METAMORPHOSIS by Surabhism

Surabhi Singhal

METAMORPHOSIS

Sustainable approach to designing craft based interior elements

Metamorphosis Sustainable approach to designing craft based interior elements

Surabhi Singhal Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology

Metamorphosis: Any complete change in appearance, character, circumstances, etc. http://srishti.ac.in/ Cover Photo Courtesy: Surabhi Singhal Book printed by S.V. Color Graphics

Shop No. 6/1, Union Street, Infantry Road, Behind Medi Shop Nova Hospital, Shivajinagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560001

Acknowledgements The success and final outcome of this project required a lot of guidance and assistance from many people and agencies and I am extremelty fortunate to have got this all along the completion of my project work. The work done so far is only the result of such guidance and assistance and I would thank all those who have made it possible. Primarily I would like to acknowledge the MSME Design Clinic Scheme’s Fund Approval without which it would have been impossible to carry out my project ahead. The funds provided by the MSME has enabled me to travel this far and convert thoughts into reality. I would now like to thank my project mentor Rajesh Dangoria without whose constant guidance I would have been unable to shape my project and follow a specific process. Without his technical and social knowledge it would have been impossible to carry on with this project. I would also like to thank my second mentor Urvashi Jalali for her constant design input and appreciation which let me keep going always. The last mentor to whom I would like to extend my gratitude is Smriti Mehra, whose valuable comments and feedback have always pulled me out from confusing situations. The project could not have reached this level if I did not have friends and family supporting me at every point. In this regard I would like to express extreme gratitude to my friend Sharad Maheshwari, who has constantly been there to support me morally and has been an integral part of developing schedules for work. The valuable discussions over design and his suggestions have led me this far. I would like to extend the obligation to my uncle, Aalok Bhatwal, who has been a great inspiration for designing the furniture keeping in mind the users’ point of view. Nothing could have been possible without my father and mother, Rajesh and Madhu Singhal’s support, who not only made me reach this level but have been a great strength to keep me morally up whenever I felt under confident. I would also like to thank my friend and classmate Kiran, who has always been there to discuss the smallest of problems related to work, another friend Ritika Baheti, whose initial guidelines and warnings towards a diploma project have helped me approach towards the project in a cautious manner so that I don’t lose interest in it. I would further extend my gratitude to all those who have accompanied me to various clusters and helped me have a conversation in local languages. I would thus like to thank Ankita Srivastav, Bhanu Potta, Arush Potta, Aarushi Surana and Sreelakshmi Sola. l am thankful to and fortunate enough to get constant encouragement, support and guidance from all the teaching staff of Department of Furniture and Textile design which helped me looking at my project from various perspectives that of the artisans, buyers and designers. Also, I would like to extend my sincere redgards to all the non-teaching staff of the workshop including Mr. Prasad and Mr. David for their timely support. Lastly, I would like to thank various agencies and people who have provided technical support and have been a part of the developing team including Kushal Toys at Channapatna and Metro Engineering Works at City market, Bangalore. I thank Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, which has given me this platform to explore myself and extend my practice in a unique direction.

About MSME The Design Clinic Scheme is an initiative of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Scale enterprises and Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier Design institute namely National Institute of Design. Launched under the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme (NMCP) on February 17th, 2010 in New Delhi, the unique and ambitious design intervention scheme proposes to benefit 200 industry clusters to create a dynamic platform to provide expert solutions to real time Design problems, and in that add value to existing products. The Design Clinic Scheme scheduled for implementation through the Eleventh Plan, is structured to enhance Design awareness by exposing beneficiaries to the critical nuances of process, operation, manufacturing and business aspects of Design. All targeted to equip them with skills for improving, evaluating and analysing Design related interventions. The initiatives are expected to inculcate an innovative and futuristic approach towards Product Development. In the long term, the effort is expected to accrue cost effective solutions and equip with the ability to identify opportunities for enhancing existing product value. The National Institute of Design is the nodal agency for the Design Clinic Scheme with its rich experience in Design training and Consultancy, NID being the synergising catalyst between Design professionals and Design Clinic Scheme beneficiaries, with an administrative command of facilitating the Design Clinic Scheme schedule. The Design Clinic Scheme offers an enriching opportunity to the large sector of MSME (Associations and Units) as well as the Indian Design fraternity, including consulting firms, independent Designers, Design institutes as also Design students, to engage in assisting the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s large and significant MSME sector.

Table of Contents 1. Introduction

2. Project Brief

3. Objective

4. Need for Intervention

5. My Role

6. Design Methodology/Process

7. Design Opportunities

8. Clusters Involved

9. Lac-Turnery Craft of Channapatna

i. Craft Research ii. Cluster Research iii. Reflection on Cluster Visit iv. Reflection on Artisans’ Interviews v. Artisans’ Interview Transcripts

21 33 35 41 43

10. Stone Craft i. Craft Research ii. Reflection on Cluster Visit 11. Metal Craft

i. Craft Research ii. Cluster Research

49 59

63 71

12. Terracotta Craft

i. Craft Research II. Reflection on Cluster Visit iiI. Reflection on Artisans’ Interviews IV. Artisans’ Interview Transcripts

77 87 91 93

13. Market Research

i. SWOT Analysis

101

14. Synopsis of the Market Research

I. The Ants Store II. Grasshopper

103 108

III. Mogra Pret & Mogra IV. Mother Earth V. NGO Maya Organic VI. Cauvery Emporium VII. Central Cottage Industries Corporation of India Ltd. VIII. Cinnamon IX. Eastern Arts, Kashmir House, Banday Brothers X. Good Earth XI. Indya Kaleidoscope XII. Kairali Arts & Crafts XIII. Maheen XIV. Nikaara XV. Prachin Arts & Crafts XVI. The Purple Turtles XVII. The Bombay Store XVIII. Tribes India XIX. Yellow Button

16. Conceptualisation

110 115 117 125 126 127 128 128 129 130 131 131 132 132 133 134 135 137

17. Design

I. Study Table II. Study Chair III. Study Lamp IV. Pen Stand V. Book Shelf

139 157 171 181 187

18. Bibliography

198

19. Agencies Involved

199

20. About Me

201

Introduction Ever since I was young, while I walked along or passed by roads, I used to see road side terracotta/clay works’ shops, bamboo works’ shops and always used to get attracted by the ‘so called’ indifferent products. Their labeled indifference never made any difference to me and I always ended up stopping by and gazing at the beauty and the uniqueness of the objects. The form and the material of the objects always attracted me and I yet used to end up burning my mother’s pocket. Never did my interest and attraction towards such items fade. Even now, I persistently continue to gaze at such beautiful objects whenever I happen to pass by. Although I had such affinity towards these craft based products, I was still unaware of my involvement and potential to work with these crafts and develop more diverse and beautiful pieces of craft. It was just a couple of months ago, when I was thinking hard about

what my Diploma Project should be, I passed by a terracotta craft shop near an area called Agara in Bangalore, when it struck me how interesting and joyful it will be to create such kinds of products and help to improve the conditions of the carfts. As my mind had grown a little since I was a child, it occurred to me why these products aren’t visible in the present ‘mall world’. How can these products not form an extensive role in our lives and how have they just remained a source of souvenir. With these questions in mind, I knew I had to answer them. At that instant I decided to work on creating products based on Indian handicrafts. After observing the kinds of products which the artisans were continuously developing and were mainly for home décor, I thought of developing an elaborate and functional range of products based on interior use.

Project Brief With an intention to develop the handicraft industry by providing knowledge to the artisans about the market requirements and establish new market lines in urban and local markets, I wish to create new and contemporary products based on interior design. I believe that interior products made using the national crafts will form a new range of products for marketing in the urban and local markets. In the current scenario, there is very less emphasis on the development of the interior elements by crafts. Kumbham is one such initiative by Jinan – an artist, who has collaborated with a village in Aruvacode in Kerala, which has fostered with the craft of terracotta and developed a product range of around 500 items which does include some of the interior architectural elements. The other crafts are indeed being used to contemporize the products in the range of home and personal use and home décor. My major intervention for developing a new range of interior products will be in the ‘Lac-turnery craft’ of Channapatna in Karnataka which is nearly 40 kms from Bangalore. Lac turnery in Channapatna is used to make toys. It is a craft where wood is turned on a lathe and with the use of non toxic vegetable colors, the toys are made colorful. The reason for intervening in the toy craft of Channapatna is because of the need to develop a new project range for marketing. During the past decade, this craft was suffering with a major crisis of the lack of the raw material. But today, the raw material has been made

Logs cut in Saw Mills

Turning of Hale wood on lathe

Lac-turnery craft of Channapatna

Logs cut in Saw Mills

available by changing the type of wood used for the craft and also by easing the government interference. A Griappan artisan says, “Just a few years ago, procuring the basic raw material – wood was difficult due to bureaucratic hurdles involved and frequent harassment by the forest range offices but today the wood is available in abundance with minimal hindrances.” Although there are people involved in developing new range of products like ‘Varnam’, which is for-profit social enterprise that works with over 20 artisans in Channapatna on the craft of lac-turnery to create a series of products in the home décor and life style space, there still is a requirement of developing new products which will increase the market and the expanse of audiences. The craft will get a new platform to sustain and evolve with the help of such design interventions. In addition to this, I would like to explore the potential of using ‘viable’ mixed materials. As it has been mentioned in the book named ‘Designers meet Artisans’ by Craft Revival Trust, ‘Artisans do not have to be confined to using any one particular material. It is our failure that we have classified crafts and artisans according to materials: metal worker, leather worker, etc. Mixed materials should be used if they can make the product more mainstream.’

Stone Craft

Wood Craft

I would thus like to explore combinations of stone, wood, terracotta and metal craft with the lac-turnery craft. a) Stone craft b) Wood craft c) Terracotta craft d) Metal craft

Terracotta Craft

Metal Craft

Objective The aim of the project is to have a design intervention in the craft based industry to create new and contemporary product lines based on the interior use which are suitable for the urban tastes.

