Me and some of the Tilonia.com crew here at the Barefoot College.
FT.com article: Saris from France?
In this recent Financial Times article, [Indian designer, Deepika] Govind speaks reverentially about difficult weaves such as the Patan patola (a reversible weave that appears luminous on both sides); the Bagh prints of Madhya Pradesh (intricate handblocked floral prints coloured with vegetable dyes); and the geometric, multilayered ajrak prints of Rajasthan.
“We are sitting on a gold mine,” she says. “If a company can take a very basic design and release it worldwide for that outrageous price, it just shows that we don’t know how to market our products. If any fool were to buy this [Hermès] sari, if any Indian were to buy it! I cannot see a reason to own this product.”
I think Govind is right: Indian craft is in the midst of a marketing crisis. And I’m sad for both sides, actually… the untapped markets have no idea what they’re missing out on. Seeing the process of these crafts and meeting the people who design and produce them in person, is damn near a born-again experience. My goal with Rubina is to change this through design and story. I hope that connecting people to the source of these traditional crafts will help increase the appreciation and value of the products that incorporate them.
(Thanks for the tip FT.com reader, Michele Perez!)
Girls from the government school sweetly sitting for the India Republic Day celebration in Tilonia, Rajasthan.
Tilonia! Rajasthan!
I just reached the Barefoot College in the village of Tilonia and I am so freakin’ excited! This is my first official visit to Rajasthan, the capital of Indian craft. Sadly, I arrived at night and can barely see the nose in front of me, so I’m headed to sleep so I can wake up ASAP and discover the awesomeness that awaits me.
Barefoot College has their hands (or “feet,” I should say) in a number of social enterprise and innovative development initiatives. I’m here spending most of my time with their craft sector (Tilonia.com), and specifically to document the production of a new line of home goods designed by the ladies of Designing Hope in Brooklyn.
Tomorrow is India Republic Day, so we’ll celebrate by dancing and being festive with the women and kidos. Then it’s back to work for the next couple of days.
Pics and video snippets to follow soon!
Sweet dreams from India.
~Kari
Gandhi’s weapon was a spinning wheel
Gandhi’s revolution was about establishing self-sufficiency, peace, and dignity as a means to ending oppression against and creating opportunity for the poor, women, and the most vulnerable of India. And oddly enough, the spinning wheel (or charkha) was the symbol of that socio-economic freedom.
The majority of the country lived (and still lives) in rural areas (72%, according to the 2001 Census) where their main activity and source of income relied on agriculture and handicrafts. Sadly, the creation and salability of Indian-produced textiles were largely crushed by foreign imports during British rule. Gandhi believed that before people could insist on self-rule and independence from the British, they must revive the handicraft sector and reinstate a source for economic independence for the rural people.
Present day, I’m happy to see Gandhi’s spirit and principles are still being carried out through social innovators around the world. Whether it’s through those designing energy-efficient and affordable energy, creating low-cost healthcare products and services, marketing products created by the poor, or building infrastructure and distribution models, we are finding innovative ways of merging business and doing good that is promoting self-sufficiency, peace, and dignity among the oppressed.
We still have a long way to go, but I am inspired to be conducting the Rubina Pilot Project in the same place and among descendants of the same people where Gandhi once held his revolution not so long ago.
Designer Ishan Khosla mentions the Rubina Pilot in his Your Story write-up
One of the designers we’ve been talking with during the Pilot project is Ishan Khosla. He’s a Delhi based graphic designer incorporating traditional artisans into his design process. He was written up in the online Indian magazine, Your Story, and mentions the Rubina project. Thanks, Ishan!
Event: Women Changing India
This looks pretty damn cool. My former client, Barnard College, is putting on its 4th annual symposium here in Mumbai on March 16th, honoring women that are making a positive impact in India. Registration opens soon… stay tuned!
Flowers for the Ganges. Varanasi.
Settling in India… I’ve been in India almost three weeks now and am finally starting to get the hang of things here (at least, I think I am). As this week marks the first official week of work on the pilot, I wanted to share some photos of my first 2 weeks of sightseeing, navigating cultural differences, making friends, and trying to find my own little nook in this great country. Week 1 was spent in Delhi and then I did some awesome traveling through the northern towns of Agra, Orccha, Khajuraho, Varanasi, Gwailor, and Lucknow.
