FOREWORD
We l c o m e to I t Ta ke s a V i l l a g e . W i t h i n t h e s e p a g e s , y o u ’ l l d i s c o v e r h o w skilled artisans use old techniques to realize new ideas. Moni Gupta, who hand-spins yarn; Anil Upadhay, who hand-dyes wool; Ram Prasad, a master of the slow art of weaving; Aditya Burman, experienced in the meticulous task of finishing. The people, in short, who bring our designs to life.
This is for them.
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HAND-SPINNING
T he Hu man Touch. f e a t . Mon i Gu pta
I f t h e l o o m i s t h e c a n v a s , a n d t h e w e a v e r i s t h e a r t i s t , w h a t i s t h e f i b e r ? Mo n i G u p t a , a g e n i a l 2 1 - y e a r- o l d a r t i s a n w h o s p e c i a l i z e s i n h a n d - s p i n n i n g , s a y s s i m p l y, “Fiber is the main ingredient. Great rugs are possible because of great yarn.” Fo r t u n a t e l y f o r u s , g r e a t y a r n i s p o s s i b l e b e c a u s e o f Mo n i .
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I f the loom is the canvas, and t h e weave r is the a rt is t, w hat is the f i be r?
As with all artisanal pursuits, a high
applied knowledge and technique) while
degree of skill is achieved not simply
simultaneously controlling the movement
through an innate gift, but also through
with her feet; pressing the treadles at the
hour upon hour of trials and tribulations,
base in a fluid heel-to-toe motion.
of errors and frustrations. Despite her current expertise, Moni’s early days as a hand-spinner were marred with common
S u c h m a s te r y i s o n l y e a r n e d w i t h y e a r s of repetition and tutelage. For the lat ter,
mistakes: over-spinning, losing her yarn
Moni is blessed with the knowledge of the
end, mistiming the treadles.
elder artisans in her village, who have been plying this craft for decades. Eventually,
However, her hard work has paid off. Moni’s craft is now as natural as the caterpillar spinning its cocoon. Its look is effortless and elegant; its pace, rhythmic and hypnotic. Using only her hands, Moni slowly feeds the fibe r onto the ‘drive wheel’ (which,
as she acquires more experience, Moni will step into a mentorship role for the community’s youth. An organic progression of quiet mastery, passed down from father to daughter, from generation to generation.
in this case, is a homemade apparatus
So then, in the art of rug making, fiber is
of local wood and nails; a symphony of
the paint, but Moni? Moni is the paintbrush.
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02
H A N D - DY E I N G
C o l o r Co o rdinating. f e a t . An i l Upa d h ay
Varanasi, like the vast majority of India, is a veritable mosaic of light and color. Sunlight ripples off the Ganges and dances across the gold dome of Vishwanath Temple. L u s h l a n d s c a p e s b u r s t w i t h g r e e n e r y. D o o r s g l i m m e r w i t h b l i n d i n g l y b l u e p a i n t . Windowsills are pastel pink. To say nothing of the people, who are draped head-to-toe in the brightest fabrics imaginable. This isn’t Scandinavia, with its blonde woods and monochromatic minimalism, or Paris, where color plays a complementary role. This is India, where color is woven into the very fiber of its culture.
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As with all facets of design, the rug-industry is hyper-sensitive to color. If a designer wants robin’s egg blue, she must have robin’s egg blue—and not a slight shade different.
This joyful, riotous color is in some small
much dye the yarn receives, continually
part the work of 34-year-old Anil Upadhay.
shifting and adjusting which threads need
An experienced artisan, Anil relies on his
more exposure and which ones have had
steady hands to dip raw fiber into a boiling
enough. This isn’t a process that can be
vat of dye, rhythmically rotating the yarn
automated, it requires careful consideration
to apply an even depth of hue. What might
and a perfect eye for color.
seem like a straightforward process is actually full of complexities: different fibers like wool, jute, viscose, polyester, and sisal take dye differently, and therefore each requires a unique approach. Also, dye lots vary from batch to batch, so each m u s t b e i n t e r a c t e d w i t h d i f f e r e n t l y, i n order to achieve the perfect shade.