To provide knowledge to the artisans about the market requirements and establish new market lines in urban and local markets.

Need for Intervention In todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;global villageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, an artisan is getting more and more disconnected from the consumers, their needs and tastes. Unlike the past, where the consumers were only the local village people, now the consumer for any artisan is outreached to the urban consumer and international tourist. The local/village consumers are not enough to earn a livelihood. It is thus, very important for any artisan to work towards the taste of his/her consumer and evolve with his/her form of craft. In the above scenario, a gap is formed between the artisan and the urban consumer and thus, there is a necessity of a bridge or intervention. The intervention has to come from the designer who at one hand can create market areas for the

artisans by making them acquainted to the urban tastes and demands. On the other hand, the designer can understand the social, cultural and economic importance of the craft of the artisan. By understanding the requirements of the urban consumers and the factors associated with the craft, a designer can design products which are suitable for the urban lifestyles and also preserve the culture of the craft. Thus, there is an immense need for the intervention by a designer for developing the handicraft industry to develop a new range of craft based products and to increase the consumers and marketability of the product.

My Role As my intention is to move a step ahead in the development of the handicraft industry by intervening in the Channapatna Lac-turnery craft cluster, I thereby have a greater responsibility of treating the craftsmen as artisans and not merely skilled labor. I thus intend to impart knowledge to the artisans associated with the need of knowing and understanding the urban lifestyles and markets and the design. I later as a designer will produce products with the artisans to set examples

of the kinds of products that can be marketed on a large scale. The importance of such a role is to provide and enrich the artisans with tools and knowledge so that they can continue developing these products later which will help sustain their craft and livelihoods. Thus, my role of a facilitator is more important than just being a designer for this project.

Design Methodology This project can be branched out in three main categories â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

a) Need Assessment: Studying the need for development of a handcrafted product and contextualizing it by defining the target audience and market.

b) Research: The project involves a deep understanding of the technical, historical, economical, social and cul-

tural study of the crafts and the artisans engaged in this field. It also involves market, cluster and demographic research.

c) Design and Development: The design development will involve conceptualization of the products, developing the form and technique that has to be used to manufacture it. Once the form and design is finalized, the detailed technical and presentation drawings of the products will be produced. The designs will finally be prototyped by working with the craft clusters.

Design Opportunities In the early twentieth century, before industrialization took place, the crafts of India were valued for their functional use and beautiful intricacies and development. The potters were considered rich as they provided their goods and services to the local consumers. After industrialization, the handmade/handcrafted products were replaced by cheaper and durable substitutes which were machine made. Ever since, due to lack of attention to the Indian culture and craft, the position of the crafts in India had been deteriorating and the culture was being lost. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not long since people realized the importance of the craft industry of India â&#x20AC;&#x201C; its culture and specialty, that they have started working towards the revival of these crafts and develop

handicraft industry. Since the past four decades work has been happening, this has taken pace just a few years back. There have been many kinds of interventions made with different objectives which have led to the development of craft clusters, the development of livelihoods for the artisans, education of artisans, development in technology and availability of relevant raw material for the crafts to keep them alive and design and development for increase in the marketability. This project is a step towards the development of the handicraft industry such that it is competitive with the other industries with the intervention of new technologies and designs.

Clusters Involved 1. Lac-turnery Craft, Channapatna 2. Stone Cluster, Bangalore 3. Stone Cluster, Shivarapatna 4. Terracotta Cluster, Marasandra 5. Metal Cluster, Shivarapatna

Lac-turnery Craft

I Craft Research

Craft Process Lac is a resin secreted by the lac insect (Technadria Lacca and Lacifer Lacca) that feeds on a variety of host trees. The important ones among them are palash (Butea monosperma or the Flame of the Forest), ber (Zizyphus mauritiana or Indian Jujube) and kusum tree (Schleichera oleosa or Ceylon Oak tree) Lac turnery also known as Indian lacquering, is a craft where wood from hale tree (Wrightia tinctoria or Ivory tree) is turned on a lathe (hand or power) which is called kharad and chiseled with hands to form various products which are softenend using sandpaper. A hardened strip of lac mixed with pigments is then used to color the wooden products. The heat generated by the rotation of the lathe converts the solid lac into a liquid form on contact with the object and in turn the wooden piece acquires the color of the lac. For giving a permanent shine to the product, the lacquer is rubbed with a leaf of the talegiri tree (Pandanus odoratissimus or thatch screwpine or kevda) dipped in groundnut oil while the product continues to rotate on the lathe.

Several layers of different colored lac can be applied onto the wooden surface. The topmost layer can be carefully carved out with a metal stylus to apply different patterns onto the surface of the wooden product and revealing the colors underneath the top layer. Lacware is often equated with lacquerware which is incorrect. Lac is an animal resin while lacquer – “lacquer is a vegetable oleo-resin which naturally exists in a liquid state, and is either directly applied by a brush or is thickened by ashes into a plastic material that may be moulded and, while still adhesive, can be applied to the surfaces in bass relief ornamentation. The various uses of this substance have originated with the Burmese and Siamese Art that more closely resembles Japanese lacquer than Indian lac-work”. This is the difference mentioned in the book titled ‘National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museums’ by Jyotindra Jain and Aarti Aggarwala.

Lac-making Process Lacquerware is produced in the household workshops by all the artisans at the end of the day. As mentioned by an artisan during the interview, the process takes almost an hour to form the lacquerware that has to be used for the lac-turnery. As described by all the artisans who were interviewed, lacquerware is produced by a specific process. Purified lac or shellac is bought from

the markets. It is then held onto by two sides with wooden sticks and heated until the lac becomes plastic and malleable. To maintain the plasticity, the heating process is continued with breaks. A small amount of lithophone is added to the softened lac and the lac is beaten until a white layer appears. Lithopone is a white pigment consisting of a mixture of barium sulfate and zinc sulfide.

Lac-turning Process

Lac-making Process

It is used in interior paints and in some enamels. It is widely used for white paint. A small amount of the powdered form of the colored pigment (vegetable) mixed with some water is then added to the warm white lac. Now days, adulterated color pigments are also available in market at cheaper rates which include hazardous substances like zinc. These lacs are non-toxic and should not be used for children toys. The mixture is then beaten until the correct shapes evolve. The lac then begins to assume the consistency of rubber. It is reheated and before solidifying it is removed by hands from the wooden splinters.

lengths. Four or five sticks of one colour are prepared at a time. These strips are called battis. The battis have a shelf life of only one month before they become hard and unfit for lacquering.

A long thin stick of coloured lacquer 0.5 cm thick and 3 cm wide is shaped and cut into 15-20 cm

History Lacquerware is one of the oldest crafts of India, which is around four hundred years old. The evidence of the existence of lac in India is recorded in ‘Aaine Akbari’ written by Abul Fazl in 1590 AD where it was first mentioned as a text. As know by various sources on internet and books, the lac-turnery craft was introduced in Channapatna during the reign of Tipu Sultan. It is said that Tipu Sultan called artisans from Persia to train the locals in Channapatna. In Karnataka, lacquerware industry began as a household craft where goods were sold on roadside in Channapatna and the productivity was low due to the use of hand lathes.

In the past 20 years, due to the introduction of the power lathes developed from the American models, there has been a significant increase in the productivity and the industries have become small and medium scale enterprises which in turn serve large export markets.

Communities Involved As mentioned in the book, ‘National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museums’ by Jyotindra Jain and Aarti Aggarwala, lathe-turners are called kharadi. They are usually wood workers by castes and are called suthars. The book mentions that in Gujarat, especially in Sankheda,

the wood workers belonged to the Pancholi subcaste and were called Hindu suthars. In Rajasthan, the kharadi were generally Muslims who are said to have been Rajput once. A similar community is seen working today in

the lac-turnery craft of Channapatna â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Muslims and other Hindu lower castes. As mentioned in the case study of lacquerware craft of Channapatna by Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), as early as 1892, heredity artists who were called chitrgars were engaged in the wood-turnery which is the basis of lacquerware artistry. The originator of the lac-turnery craft in Channapatna and nearby areas is known to be a local-artist named Bavasmia. According to sources, it is said that Bavasmia went to the northwestern state of Punjab to learn lacquer-

ware. After a period of experimentation, he introduced study of the craft at the Industrial School in Channapatna. It is said that Bavasmia also mechanized the craft through the power lathe. Though Bavasmia introduced lac-turnery to encourage the Chitragars, their response was hesitant, and so admission was opened to students of other castes and religions. Bavasmia convinced Muslims and scheduled caste members to join the course and thus even today, the majority of Channapatna craftspeople belong to these communities.

