The first two days of "The sustainability of natural dyes" conference took place at Eastend hotel in Munnar, followed by two days of natural dyeing workshops (at an extra cost) at Aranya Natural's HQ. Due to limited numbers, all the spaces for the workshops filled up quickly, but many conference attendees requested [...]

 
The purpose of my trip to India in February was to attend a natural dyeing conference. And it took place before COVID-19 changed our lives. Aranya Natural is a natural dyeing organisation under Srishti Trust in Munnar, supported by TATA Global Beverages Limited, which runs programs for the education training and rehabilitation [...]

Shepherds Bush market
 
In the last few years, we are hearing more of the terms 'biodesign' and 'biotech', but is it a fad or a breakthrough that will change our world? Recently, I joined a design-oriented walk called 'Human: Biophilia in community and design' organised by the Design Museum and curated by Something [...]

 
Architecture in Bexleyheath
 
Although I live in London, there are still many areas of the city that I am unfamiliar with or have never been to. I have long wanted to visit William Morris' former residence Red House in Bexleyheath, but somehow never got round to it. Since August is a quiet [...]

 
I have been writing a lot about Hong Kong's heritage lately, and coincidentally when I contacted Kevin Cheung, a local upcycling designer, he invited me to meet him at his home studio, which is also located inside a heritage building: the Grade I listed Blue House in Wan Chai.
The Blue House Cluster [...]

 
Kutch is a fascinating place; besides textiles, there are various other arts and crafts being practised in the region. Located around 35 km north of Bhuj, Nirona village is a small village famous for Rogan art, a rare traditional art form originated from Persia/Sindh, which almost disappeared until efforts to revive it in [...]

 
*Please do not use my blog photos without consent.
 
One of the most fascinating studio visits in Kutch was a trip to master weaver, Vankar Shamji Vishram's indigo-dyeing and weaving studio in a village called Bhujodi. Shamji is the son of Shri Vishram Valji Vankar, who won the India's prestigious National Award [...]

 
In our current fast-paced and globalised world, we are faced with some important questions about our past, present and future: how to preserve traditions and yet make them relevant today? Can we preserve the skills and knowledge but evolve at the same time? Many artisans, craftsmen and designers around the world are [...]

A large bandhani piece we saw at Mr A A Wazir's house
 
I think many people are familiar with the term 'shibori' which is the Japanese technique of resist dyeing on cloth. The word itself means 'to wring, squeeze, press', and it is a way of manipulating the fabric to achieve the desired [...]

Ajrakhpur – the land of Ajrakh
 
Before my trip to India, my knowledge on Indian textiles was minimal, yet the textiles workshop at Somaiya Kala Vidya (see my earlier post) completely opened my eyes. I did not realise that block printing is such a complex and time-consuming process, especially when only natural dyes [...]