeling sturdy mat, with a book in hand and a bright sunny day. What more to wish for a relaxing day... "Pavizham" is the precious coral, which has the distinctive bright pink colour. Here is a precious piece of work from Killimangalam community made out of soft cora grass strands. The bright colours create a warm and pleasant atmosphere.   Story of Cora Grass and Mat weaving: Cora Grass is found along river banks and in marshy lands. It can grow up to a height of two meters. Family members of mat weavers collect these cora grass and bring it for processing. They cut each grass stem into four strands and remove the soft material at the centre. Before further processing, the grass is dried under the sun, till it develops a beige colour naturally. The grass is then dyed using different colouring materials and processes to match artists imagination. Sometimes, the colouring process takes days, depending on the shade of colour desired. The handcrafted mats are woven using hand operated looms. A set of  white yarns as the warp (length) and thin strands of cora grass as weft (width), are woven on a loom hand-operated by weavers. These looms do not use electricity. Human handling lends the mat a unique feel and more value. The resultant mat is softer, more durable and much more comfortable than machine-made mats. The cora grass strands are compacted by hand by the weavers, ensuring sturdiness to the mat. The art of hand weaving is labour intensive and takes a longer time. But, the beauty and quality it adds to the mat is priceless. Choosing handwoven mats  supports the rich weaving heritage of Killimangalam and lets the weavers carry on the precious art-form to the future generations as well.

Anupamam Vase

A lot of care has gone into creation of this vase. Since the neck is narrow, finishing of the inside had to be done step by step, as the the vase achieves height step by step. Someone asked Vijayakumari, our lead potter, to add a coat of glaze inside to reduce work and ensure a better finish. She refused to add any artificial materials to the crafts she make, and she prefers to finish the vase polishing by hand. The value and principles a true artisan attach to their craft is simply astounding. The vase may look simple. But, they are priceless and incomparable crafts! Anupamam!

Varnam Dupatta

Some bold experiment with colours, that is how we would like to express the weave of this Dupatta. We want you to feel the magic we experienced looking at the stack of yarns in different colours, nicely arranged, at our weavers place. Colour schemes which we may not usually imagine,  but, sometimes it just gets presented before you, in all its glory. And so, here is a unique piece!   Story of Weaving: The handloom fabric is a type of fabric that is woven using hand operated looms. Two sets of interlacing yarns, the warp (length) and weft (width), are woven on a loom hand-operated by weavers. These looms do not use electricity. Human handling lends the fabrics a unique feel and renders the fabrics more value. The resultant fabric is softer, more durable and much more comfortable than machine-made fabrics. Handloom cotton is more breathable and thus feels lighter in summers and provides more insulation in winters. The dyeing process also becomes easier for handloom cotton as the colour penetration is substantially more. Hues are absorbed better thus look resplendent on handloom cotton. The art of hand weaving is labour intensive and takes a longer time. But, the beauty it adds to the fabric is priceless. Choosing handloom cotton supports the rich weaving heritage of India and lets the weavers carry on the precious art-form to the future generations as well.