Existing Product Range Traditionally a very small range was available to create products which included beads, buttons and small toys. Over the years, due to development in the technology and evolution of the craft as per the market requirements, the following products are being developed:

Decorative & Utility Items

Toys

Sports, Games & Educational Aids

- Flower Vases - Bowls - Salt & Pepper Shakers - Napkin Rings - Wall-panels - Pin Cushions - Pen Holders - Paper Weights - Rubber Stamp Holders

- Spinning Tops - Dolls depicting characters from Hindu mythology - Dolls in costumes of various countries around the world

- Skipping rope handles - Chess Sets - Disc Sets - Counting frames with beads

Jewelry

- Bangles - Necklaces - Beads - Earrings - Frames

Raw Materials Used The lac-turnery craft requires the use of both – natural and synthetic raw materials. The following raw materials are used for the lac turnery craft: 1. Hale Tree (Wrightia tinctoria or ivory wood or dudhi ki lakdi): It is the basic raw material of lac-tu rnery. The properties which are responsible for making hale wood suitable for this craft are: a. It is closed grained and moderately hard which can be easily turned into shapes by hand or machine b. It has a very low moisture c. Has low oil content which helps in gaining an excellent finish and translucency after polishing Available Resources: Hale is native to India and is found on village westerlands in Channapatna, Ramnagram, Mysore, Shimoga, Chickmanglur, Hassan and Coorg in the state of Karnataka. Cost: Hale is classified by the forest department as a timber tree. The government rate for the sale of hale wood is Rs. 3500 per ton. 2. Other wood raw materials: Although hale wood is the exclusive choice of raw material for the lac-turnery craft, due to price implications and other reasons, artisans also work in the following types of wood: a. Yellow Teak (Adina Cordifolia) b. Silver Oak (Grevillea Robusta) c. Ebony d. Rakthachandana e. Red Wood (Lal Agar) f. Blackwood (Kale Agar) g. Rose wood (Dalbergia Latifolia) h. Grey Wood i. Red Cedar j. Pine (Pinus sp) 3. Lac: Lac is a resin or coat (incrustation) produced by the insect Technadria Lacca and Lacifer Lacca. It is found on a number of forest trees especially kusum (Pandanus odoratissimus). The other trees on which it is found are palash

(Butea monosperma or the Flame of the Forest) and ber (Zizyphus mauritiana or Indian Jujube). Available Resources: Currently, lac is collected in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. In the nineteenth century lac was plentiful in Karnataka. This is no longer the case and supplies are imported mostly from Madhya Pradesh. Cost: Three different varieties of lac are used in the lac-turnery process. The highest quality of lac is referred to as button lac. It is light and golden in color and can cost upto Rs. 1,300 per kg. The second is a medium brown color and sells for Rs. 950 per kg. The third, poorest quality lac is dark black and sells for Rs. 700 per kg. 4. Natural Dyes: Natural Dyes are colours extracted from naturally available sources. The source of these dyes can be plants/ trees, animals or minerals. The following dyes are used for coloring the toys: a) Yellow: Turmeric powder: Turmeric plant is native to Southern Asia and is extensively cultivated all over India. The root of the plant is dried and powdered to obtain turmeric powder. Turmeric powder is widely used in Indian cooking and is well known for its medicinal and herbal properties. b) Bluish Black / Bluish Green: Indigo powder: Indigo is about a 2-3 feet long plant, cultivated on thousands of acres of land across India. The whole plant is used for extraction of dye. The extract form of dye is supplied in powder form. Indigo is a time honored dye and was used since ancient times in the Indian subcontinent. Lac mixed with indigo powder when applied on wood gives a bluish black / bluish green colour. c) Orange : Kanchi Kum Kum powder: Natural kum kum powder, considered sacred in India, is traditionally made by mixing turmeric powder with lime (calcium hydroxide) which turns the yellow turmeric powder into red colour. The name ‘Kanchi Kum Kum’ derives its roots from Kanchi, a famous temple town in southern

India, where they continue to produce this Kum Kum in the traditional method using natural ingredients. Kum Kum is mixed with Lac and applied on wood to get a bright orange colour. e) Green : Indigo + Turmeric d) Red: Manjishta (Natural Alizarin) + Kanchi Kum Kum: Manjishta, also known as Indian Madder, is a creeper that is cultivated in the foot hills of the Himalayas in huge quantities. The red coloured roots of this plant are dried and powdered to get the dye stuff Alizarin. This powder is mixed with Kanchi kum kum to get the desired red colour.

enables lac to lose its transparency and become opaque. Resources: Lithophane is imported from Czechoslovakia and Germany Cost: Lithophone costs around Rs 50/kg locally 7. Poster and Enamel Colors: Finally poster colours and enamel paints are used to draw decorations and scenery onto the lac finish.

f) Light Brown: Catechu ( Katha): Catechu is purified extract of wood Accacia catechu. The plant of Accacia catechu is about 15 meter high. This dye is mixed with lac and applied on wood to get light to medium brown colours. g) Dark Brown: Ratanjyot: This dye stuff is made from the bark of Ratanjyoth tree (Jatropha). Lac mixed with this dye gives a dark brown colour when applied on wood. 5. Leaves of the talegiri (Pandanus odoratissimus): Talegiri is also known as screw pine. The leaf is important for the lacquerware production because it is used for polishing and imparts translucence to the finish. Properties: a. This is a palm-like evergreen which has bunches of long thick leaves. The leaves can be either densely branched or have a clear bole of upto 6m in height. b. Screw pines have aerial roots Available resources: The screw pine trees are found on the coast and along the banks of rivers, canals, fields and ponds. Cost: Bundles of 100 leaves are sold for Rs. 50 6. Lithophone: Lithophone is a compound of barium sulphate and zinc sulphide which is a white pigment that

Hale Wood

Dry Talegiri Leaf

Lac

Talegiri Leaf

Tools Used 1. Lathe:

7. Hammer:

Hand Lathe:

This tool id used to fix wood into the lathe and also to fix two parts together.

Traditionally all lacquerware was produced using simple hand lathes called patris made by local carpenters. A bow string is used to turn a rotating axle in the center of wooden lathe. The turning tool is held in the free hand and pressure is added with the foot, shaping the spinning wood. The advantage of the patri, which continues to be used by many craftspeople, is its simple construction and ease of operation. As a hand powered tool it can be used without electricity in village households.

8. Sandpaper: It is used to smoothen the wooden product on the lathe after the shape has been carved out. In local language it is called maralu kagada. 9. Varnish: Clear varnish is used to give a finish to the final product.

Power Lathe: With the increasing market for lacquerware the electric power lathe has been introduced. A power lathe has a head stock that consists of a revolving axle attached to two belt pulleys. The belt runs over a pulley mounted on a revolving shaft that is driven by an electric motor. The production time decreases considerably on the power lathe as both hands are free to operate turning tools. Power lathes are more often located in small factory settings, where there is electricity. 2. Chisels: Chisels are used for shaping the objects while on lathe. In local language they are called jiruguttu. 3. Compass: A compass is used for marking the radii on the objects before shaping them. In local language it is call Elle. 4. Gauge: Various kinds of gauges are used for measuring the diameters and lengths of the objects. 5. Snappers: It is a tool to hold the product while working on it with another tool. 6. Cutting Tool: This tool is used for cutting the use of a hammer.

Hand Lathe

Chisels

Power Lathe

Compass

Guage

Hand Lathe

Guage

Hammer

Cutting Tool

Health Hazards I pointed out the following health hazards on my visits to Channapatna toy factories:

ii) Lack of air circulation in the working premises which may cause suffocation.

i) Exposure to and inhalation of immense amount of fine wood particles, produced due to the shaping of wood with various tools. This may cause breathing or other lung problems

iii) No emergency exits and fire extinguishers present in the working premises. High inflammable wood waste lies all around the work place.

Safety Measures The following safety measures should be adopted by the artisans and in the working premises:

ii) Natural ventilation passages should be carved out to have an air circulation.

i) The artisans and craftsmen should use oxygen masks or any basic mask to prevent the wood particles inhalation.

iii) The fire extinguishers should be installed compulsorily in the working premises such that it is easy to reach.

Usage of Waste Material The raw material used in the craft of lac-turnery is wood. While the product is being made, a lot of wood dust and particles accumulate in the working space. This wood dust forms the waste out of the whole process. The advantage of having a natural material as a raw material is that the material is completely consumed in some way or the other. The waste

material of natural materials serves as raw materials for various other industries. Similarly, all the waste coming from the lac-turnery craft in the form of wood dust is sold to the incense sticksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; companies in Bangalore at the rate of Rs. 4-5 per kg. to form various kinds of incense sticks.

II Cluster Research Channapatna Channapatna – a town nearly 80 kms from Bangalore is famous for its toys crafted by lac-turnery. It is also called the ‘toy town’ or ‘Gombegala Ooru’. Channapatna is towards the south-west of Bangalore and comes on the way to Mysore while traveling from Bangalore. It can be easily reached by trains, buses and road which are reaching Mysore.

ies in Karnataka which is under the Nirmala Nagara – Municipal Governance Project. Under this project, the city obtained its website as well as the Public Grievance & Redressal Module.

The city was ruled by the King Timmapparaja Aras. Later this city was chosen as the capital city by Jagadevaraya.

Channapatna has an Artisan Training Institute (A.T.I.) which was established 94 years ago. This was established to promote Channapatna toys which are now famous all over the world. The crafts which are practiced in this town are carpentry, lacquerware toys, coir and blacksmithy.

Channapatna Taluk comes under the Ramnagara District with its headquarters located at the Bangalore-Mysore Highway. The area of the city is nearly 53.587 hectares. It is one of the 57 cit-

Channapatna is also known for twisting of raw silk and manufacturing of silk. Coconut is the major product of the town.

Demographics of Channapatna As per the live observations, interview from people and the Channapatna website, it has been confirmed that Channapatna is a craft cluster of over 3000 traditional artisans who are engaged in the production of lacquerware. Out of these, 90 per cent of the artisans are males and the rest are female. Majority of communities working in the production of this craft are the Muslim community and the scheduled castes. A Crafts Park called Channapatna Crafts Park is being established in Channapatna which is believed tobe the first Crafts Park of India. This

park is established to preserve, nurture and grow the skills and production of the artisans involved in the various crafts in Channapatna and to provide them with employment opportunities. As per the Channapatna website, this is being done through the provision of infrastructure and manufacturing facilities to exporters engaged in the production of wood craft lacquerware and natural fiber products synonymous with the region. The infrastructure and facilities of the park will also be available to architects, designers and companies for crafting and manufacturing of wooden products and lacquerware.