I’m not going to lie, it’s been a challenging adjustment, for sure. Between living arrangements falling through, being more of a vagabond than expected, and some ups and downs with navigating cultural differences, I feel like I’ve already learned a lot about myself and my purpose here.
The pics above are from the personal side of settling in, but there will be more to follow on the meetings and talks I’ve been having with some amazing people this week.
Details on the pics in order (from top to bottom, left to right):
1) Delhi living: This was the first spot I hung my hat. My hostess was so kind to open up her extra room to me for the first couple weeks. I even got to do yoga with her personal yoga teacher that came every other morning (oh how quickly you can get spoiled here)!
2) Viva la flip phone (or whatever was before the flip phone, actually)! Oh yes, you heard that right. Apparently my iPhone 4 was “too updated” to break into and use in the tech capital of the world, so I’ve resorted to the basic cell. But this just might be a good thing. I’ve become so reliant the smartness of my previous pocket companion that I found myself lost at 11pm in the middle of Delhi reaching for my iPhone to search for directions home… whoops. So, this little bad boy (purchased for INR1500 total with 500 prepaid minutes and all) is helping me regain my survival skills.
3) Negotiation skills. If there’s one thing I’ve learned already it’s that negotiating is essential. And you better schedule and extra 15 minutes for it to any task. I’ve come to realize I’m not so bad at it… watch out auto drivers!
4) Autos. Lots of them. Their first question is always “Country, madam?” Quickly followed by “Married, madam?” Sometimes they ask my name…
5) FOOD. Lunch is my favorite time of day lately with the yumminess that comes in these tiny tiffin cans. The tiffin network story is pretty cool too… maybe I’ll write a post on that later.
6) Delhi sightseeing. This entrepreneurial security guard at Humayun’s Tomb had a pre-drawn map on the inside of his hand to be ready to go into his schpeel at any given moment about the lay of the land… all for a generous tip, of course.
7) Maharajas Express. This was a spectacular treat. I traveled with a few friends through some of the main cities in the north, which was a great start to the pilot project. It gave me a sense of India’s vast history and the ability to see the ancient monuments and hear some amazing stories that has shaped the India we know today. All on a week-long train ride.
With love from India! More to come soon…
And the Rubina Pilot Project begins…
I’m now settled in India which means that the Rubina Pilot Project has officially started!
What is the Rubina Pilot Project, you ask? Well, I’m here working to recruit the first round of designers + artisans to make unique, limited-edition accessory and home goods products for the online shop set to launch next summer after I return to Brooklyn. The designers and artisans are already working together, and as we sell the cool product they make for Rubina, we also will share the story of their collaboration online. (So think: Online shop and editorial platform featuring designers and artisans making cool and quality products together.)
These partnerships birth quite a story as it’s the blend of a designer, who have been formerly trained through years of study and practice on a mainstream commercial level, and an artisan, who have been taught their craft from birth by a mother who carried the tradition of color, pattern, and technique of the method from her mother and so on. As you can imagine, there are surely ups and downs when blending cultures, traditions, and methods. But there are those out there doing it well, with respect and ethics, and we want to feature them and the beautiful products that result.
The blog posts over the next 5 months will serve as the documentation of my process as I go through the Rubina Pilot. It is likely that what is written above may sound a bit different by the end as I too am learning what exactly “traditional craft” is (in India, at least) and how design is best utilized to empower those that are craftswomen. But the essence won’t change, which is that design + craft is a very powerful combination, and one that Rubina hopes to convey through an online platform where the people behind both can be celebrated, discussed, and exposed with the hopes of moving them forward to create positive change.
And may I ask of you: Please please please follow and give honest feedback. This is a for-profit venture and therefore needs to ultimately be providing something that people want. So, if you like something, let me know. If you see something you don’t like, also let me know (kindly would be appreciated ;-) ). If you have questions for me or those that I’m working with, ask away (either here or here)! I see Rubina as a huge collaboration with many players. And that means you!
One more thing, please check out the About page, scroll to the bottom, and see all the great people who have helped me thus far. They are indeed a dream team and I couldn’t be here without them.
Thanks for reading and here goes nothing!