As with all facets of design, the rug industry is hyper-sensitive to color. If a designer wants robin’s egg blue, she must have robin’s egg blue. The difference may seem minimal, but a subtle shift in shade provides an entirely different feeling; a new set of complements and cultural associations. Given these exacting standards, it’s
As with all things in life, here, timing
a te s t a m e n t to A n i l ’ s w o r k t h a t h e , a n d
i s e v e r y t h i n g. A c c o m p a n i e d b y a f e l l o w
skilled artisans like him, give our indus-
artisan, Anil keeps a watchful eye on how
try its color.
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03
W E AV I N G
An Ode to Weaving. f e a t . Ram P rasa d
Craftsmanship is having a renaissance. Pick up an issue of Kinfolk magazine, or b r o w s e t h e c u l t u r e s e c t i o n o f t h e Ne w Yo r k T i m e s , a n d y o u w i l l s e e h e a d l i n e a f te r h e a d l i n e p r o f i l i n g w o o d w o r ke r s , p o t te r s , a n d e v e n b a r i s t a s . I n o u r p o s t- i n d u s t r i a l age of automation, the romance of the modern-day artisan is back.
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In India, however, respect for a hands-on approach and a commitment to craft is nothing new. Particularly with regards to weaving. For thousands of years, artisans have been hand-knotting rugs of extraordinary intricac y; steadfastly tying weft through warp, ro w-b yrow, until the rug is complete. While, all around us, the artistry of our forefathers is falling by the wayside, with hand-knot ted rugs the technique re mains the same. Not out of some old-fashioned adherence to the ways of yesterday, but simply because there’s no better way to achieve a product of this exacting quality. One of the central characteristics of weaving is the superlative precision and impeccable eye it requires. The patience. The human touch. The steady hands of a surgeon dusted with the soul of a poet. These are the attributes that make Ram Prasad, a 40-year-old artisan with over two decades of O p p o s i t e : We a v e r R a m P r a s a d , 4 0 , s t e a d -
experience, a master weaver. His
fastly ties every knot to the warp, glancing
fingers are astonishingly nimble,
up only on occasion to observe the rug’s map.
gliding across the loom with a rhythm that feels simultaneously
instinctive and impossible. He makes the work look effortless and yet ethereal. Spell-binding in its intricacy. The work of an master weaver is painstakingly meticu l o u s . We s p e n t a n h o u r w a t c h i n g R a m w e a v e , i n orde r to accomplish just a single square inch. The product, however, speaks for itself. There’s no short cut to greatness.
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FINISHING
Th e Fin al Cut. f e a t . Adi tya B u r m a n
Finishing a product, especially when it comes to textiles, is often seen as a quest f o r p e r f e c t i o n . No t s o f o r A d i t y a B u r m a n , a 5 9 - y e a r- o l d a r t i s a n w h o i n d i v i d u a l l y clips, shears, and sculpts a rug’s surface after it comes off the loom. “My job is not to make the rug perfect,” explains Aditya. “My job is to make it beautiful. Sometimes, those are not the same thing.”
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My job is not to make the rug pe rfect. My job is to make it beautiful.
Aditya speaks to a growing textural trend we think of as ‘perfectly imperfect’; surfaces that look and feel deliberately distressed, striated, and sometimes decidedly uneven. Eschewing the aesthetic of mass-produced flawlessness
Sometimes, those are
in favor of the patina of individuality.
not the same thing.
I n o r d e r to a c h i e v e t h i s p r i z e d a e s t h e t i c , Aditya first scans the rug for the inevitable loose threads. After snipping them one-byone, his job becomes more nuanced, more involved, more individualistic. For certain collections, like Elixir, he hand-sculpts the surface, which accentuates the pattern with contrasting high and low textures. For other collections, like Lucid, he oxidizes the rug, distressing the design to a point where it’s nearly gone. A faded permeation of use and love; an individuality that makes each piece ours and ours alone. Unlike every other step in the rug-making process, Aditya has no blueprint to follow, and no how-to manual to absorb. There’s not a singular way to shear a surface down or fade a pat tern. Variance from rug-to-rug is not only expected but generally appreciated. It’s the entire point, and a big part of the charm.
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A TRUE ORIGINAL
Aditya must rely on his intuition and experience, both of which are highly developed after over three decades in t h e i n d u s t r y, c u r a t i n g a n d u l t i m a te l y c r e a t i n g u n i q u e n e s s. L i ke h i s w o r k , A d i t y a i s a t r u e o r i g i n a l a n d o n e - o f- a - k i n d .