Channapatna Toy Manufacturing Processs Procuring the wood from the nearby forests in trucks at the rate of Rs. 3,400 per ton (Current Rate)

Applying colors to the product using battis or lacquer sticks

Chiseling graphics on the topmost layer of the lacquer to create designs

Seasoning and cutting the wood in the saw mills

Smoothening and finishing the product usuing sandpaper

Rubbing the lacquered product with the leaf of talegiri to provide smoothness and lustre

Cutting the wood into the desired shapes according to its design

Turning and carving the toys and other products on the lathes

Using a tool to take out the finished product from the lathe

Other types and cluster working in lac-turnery craft As per the book, ‘National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum’, the main clusters of plain lac ornamentation on wood, particularly creating striped designs in a blending of colors on objects are Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Murshidabad in Bengal, Hoshiarpur in Punjab, Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Patna in Bihar, Savantvadi in Maharashtra, Gwalior and Sheopur in Madhya Pradesh and Salem in Tamil Nadu. In Patna, Bihar, there is a tradition of presenting a nose ring to a girl as a symbol of marriage, in a red-lac wooden box. Often auspicious motifs like the peacock, fish, flowers and creepers are etched on the surface of the container in black and white. This is done by coating three layers of lac of each color – red, white and black and then etching the patterns with a metallic stylus to see the patterns in red and white colors underneath

the top layer. This surface is then rubbed with the talegiri leaf and finished. This craft is called etched nakshi. In Sankheda, Gujarat, transparent lac work with painted tin foil ornamentation on wooden furniture and toys is produced. In this technique, sheets of tin foil are hammered along with hot glue which is called saras until the two become a uniform composition and dissolve in water. The silvery pigment derived from this method is called harkalai. Harkalai is then used to paint floral and geometrical patterns on the surface of the wooden object while the object is on the lathe. This silvery coat of the foil is then applied with a transparvvent coat of lac and is rubbed with a stone called agate to bring out the lustre and beauty of the foil.

III Reflection on Cluster Visit Channapatna – a town nearly 80 kms from Bangalore is famous for its toys crafted by lac-turnery. It is also called the ‘toy town’ or ‘Gombegala Ooru’. Channapatna is towards the south-west of Bangalore and comes on the way to Mysore while traveling from Bangalore. It can be easily reached by trains, buses and road which are reaching Mysore. The city was ruled by the King Timmapparaja Aras. Later this city was chosen as the capital city by Jagadevaraya. Channapatna Taluk comes under the Ramnagara District with its headquarters located at the Bangalore-Mysore Highway. The area of the city is nearly 53.587 hectares. It is one of the 57 cities in Karnataka which is under the Nirmala Nagara – Municipal Governance Project. Under this project, the city obtained its website as well as the Public Grievance & Redressal Module.

silk and manufacturing of silk. Coconut is the major product of the town. Channapatna has an Artisan Training Institute (A.T.I.) which was established 94 years ago. This was established to promote Channapatna toys which are now famous all over the world. The crafts which are practiced in this town are carpentry, lacquerware toys, coir and blacksmithy. Although this was my first official visit, I had visited Channapatna very recently for getting acquainted to the area and the place. The artisans working there recognized me easily and were very welcoming. I thought that this was a good start to intervene and know more about the artisans, their craft, their tools, their life, their problems their way. I started taking photographs of the factory where the process of toy-making was happening. I recorded all the tools and the process of their work for my documentation.

Channapatna is also known for twisting of raw

View of the Cauvery Toy Factory

It was an interesting observation to see how these artisans had a competition among themselves to sell their products. I saw the way everyone opened their â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;pitarisâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;(boxes) and surged towards my friends to sell their products. The same thing happened with me the last time I visited them. My excited was short lived when on talking to them I discovered that they get their money based on the sale of their one product and not collectively by completing their order. After various visual recordings of the processes we moved further into the village to map more people working on the craft. While I walked, I felt refreshed to be in a typical village and watch the streets filled with huts and mud houses. Although the sun was radiating scotching heat, but this could not let my enthusiasm down. It was the peak hour of the afternoon and thus the streets were barren. Somewhere here or there we could see some Muslim ladies walking and reaching their places. The whole place seemed like being dominated by the Muslim community. While walking through one of the streets, I spotted a person through a small door who was working on his power lathe. I wished to enquire more about his practice and then I knocked and entered. To my amazement, the man was working on the power lathe in about a volume of 336 cubic feet (8ft. X 6ft. X 7ft.). As I entered, I was choked with the dust and other small particles of wood which were entering my nose and mouth as I spoke. I came out for a breath and felt pity. On my enquiry, the artisan informed me that he worked there for 10 to 11 hours a day. I could only think of the health hazards that were being faced by these craftsmen. In a larger space, these are not evident, but in a smaller space, the hazards seemed deadly.

A man in the single room home-based factory

I was made to acknowledge the presence of zinc compounds in the lacquer sticks for use in the turnery craft. Recently, the use of zinc in lacquer has started due to less prices of the zinc mixed lac over the vegetable dyes lacquer. This information about the lacquer sticks, made me worry about the toys for the children. I was further told that in the toys the vegetable dye sticks were used. The zinc lacquer was used only in the utility items which were used by adults for home decorations. After listening to all this, I could only think about the words by Jaya Jaitly where she mentioned that the crafts of India have a greater importance â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that of being environmental friendly. I thought to myself, if I really succeed in providing

Street View of Channapatna

a better market for this craft, I might just be able to improve the economic conditions of these artisans. This may lead to solving their problems related to the availability and prices of raw materials. This still solely depends on the ethics of the craftsmen. Further, as the day was passing by, I with my small group that day kept walking towards the interior of the village to discover something that I had read about in text books, which was being used by only the women – a hand lathe for producing lac-turned products. I read in a case study based on the Lac-turnery craft of Channapatna that women’s position in this craft was deteriorating because of lack of technological inputs and training. I had read that women were not given a platform to keep themselves involved in the lac-turnery craft as much as the male counterparts. Before going for this field visit, I had a perception that there is a need of women upliftment in this craft and if I impart knowledge to these women in terms of the market requirement and design, they could probably establish themselves better. To my horror, when I visited Channapatna officially, to observe various things, I became aware of the current fact that women no longer work in this craft. They have stopped their work in it completely. I couldn’t see a single woman working in this sector. On my enquiry to people about whether women work in this craft all I could be answered was, “Madam, aurat isme kaam nahi karta, sirf aadmi karta hai. Wo aurta sab bidi banata hai.” (Madam, women don’t work in this field, only men do. All those women make cigarettes). This was indeed sad but true. The women in the town of Channapatna have shifted their profession from being a craftswoman to being a cigarette filler. Despite having infinite adverse effects due to inhaling tobacco which is filled in the cigarettes, these women have chosen to work there because of better incomes. On being questioned about the reason for not working as an artisan, all they had to answer was, “Paisa nahi milta madam, bachha paalna hota hai, ghar sambhalna hota hai, ghar rehke bhi bidiyan bhar sakte hain. Isme paisa achha milta hai.” (Don’t get money madam, have to grow kids, have to take care of the house hold, can make cigarettes from home. Get good money from this.) Indeed, the cigarette factory pays Rs. 150-Rs. 250 to their workers per day for making 1000 bidis daily. I learnt about this scenario when I went inside

the village with the help of a local 12 year old kid named Zishan, who showed me a house where a man with his wife worked on a hand lathe machine to prepared lac-turned items. I could not see any woman working in the whole village. The range of items produced by the hand lathe is limited to three products due to the use of the hand machine. They only produced 10mm diameter beads, 10-12mm disameter flat buttons and some keyrings. On being questioned about the non usage of the power lathes, they simply answered cannot afford it and they get a lot of orders for the these items. I could only gaze at their way of working and limitation due to which they could not grow much. I took some photographs with Zishan, his sister and a few more kids who had gathered around getting attracted by the camera and may be the language and attire. But they all were smiling and yet welcoming. There was a conversation problem due to the language which could not be solved even by my Telugu friends. Thus, I could not question them more and just thought that next time I will get a Kannada speaking friend with me. My next step was to interview the artisans to know how they felt working, if there were any problems that they were coming across in any context of the craft or due to it. On speaking to a about three-five people, it came to my knowledge that the main problem is the raw material procurement. The artisans had a huge problem getting the material from the forests as they had to pay taxes to government which they said they couldn’t afford. Their other problem was they had no growth in the field. They were producing goods as per the demand but did not get any profit. By the time money was transferred to the bottom of the supply chain, it was over. The last layer of the chain – the artisans had to convince themselves with the wages that they earn generally. I was thinking throughout, that will increasing the market solve any purpose for them? I thought that I have to find a way to eliminate intruders from the supply chain so that profit can be made for the artisans. The other aspect for development that came to my mind was the enhancement of the product range itself. A range that has immense demand for its aesthetics. But the hurdle for my thought was that only developing a new range won’t solve the purpose. I simply thought about the things that will happen once I leave this place. I don’t think that the artisans will continue producing new products.

Artisans working on power lathe in a factory

Artisans working on a hand lathe in his house

I believe that I now have to train these men. For developing on their own. Educate them to an extent that they think anew, afresh. While I was on these thoughts while listening to the artisans who were speaking to me, my thought process was interrupted by an artisan who was very eager to show around the various factories that his nephew was working in – stone and lac-turnery craft. I and my friend initially started with that person thinking that we will be back in 10 mins but that small visit slowly converted into a voyage. A voyage to the village on foot – exploring various kinds of factories of lac-turnery craft and wood craft which produced different varieties of products – some were small scale like key rings, small toys etc.and some were a little bigger utility items like jars, flower vases etc. Some were artists who were painting with poster colors and then turning them with lac and some

were carpenters who developed school trophies and other items on their own. Throughout the expedition, I was filled with energy and happiness to look around so many people. My friend, Ankita, was there to continuously instill in me with the do’s and don’t’s that could possibly be in terms of work and surrounding. This visit to Channapatna was a very informative, fruitful and thoughtful journey. Suggestions and comments from my friends who were with me were worth seeking answer to and also to keep in mind further. Will be continuously going ahead to seek and develop something that comes my way from my research.

