krittika sharma textile designer and consultant (m) +91 96190 51805 (e) krittika.sharma@gmail.com
second skins
Photographs by Bikramjit Bose
textiles and our way of using them
The birth of a textile line came after the experience of traveling and meeting the many talented artisans of India. My artisans become my teachers. Their extensive knowledge base makes for inspired collaborations. My design ideas, their databases- a marriage of the old and the new. The goal is to bring pieces from one artisan and inspire another artisan, miles away from him! An inspiration network!
As a designer, my work attempts to educate people about my artisans and my craft. Design is an amalgamation of making something beautiful that has a meaning and has a function- a holistic product that comprises of quality, style and value.
My label was created to give voices to my family of artisans. Craft is something we often take for granted in India. My goal is to tell stories through my fabric, marry tradition with likely future trend and showcase to people beautiful possibilities.
I have always had a romantic perception of craft and delving deeper into it has only conďŹ rmed my notion! Craft is to be respected, experienced and enjoyed. The sari comes through the handiwork of many artisans- a person who degums and dyes the yarn, someone who spins the yarn, someone else sets the loom, another weaves the yarn into cloth, a ďŹ fth who makes the tassels and a sixth who folds the cloth. I believe that each process is meditative- steeped in deep history and love for the art and craft before it reaches the customer.
Craft has taught me to be true, responsible and honest with my work. Qualities that help me be a better designer, craftsman and person. It’s important for my creative fraternity to keep the utilitarian aspect of craft alive or else the works merely become art pieces that hang on walls. Craft is about sharing and experience; with my customers and my designer friends.
An artisan once told me how he was demonstrating the process of making indigo to some tourists. They kept asking him the exact measurements of each component, the exact temperature, the exact timing etc. After answering all their questions, one of the tourists asked him, 'How do you know when the Indigo is ready?' Smiling he dipped his ďŹ nger into the indigo vat, tasted it, and said 'This is how I know.' You will never ďŹ nd an artisan hiding his techniques. Who are we to hide it from one another!
My prospective clients are people who respect and admire craft- who understand the importance of our hand made heritage. I also cater to clients who perceive their clothes as exclusive and one-of-a-kind pieces. I encourage people to buy handcrafted textiles. Textiles are either artistic or functional. I’m working on parallel tracks.
Design for me is boundless. While I live within the processes deďŹ ned by design philosophy, I ďŹ nd it grows with me and I grow with it.