Kids with me

IV Reflection on Artisansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Interviews The visit to Channapatna on 18th Jan, 2014, was interesting as this was the first official visit where I had been to this place to map it for the first time in terms of the clusters, its demographics, the people, and the craft. My primary objective of this visit was to document the craft completely including the raw material supply, the processing, the tools involved in the craft, the process of the craft, its history and every element linked to the craft. It was important for me to talk to the artisans working to know more about the craft. Fortunately, the artisans mostly spoke about the problems they were facing in terms of material procurement and their income. Without questioning anything about their problems, the artisans did mention them as they were an integral part of the whole process. The primary problem faced by the artisans seems to be acquiring the raw material. The reason for this to be a problem is that, they have to pay heavy taxes while transporting wood from the forests to the city. The expense of the tax is larger than their earnings which compel them to

acquire corrupt methods for procurement. The second problem faced by the artisans working specifically for the government emporiums was that they are not earning any profit on the production of the goods. According to the artisans, their lives are going on the basis of the daily wages provided by the government which are in turn based on the products they completed in a day. There is no share for the artisans from the sales made by their own handmade products. I believe that by providing a new range of products for marketing and establishing direct market links with no intruders, the conditions of the artisans in terms of livelihood can be resolved. I also think that they may be able to pay the taxes correctly if their earnings improve. In the end, tax payment and material procurement with correct ways lies in the ethical beliefs of the craftsmen. My intention of the intervention is to provide them with new markets and opportunities and to train them with design and market education so that they can stand by themselves.

Artisansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Interview Transcripts Artisan I (Translated) DATE: 18th Jan, 2014 PLACE: Lacquerware Craft Complex, Channapatna NAME OF THE ARTISAN: Sayeed Samhulla INTERVIEW: SAYEED (Artisan): I have worked from 15 years to 40. If I talk about earning in that, then, this wood we get from forest department in Madras, Kadaikal, Trichi, Hyderabad, Krishnagoro. In between, the Forest Department stops our truck for cutting and taking away Raw Wood. 10 years earlier, Forest Department use to supply the wood to the Government. They are 400-500 workers over there. Now we have to cut the wood in the night and get it in the truck. If not this way, then we have to give 500-1000 Rs to the Forest Department people. We are tired of telling to the Government. We want to work for the government. We have to empty this place by 5 in the evening. Government has given us machines and have asked us whether we are teachers? Firstly they had come 20-40 years back. They were around 200-300. They said that we were too many and therefore couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t train us but can give us a machine. The Government helped us by giving us money and machine. As soon as we got the machine, we started supplying products to Cauveri in 1-6 months. Cauveri makes a lot of profit from us. This keychain which we sell in 10 Rs. is sold at Cauvery for Rs. 25, that is why they have hired us. We are working here from past 40-50 years. The shopkeeper should be good in our business.

We have grown old working here, and our children are also doing the same work. What we make here is sold in double the price at the shop. I have made a spinning top which I sell for Rs.10. It is sold for Rs. 25-30 when it goes in Cauvery. We are facing a lot of problems here. 400-500 workers are here. People have previously come here to take interviews. Journalists have come and have showed us and our problems in the newspaper, but nothing happened. If we tell this to the Government, then they say that ours is a very big community. There are 2000-3000 people in Channapatna and 500 factories. We sell spinning top in Rs. 8. We face a lot of problems in it. We need to buy rice and also have to send children to school. SURABHI: So how much money do you get in a day? SAYEED (Artisan): We get wood for Rs. 100, color for Rs. 50, we get material for Rs. 150. We do work worth Rs. 500. If we reduce Rs. 150 for the material, then we get the remaining Rs. 300-350. If anybody calls us to Hyderabad or anywhere else to teach our work, then we make somewhere around Rs. 1000-2000 along with the food. A lot of people like this come here, learn work and then go to Hyderabad, Baroda, Shimoga. A lot of people have learned from here and go there and make bangles in the factories. Lac which used to come for Rs. 300-400 a kilo now comes for Rs. 1000. We face various similar problems in the work. I have been working here from 15 till 18. Neither do I have a vehicle nor my own house. I earning

and I properly supply products to the shop. We are getting money and that is how it is going on. The shopkeeper comes to us, buy’s our products and goes. Work is good but there is no progress. He takes the products and exports it to Madras, Bombay, Kerala, Calicut, Andhra etc. and shows it in the market over there. They buy it from us and sell it over there. My nephew does stone work over there – makes pearls. He gets stones from under the earth. If you want to see then you can see.

SURABHI: What is your name? SAYEED (Artisan): My name is Sayeed Samula. I am a married girl and I make ‘bidi’s’. We are poor people. We make a lot of bidi’s and then study in the school. We make bidi by hands. Come, let me show you stone work. Do you have my Photograph? (excited to see himself in the camera)

Artisan II (Translated) DATE: 18th Jan, 2014 PLACE: : Home Factory of Lacquer craft, Channapatna NAME OF THE ARTISAN: Syed INTERVIEW: SURABHI: Hello. My name is Surabhi and I am from Bangalore. I have undertaken Channapatna Craft as my project and wish to talk to you about the same. Will you let me record it? SYED (Artisan): Ok, but why do you want to record it? SURABHI: I’ll have to recollect all these talks between us later on and will have to write them down in order to proceed with my project work and that is why it is necessary for me to record our conversation. Please do not worry. SYED (Artisan): Ok. We can sit there and talk. I’ll do my work and you can ask me questions. SURABHI: So, since when are you doing this work? SYED (Artisan): From last 30 years. SURABHI: ow did you get involved in this work and what was the reason between getting into this field? SYED (Artisan): My Grandfather use to make stick- pencil stick. Our family was running because of it. Early it was hand driven – we use to call it ‘patri’. Then came my father’s time when machines came into existence. It had Japanese Technology. From then onwards it has become a little Okay for us. Earlier power for the machine was an issue, now it is no more an issue. But, Wood is still a problem. Forest men do not let us take wood. Channapatna Toys are very famous here. Still, this government does not provide any help to small people. Gives us problem for Wood. When we bring cut down Wood from the forest then the forest men catches us, and then the constable catches us. Give them money. But, it is going on. SURABHI: So how much money do you have to pay?

SYED (Artisan): Earlier, One Ton wood use to come for 1800 Rs. Now, it is 3500 for One Ton. Now, when it comes in truck, then the boy who comes along says, give 500-1000 Rs, else we’ll take it to the Station (Police Station). You are stealing this material from the Forest. Saying so and so he gives us a lot of troubles. Many a times, because of all these reasons, we have complained. We have told the MLA here, who then said that he’ll provide us facility. After the elections, he gets vanished. We do have problem, but our family is running. SURABHI: Then why are you doing this work? Why don’t you do some other work? SYED (Artisan): What do I have, including me we are five brothers. All four brothers are literate; I have eye problem, therefore I couldn’t study. And therefore I cannot even do some other work. So this is good, I can work while in the house. SURABHI: Hmmmm.. So what all do you make? SYED (Artisan): In this we get one with the painting, which I had showed you (Bangles). It comes as small, it comes as big, in half a inch, quarter inch is of 6mm. We make these and supply to Bangalore, Bombay and Chennai. SURABHI: So, do you make only Bangles? SYED (Artisan): I make Bangles and Rabbit. SURABHI: Do you teach this to your kids also? SYED (Artisan): NO! (Strongly). I am paying attention towards my children’s education. No No. We are facing problem because of China products. China products come for very cheap rates. For example, this bangle of ours is selling in the market for Rs. 20. The market person purchases this from us for Rs. 12 and sells it for Rs. 20. China Bangles come for 3-4 Rs, so why will he purchase from us? So it is going on right now however it is. As in, the inner finishing won’t come in the China- this wood finish. The do have finish, but it is not as much as our finish. And, our Shine Finish (Finishing with the Shine), this also won’t be there. Matt finish it is. That is why our product is in demand. As in, after seeing the China product, they say that it is very cheap. As in, if government help us a little, then it can be helpful for us.

The machine which has been installed there, would you like to see what happens? As in, so much work is going on. SURABHI: Then why don’t you make more products? Why do you make only Bangles and Rabbit? SYED (Artisan): The products in which we have profit, we take orders for that only. We make others also, but we have don’t have many orders for them.

SYED (Artisan): 1000-1200 pieces are made. They are made Raw. SURABHI: How much does it take for providing finishing to one Bangle? SYED (Artisan): For finishing also it takes one day for 1200 pieces. If 2 people are there.

SURABHI: So how much do you sell?

SURABHI: Does anybody else work with you?

SYED (Artisan): Meaning?

SYED (Artisan): There is one more with me who has went for lunch. He will come by 4’o clock.

SURABHI: Meaning, how many bangles do you sell? SYED (Artisan): We make it on order. The packet which is there inside (packet of 24 bangles - 2 of each color). People give order of 100 packets. We get order from Bombay for 1000 pieces also. Because of electricity problem here, we take 45 days lead time and make and give 1000 packets. 1000 packets means 24000 pieces (Emphasizing).

SURABHI: How many pieces can you make in one day?

SURABHI: What is your name? SYED (Artisan): Syed is my name. SURABHI: My name is Surabhi. Thank you. SYED (Artisan): Welcome (Smiling).

Artisan III (Translated) DATE: 18th Jan, 2014

SURABHI: Have you ever done it on a cloth?

PLACE: : Home Factory of Lacquer craft, Channapatna

Muhammad (Artisan): Yes I do it from home.

NAME OF THE ARTISAN: Muhammad Syed INTERVIEW: SURABHI: Hello. My name is Surabhi. I am form Bangalore. I am studying making a project on Channapatna Craft. For the same reason I wish to talk to you. I wish to record our conversation. Will you let me record it? Muhammad (Artisan): Yes, why not. So what do you want to do? SURABHI: Using this craft, I want to make new products. Muhammad (Artisan): So you want to do business? SURABHI: Yes, but after college. Currently I am studying. Muhammad (Artisan): Sit. SURABHI: What is your name?

SURABHI: I want to see that work also. Muhammad (Artisan): No the Ladies get it done and take them away from the home itself. SURABHI: How did you come into this field? What is it that drew you towards here? The patterns which you make, are they traditional or you just draw them as you feel like? Muhammad (Artisan): This export material contains export design. The one who wants to do business gets the design. What he wants to get done on wood and papier mache, he gets that also. What we sell here in the market, that has our own design. We only chose the design and give it from our mind. What we give here in the market â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Bangalore as well as here, thatis of our choice only. They want it in bright color. Exporters get selected decent colors. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get these bright colors. Theirs is silent decent color. These market people do not like silent color. SURABHI: How do get the shine/luster by just painting it?

Muhammad (Artisan): My name is Muhammad Sayeed.

Muhammad (Artisan): For this shine we add lacquer. You must have seen the turning, in the similar manner we add lacquer.

SURABHI: Since when are you working in this craft?

SURABHi: So which color is this? It appears to be a plain, transparent lacquer.

Muhammad (Artisan): For 30 years.

Muhammad (Artisan): It comes out as yellow, off white color. Because of melting it with water, it becomes likes this. Because of boiling it, it becomes off white in color. Color shade is not added in it. Shining is then added to it and also Varnish is done. I spray varnish.

SURABHI: What exactly do you do in this craft? As in, you do not have a lathe over here and I have seen you painting only. Muhammad (Artisan): I do all round work and I am an artist as my other profession. Art means I do Art Designing. And I can also keep that raw material on the turney and process it. SURABHi: So the way by which you do your art work, is that done only on wood? Muhammad (Artisan): ere wood products are more therefore I do it on wood. I can do it on cloth also but I do not.

SURABHi: Okay. So you have been working in this field for so long, how do you feel? Muhammad (Artisan): I feel very happy. I have been doing this since 30 years; I am happy and I am interested in it. SURABHI: So you had said that you export, what is the process for this export?

Muhammad (Artisan): Export- the parties which come from Bangalore get the designs with them. They get the cloth with them. They have their design on paper and cloth. They come to us match the design. They get it done in 2-3 ways. After that they give us order- which should be of same color without any change. Even after varnish and lacquer, the color which is there on the cloth exactly same color should be there on the wood without any difference. That we do and give. SURABHI: So how much do you earn per day or per month?

SURABHI: Do you teach them this? Muhammad (Artisan): (Interrupting) No. They do it. I do not teach them but they do well in art. They do designing and drawing of school, which is very good. I make them study. SURABHI: Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you want them to learn this craft?

SURABHI: And do you have any kind of problem, as I have heard that there is problem of raw material?

Muhammad (Artisan): First I want them to study. Then what do they want after study? I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have much money. Therefore I cannot export much. But we are able to do well. I am earning enough to keep my house running. I am making my children study. They will decide after studying what they want to do. It is up to them.

Muhammad (Artisan): The forest department person over here does not provide wood.

SURABHI: Thank you so much. My name is Surabhi.

Muhammad (Artisan): I earn 250-300 Rs. per day.

SURABHI: Do you have children?

Muhammad (Artisan): Yes, two of them. One 15 year old girl and one 7 year old boy

Stone Craft

I Craft Research

Man’s best friend from nature, after earth and wood is stone. Man used stone as his tool for hunting animals for food and for his own safety

against the other animals. He befitted from stone because of its ability to be sharp and pointed.

History The history of objects carved in stone can be dated back to the third millennium B.C. – the Indus Valley Civilization, the excavations of which provide evidence of beautifully carved objects in soapstone (steatite) and red sandstone. Stone marks man’s gaining mastery over the new tools and objects which have been more effective than before. This period of mastery has been named after the usage of stone in almost every walk of life. This period is called the Stone Age. The book ‘Handicrafts of India’ by Kamladevi Chattopadhyay, describes the affinity of man with stone in the following way, “As the early man was a more integrated personality, the new medium penetrated every aspect of his life. So stone was not only an instrument for digging, but also his knife and spearhead to hunt for his

food, to fortify his arm to wave off his enemy, and later his object of worship and of decoration.” Excavations and studies suggest that the oldest stone used for carving seemed to be granite – granular stone and the method used for carving was limited to chipping. Carving was extended to polishing much later. The findings of the Paleolithic Age show a great diversity of shell-like chipping. Some of the stone objects found in the excavations are various weights, presser, grinder and the pestle and the mortar. Pestle and mortar were used when the cooking reached an elaborate stage.

Mythological Legends To explain the immobility of stone, there exists a captivating legend according to which stones and hills once had wings. The legend states that mother Earth was getting harassed by these two flying around, and pled to God Indra to save her. Heeding the request, Indra clipped off their wings and thus made them motionless.

Another circumstance which characterizes stone as an honorable element is that it is adjudged clean by the Hindus. Thus, stone found a place in the kitchen and eating rooms. It also became an auspicious symbol and a bride at her marriage and a boy at his initiation had to walk upon it with a vow to be firm as the stone.

Stones used for Carving The stones used for carving are mainly soapstone, or steatite, sandstone, granite and marble.

whose grains are visible by naked eye. Granites can be pink to gray in color, depending on their chemistry and mineralogy.

1. Soapstone or Steatite:

Rajaraja Chola I of the Chola Dynasty in South India built the world’s first temple entirely of granite in the 11th century AD in Tanjore, India. The Brihadeeswarar temple Brihadeeswarar Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva was built in 1010. The massive Gopuram (ornate, upper section of shrine) is believed to have a mass of around 81 tonnes. It was the tallest temple in south India.

Soapstone is a metamorphic rock (these arise from the transformation of existing rock types, in a process called metamorphism, which means “change in form”) which is a composition of hydrates magnesium silicate. Soapstones are relatively soft and thus are easy to be carved. Soft soapstone feels soapy when touched and thus the name is given. Soapstone has been used in India for centuries as a medium for carving. It is used for inlaid designs, sculpture, coasters, and kitchen countertops and sinks. It is sometimes used for construction of fireplace surrounds, cladding on metal woodstoves, and as the preferred material for woodburning masonry heaters because it can absorb, store and evenly radiate heat due to its high density and magnesite content. Currently, soapstone is most commonly used for architectural applications, such as counter tops and interior surfacing. 2. Sandstone: Sansdstones are sedimentary rocks (types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth’s surface and within bodies of water) composed of sand-sized minerals or rockgrains. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow, red, gray, pink, white and black. Sandstone has been used for domestic construction and housewares since prehistoric times, and continues to be used. Sandstone was a popular building material from ancient times. It is relatively soft, making it easy to carve. It has been widely used around the world in constructing temples, cathedrals, homes, and other buildings. It has also been used for artistic purposes to create ornamental fountains and statues. 3. Granite: Granite is an igneous rock (It is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava)

Many large Hindu temples in southern India, built by the Chozha (/Chola) Emperor Rajaraja Chola I, were made of granite. There is a large amount of granite in these structures. They are comparable to the Great Pyramid of Giza. In some areas granite is used for gravestones and memorials. Granite is a hard stone and requires skill to carve by hand. Until the early 18th century, in the Western world, granite could only be carved by hand tools with generally poor results. Granite is widely being used for flooring in various buildings. Polished granite is also a popular choice for kitchen countertops due to its high durability and aesthetic qualities 4. Marble: Marble is a non-foliated metamorphic rock. White marble has been prized for its use in sculptures since classical times. This preference has to do with its softness, which made it easier to carve and a relative resistance to shattering. Also, it allows light to penetrate several millimeters before being scattered out, resulting in the characteristic waxy look which gives “life” to marble sculptures of any kind, which is why many sculptors preferred and still prefer marble for sculpting. Pure white marble is the result of metamorphism of a very pure (silicate-poor) limestone or dolomite protolith. The characteristic swirls and veins of many colored marble varieties are usually due to various mineral impurities such as clay, silt, sand, iron oxides, or chert which were originally present as grains or layers in the limestone. Green coloration is often due to serpentine resulting from originally high magnesium limestone or dolostone with silica impurities.

Soapstone

Pergola carved out of soapstone

Red Sandstone

Carving done in Red Sandstone

Granite Slabs

Sculpture carved in Granite Stone

Limestone

Sculpture carved in Limestone (Marble)

Communities Involved People working in stone craft are generally called sutradhars in Bengal, which means those working with the string. On the same note, stone cutters from a place called Kammalan in South India are called kal tac’chan and in Rajasthan people who work specially for making

grinding stones are called silavats. Silavats are also called sutradhars. Today, the title shilpi is given to those who work in stone, regardless of their castes.

Methods of Stone Carving Stoneware is one of the crafts where the artisan has to literally start working from the scratch that is quarrying. The raw material needs to be procured from the mines and transported to the artisans’ place where the carving method is followed. Contrary to the molding process where metal is heated and reshaped, or the ‘building’ process where additional material is added in case of clay modeling, ‘carving’ involves a ‘subtraction’ from the original large piece rather than addition to it. The slightest error in the calculation of cutting the stone a little too deep or scooping out a little too much stone from the piece can leave the artisan with starting all over again by taking a new piece. 1. Getting the slab thickness:

To obtain a circular piece out of the stone, the craftsman continuously hits the edge of the stone slab of required thickness with a hammer-like end of an axe with one hand and rotates the slab with another hand until a circular piece is obtained. The artisan uses his thumb to place it in the center of the slab and extends his middle finger towards the edge while rotating the slab. He uses this distance as the measurement of the radius for carving his object. The bottom surface of these discs are scraped and heated when grains of seed lac are placed at the heated spot. A lathe set between two fixed stakes serves as a rotating lathe.

To give the slab a desired thickness, the artisan strikes the stone slab slightly slanted along its vertical surface while holding the slab in between his feet.

The circular pieces are used to make plates, ashtrays, bowls, etc.

2. Carving Process:

Finishing of the product is achieved by various methods like sand papering, polishing with multani mitti or clay, oil and cloth.

The stone craftsman adheres to the rough sketch of the required sculpture which is either drawn on the stone piece or drawn on a paper and stuck onto the surface of the stone. He then starts chiseling away stone as per the outline and controls the hand movement to maintain the variable thicknesses of the sculpture or a utensil. Due to friction generated by constant chiseling, the tools of the craftsmen heat up. They therefore, sprinkle water on the stone carving during the course of their work.

3. Creating Curvilinear Object:

4. Finishing:

Initial sketch on stone for carving

Curvilinear carving on lathe

Hand carving using chisel and hammer

Lathe Designs Very few designs can be made using a lathe because working on it is complicated and requires complete involvement of a person. The designs that can be carved on stone using a lathe are: 1. Tana Buta: Tana buta designs consist of irregular curves of zigzag lines placed at symmetrical distances from each other. 2. Jata Bhista:

Jata Bhista consists of straight lines converging to a center, and slant lines placed at symmetrical distances from each other. As an overall effect, the slanting lines appear like a whirl while the convergent straight lines form a kind of a star. 3. Ank (Aank): Ank is another pattern which resembles the eye. It is used as a decorative motif. It is composed of concentric circles, mostly double with a simple one for the outer rim.

Tools used

1. Chisels:

2. Hammers:

a. Point Chisel or Punch: The point chisel is the most important tool among all the chisels. It is used for roughing out and removing material quickly. On soft stone, the point chisel can leave a ‘stone bruise’, or a white mark, when it goes deeper into the stone than intended. These unintended white marks show up in the end when the stone is polished. These bruises can only be removed by carving or filing down into the stone past the depth of the bruise.

a. 1 Pound Hammer: The small 1 pound hammer is used for carving small details.

b. Tooth Chisel: Tooth Chisel is used after the point chisel has roughened out the basic shape. It further refines the form and removes the peaks and valleys left by the point chisel.

c. 3 Pound Hammer: The 3 point hammer has sufficient weight to effectively drive a point chisel or pitching tool in removing large chunks of stone.

c. Flat and Rondel Chisels: These chisels come into play for smoothening out the texture left by the tooth chisel and prepare the stone for finishing. Any stone bruises left by the point or tooth chisels can be removed with a flat chisel or a riffler file.

d. Rock Buster: A rock buster has a carbide edge which can be placed on the edge of a stone similar to a pitching tool, and struck with another hammer to bust off large chunks of stone.

d. Hand Tools: Tools used for harder stones like granite and sandstone, must be carbide tipped. While carbide is a very hard metal, it is also very brittle and can be chipped if stuck against the stone incorrectly. Carbide can be sharpened with a green stone on a table grinder. Unlike steel, carbide should never be quenched, since the quick cooling may cause it to shatter.

The handset or pitching tool is used for knocking large chunks of stone off the edge of a square block. It is very effective in removing a block of stone quickly.

b. 1 ½ Pound Hammer: The 1 ½ pound hammer is used for general carving. For use on granite, hammer with a steel head is used which is used with chisels with untempered ends and causes chisels to mushroom over. A lump hammer with soft steel head can be used with chisels that have tempered ends.

3. Handset:

The tracing tool is used to create a more precise line along the edge of a block.

4. Rasps and Rifflers: The final shaping of the stone is done with rasps. The uses of rasps provide a natural finish. The raspsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; scratch marks are generally left as a textural element. At other times, they are removed using a sandpaper. 5. Sandpaper:

the stone. Grits run from coarse (40-80 grit), medium (150, 220, 320 grit) to fine (400, 600, 800, 1500 grit). Water is applied over the stone while sanding to remove the sheared off stone particles. Marble begins to polish at about 600 grit. Granite does not polish until 3000 grit.

Silicon Carbide sandpapers are used to finish

Point Chisels

1 Pound Hammers

Handset

Tooth, Flat and Rondel Chisels

Hand Tools

1.5 Pound Hammers

3 Pound Hammers

Rasps and Rifflers

Types of Stone Works 1. Patharasahi of Puri, Orissa, In Puri, artisans from the Karmakar community are based in Patharasahi, which is a region named after its kind of work. The craftsmen here produce fashion replicas of the shore temples at Puri, Bhuvaneshwar and Konark, images of deities and also a range of utensils. They use all kinds of stones ranging from soft sandstone, patchy red stone to hard granite. 2. Carving in Mahabalipuram: The traditional craft of soapstone and granite carving of Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, is equally flourishing in Salem, Pondicherry and Kolar district of Tamil Nadu. The people who work in stone in these regions are called acharis. 3. Temple Architecture and image making of Gujarat and Rajasthan: In Gujarat and Rajasthan, the sculptors and stoneworkers work in the Hindu and Jain tradition of temple architecture and image making. They produce a variety of items from foliage and figurative carvings on brackets and panels to spice-containers, flower-bowls and foot scrubbers. The communities involved here in this craft are the Shaivite Sompura and Adi Gaud Brahmin. 4. Stone Carving of Bihar: In Patharkatti, Bihar, mines of black stone exist. This place is thus famous for its black stone carving. Black stone is used for making everyday utensils out of which the most famous are the thali which is a large plate with an unturned rim and the traditional kharal which is the mortar used for grinding spices and medicines. 5. Jali Work of Agra: The jail work (lattice work) was traditionally used to screen the interiors of the fortresses and palaces from the harsh sunlight while allowing the breeze to filter in through the perforations. The jails also worked as a screen for women to veil themselves from the world yet seeing the world through the lattice. In Agra, Alwar and Jaipur, this work is present-

ly used for embellishing jewel caskets, window screens, panels and brackets. The play of light and shadow through the jails in elaborate floral and geometric designs is reminiscent of the arches and windows of the Taj Mahal. 6. Colored Stone Inlay Work: Inlay of colorful stones in marble or sandstone is a characteristic of the Mughal Period. Usually foliated motifs are used for this work. Soft bending of leaves, gentle sway of the stems and the delicate opening of the buds are achieved with painstaking dexterity by using different shades of the same stone. Agra is most famous for inlay work. Today, semi-precious or colored stones are used instead of real stones for making a wide variety of utility items like artistic jewellery, trinket and powder boxes, trays, tableware like plates, bowls, glasses, furniture items like settees with latticed back and arms, chairs, table tops and panels. 7. Krishna Shila Stone Craft: Krishna Shila is a special stone which is used for image making and is found only in Trithala near Pattambi. A legend endows this place and the stone with special sanctity because of the virtue of a holyman who lived there and had the stone blest. A melted and moistened mixture of sealing wax and steel powder is used for polishing. The community which is involved in this craft here is called kallasari.

Stone carving of Bihar

Patharasahi of Puri, Orissa

Jali Work of Agra

Carving of Mahabalipuram

Temple Architecture of Gujarat & Rajasthan

Colored Stone Inlay work

Stone carving of Bihar (Kharal)

Krishnashila Stone Craft

II Reflection on Cluster Visit The easiest way to recognize a cluster is that you enter a town and be greeted by countless forms and structures of one particular material. Although all the forms are different in structure but from your perspective - watching from the entrance of the town, the work seems monotonous. This monotony in the material and appearance helps in pointing out the place as a cluster of that particular craft. While standing at the gate of Shivarapatna, a village in the Malur Taluk of Kolar District in Karnataka, a similar sight of massive stone sculptures welcomed me and my friend Sree Lakshmi, and helped us confirm that we were standing at the right place - the land of stone sculpting, Shivarapatna. I have to admit that traveling to this town from Bangalore is not very easy. We took a bus from Majestic to Hoskote, from where we got a bus to Malur. From Malur a bus to Shivarapatna gate and then an auto to reach the entrance of the Shivarapatna village. The deserted Shivarapatna gate leads to dumbfounderment as there does not exist any trace of public commute! Indeed huge autos which I have termed as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;itemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; autos (because of the way it is decorated from the inside) do follow this route at intervals of 5-10 minutes. These autos can possibly accommodate 20 people at once and cost Rs. 10 per person. We got into one of these autos and reached the entrance of the Shivarapatna village from the Shivarapatna gate in 5 minutes. Although this route seemed difficult to follow, on our way back to Bangalore, we did discover an easier route. We took an auto from the entrance of the village until Malur bus station directly. From here, we got a bus to Bangalore, which goes until Majestic but we got down at Krishnaraj Puram Railway Station. We reached Shivarapatna in two hours of journey from Majestic, Bangalore and were struck with amazement to see the whole village work-

ing on black and white stones. There were Godsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sculptures all over made in black and white soapstone (steatite) and granite. We entered the village and stopped at every house to gaze at the stone sculptures done by the artisans and talked to them. I discovered that stone craft is a rich craft and artisans were happy shaping the stones their way. I learned the process of stone carving which is a combination of drawing on stone with red oxide solution and giving finesse to the stone with repeated action of drawing and sculpting. I also identified that the artisans there worked only on orders and produced sculptures as per the designs of the customers. The raw material is bought by various artisans from different places in Karnataka. For getting the feel of the hardness of stone and to understand the difficulty level of stone carving, I tried my hand on it and remarked the softness of the stone which made it easy to carve. Carving required muscular strength to give the initial shape to the irregular shaped stone. The minute details and carvings is generally done by the females which demand less strength. Shivarapatna is also a cluster for metal casting. The lost-wax method is used here for making brass sculptures. Artisans though work here only on orders and do not keep readymade pieces. I and my friend walked along the street on which the village is situated. One distinctive thing I observed was the use of bamboo to create screen like shelters for work. It was an amusing and lively experience to gaze at the omnipresent stone craft. I and Sree Lakshmi walked back till the village entrance and waited for another auto ride. Never had I thought that the approaching ride would be like flying in the air. I stood on the foot rest outside the auto and flew in the direction opposite to the direction of the journey. I was delighted to be there and feel

View from the entrance of Shivarapatna

Street View of Shivarapatna

Trying hands on work on stone

the air gushing in my clothes and my body while I stood on the footrest and was overwhelmed about the fact that there was no seat for me inside the rickshaw which was preoccupied with 17 passengers and my friend just managed to fit

Artisan working under the shade of a bamboo mat

in. As always the case is, the road back to home is smaller than getting out. We managed to reach back to Bangalore by 7:30 in the evening and headed back home.

Metal Craft

I Craft Research

“The antiquity of the use of iron in India is proved by its reference in our earliest literature, the Vedas, as also instructions on tempering it to make steel. The iron beams of Konark Sun Temple in Orissa and the Iron Pillar at Kutab Minar in Delhi are two out of the numerous examples of the durability of the old iron works in this country.” - Handicrafts of India by Kamladevi Chattopadhyay

History The prevalence of metal work in India can be dated back to c. 3000 B.C. during the pre-Harappan civilization. The archeological evidences are provided by the copper tools findings in the excavations at the sites of Baluchistan, the Makran areas of Pakistan and Kalibangan in Rajasthan, India. Copper and bronze antiquities have also been discovered at Mohenjodaro and Harappa. The statue of the famous dancing girl, unearthed at Mohenjodaro (c. 2500 B.C.) with its intricate but elegant carving, shows that the cire perdue process was already perfected in the third millennium B.C. In fact, the Indus Valley culture is said to belong to the Bronze Age. Literary evidence from the Rigveda (c. 1000

B.C.) states that the copper and bronze-smithy was a specialized science and those craftsmen were held in high esteem. These were the earliest non-ferrous metals which man shaped into tools for their lightness and resistance to corrosion. Later copper and tin were mixed to obtain a new alloy, bronze. An ancient epic, Matsyapurana, describes methods of casting bronze images. The 42 cm. high anthropoid copper-sheet figure excavated at Bisauli, Uttar Pradesh, has been assigned a date of c. 1000 B.C. providing an archaeological evidence of a superbly conceptualized image belonging to the Vedic Period.

Metals used in India The metals used in India to create objects are: 1. Copper 2. Brass – An alloy of copper and zinc 3. Bell-metal – An alloy of copper and tin: It is most attractive with its soft surface and the old

gold tint. It is mostly used in cooking dishes and eating places as it does not tarnish and needs no tinning like copper. 4. Silver 5. Gold

Objects made in Metal The metal ware in India can be roughly divided into the following categories: 1. Religious Images 2. Ritualistic Items 3. Objects of Utility The shapes of various artefacts made in metal are inspired by various natural objects and their shapes. The most commonly used natural objects used to develop a form are the melon, mango, pumpkin, coconut and lotus. The convex grooves of the melon have inspired the shapes of many pots, betel leaf and lime containers. The mango has served as the prototype for the shapes of a variety of betel and lime

boxes and hukka bases. The shell of the coconut has inspired a lot of craftsmen to create exact copies of the shapes of the shells in the form of fashion containers. As stated in the book National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum by Jyotindra Jain and Aarti Aggarwala, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whether it be in the worship of the sun or moon, tree or serpent, ancestors or deities, man has always considered himself as a mere mortal in the face of immortal divine forces. T is this ideal of immortality, in almost all religious world-views of India, that is manifested is the belief that objects of sacred value must be eternal and therefore may be created from non-ephemeral materials such as gold, silver, copper and bronze.â&#x20AC;?

Communities Involved Various communities are involved in metal craft from different regions of the country. People from the Kansari community in Orissa, Moosaris from Kerala (engaged in the bell-metal work), Kan-

saras from Gujarat, Thateras from Varanasi and stapathis (icon makers) from the vishwakarma community of Tamil Nadu are known to be involved in the metal craft.

Metal Casting Process 1. Obtaining the Raw Material: The raw material is obtained by either smelting minerals or melting the old scrap. Today, the raw material is obtained more often through sheet metal. 2. Shaping of the Object: The metallic object can be shaped by either of the two processes. One, by beating a metallic cast or sheet metal to an approximate shape with a hammer while it is being heated or two, by pouring the molten metal into a mould made of clay for ordinary ware. Wax is used for more delicate objects. The beating process is preferred for the bell-metal and copper work as it is believed to make the object more durable.

3. Strengthening the Object: The metal object casted using a mould can also be subjected to further tempering by heating the object red hot and then suddenly dipping it in cold water. If the object is turned black by this process, it is rectified by light hammering. 4. Turning Process: There is also a turning process which is carried out on a lathe that works on a string. The part of the article to be turned is fixed to the outer end of the lathe by gum. As the lathe rotates, a chisel is applied to the part requiring turning. It not only cuts away the unwanted bulk but also smoothens the article by scraping and brushing. 5. Soldering: Soldering is done by using a metal

alloy where articles are manufactured in several pieces which have to be joined together to form a composite whole.

6. Polishing: Polishing is done by vigorous rubbing either by hand or if it is a plate by feet, using a rag, or by machine where powder is used.

Lost-wax technique of Metal Casting (Cire Perdue) The lost wax technique involves the creation of a solid or hollow (in which case an inner clay mould is required) replica of wax or wax-like substance, of the image to be cast. The was from this replica is melted and allowed to flow out, leaving a void to be later filled in by molten metal. The lost wax method requires each metal image to be created afresh from a different mould so that no two images can be identical. 1. Solid Casting: In solid casting, the molten alloy is poured in a thin and even stream into the mould, which is also made red hot. When the mould is broken, care is taken to see that the head of the icon is out first as a good omen. In complicated castings, connecting rods are used

for support and these have to be detached most skillfully by hammering. 2. Hollow Casting: In hollow casting, a clay model of the object is made over which a thick coating of prepared wax is applied. The thickness of the wax coating must match the thickness of the article under preparation. The mould is kept rotating on the lathe as the hot wax is spread over which designs are marked and pressed for decoration. Other coatings are given of a paste of burnt clay to keep the wax intact. An opening is provided in the outer shell and when a fire is lit around it the wax melts and flows out through it. Molten metal is poured into this empty space. The usual method of tempering is then followed.

Methods of producing Art Metalware The tradition of beautifying the surface of one metal with that of another, usually gold or silver was introduced into India from Persia and reached its peak under the Muslim kings from the 16th to the 17th century A.D. Ornamentation of metals are attained by various methods of surface decoration which include repousse, chasing, engraving, punching, etching, relief casting, inlaying and enamelling. 1. Chasing: Chasing is the art of engraving of a design on the surface of the metal with a blunt chisel. In chasing process, the chisel under the light blows of a hammer leaves only an imprint on the surface of the metal. Decoration is done by punching, engraving, etching, etc. 2. Engraving or Khudai: Khudai is a process of making depressions in a metal. It is probably

the earliest effort in ornamentation by cutting or scratching lines. a. In the engraved work, first impressions are made with a dye by hammering. b. The work is then completed by cutting away the brass in the space between the figures and giving it a granulated look by the engraver. As the tracery gives a roughened or finely granulated surface to the metal, it is called frost work. Sometimes, the brass is encrusted with figures of copper, fixed on the base metal by hammering. The figures are finished with a graver or chisel. 3. Punching: Punching creates a decorative effect by arrangement of lines and dots in a definite artistic pattern. 4. Etching: It is similar to engraving but the lines in this are thinner and rather superficial. 5. Soldering: Soldering is done by using a metal

alloy where articles are manufactured in several pieces which have to be joined together to form a composite whole. 6. Polishing: Polishing is done by vigorous rubbing either by hand or if it is a plate by feet, using a rag, or by machine where power is used.

7. Relief Casting: This is a low relief type of embossing called basso relief which makes the article cheaper. When the article is polished and ready, it is lacquered with a lacquer solution or sprayed by a machine.

Types of Art Metalware 1. Repousse or Embossing Work: Embossing work is done by raising the design in relief. a. The design is first traced out on to the surface of the article by hammering the outline in dots. b. The article is then inverted and placed in a warm bed o f sealing wax, resin, mustard oil and brick dust which when cooled and hardened acts as a cushion to protect it while the repousse work is in progress. c. Using a hammer, the craftsman depresses the design along the dotted line, while elaborating it with various types od blunted chisels. d. When turned face upwards, the depressed areas will be seen as raised to varying heights. Repousse is the specialty of Varanasi and Jaipur. 2. Damascening: The technique of inlaying gold and silver wire on steel and iron is referred to as damascening. i) Koftagiri: Koftagiri is inlaying of a light metal on a dark one. This method is false damascening. In this process, the previously scratched design non the surface of iron or steel is inlaid with gold or silver wire with the help of a hammer. The surface is heated and hammered again so that the soft gold may spread into the grooves of the design. Thus, the gold or silver produce a smooth embellished surface. 3. Bidriware: The inlay of gold and silver wire on the blackened surface of an alloy of zinc and copper is called bidri. The name bidri has been derived from a town named Bidar in Karnataka, which is known for its patronage and production for nearly 300 years. In this process, an alloy of zinc, copper, tin or

lead is treated with a solution of copper sulphate which blackens metal only temporarily. The inlay process involves sketching the design onto the surface of the object using a kalam or a needle-sharp tool and then engraving and chasing the design with a cheelne ki kalam, or chisel. This is followed by the blunt-edged chisel for precisely embedding the fine silver or gold wires, previously drawn from a taar-patti having holes of varying diameters, onto the surface. This technique is called tarkashi. Once inlaid, the surface is lightly filed or sandpapered and finally dipped into a hot solution of ammonium chloride and Bidar clay, which is responsible for imparting the black color to the metal. *NOTE: Bidar clay is available only in the ruins of the fortress.

4. Tarkashi: Inlay of metallic wire in a metal is called tarkashi. This work is originally from Mainpuri, a small lplace in Uttar Pradesh. 5. Tainishan or Lala Technique: A technique in which gold and silver sheets are embedded onto the surface of the alloy. The sheets are initially chased and then hammered onto the surface. 6. Zar-nishan and Zarbuland: Zar nishan is a low relief work whereas the art of high relief work in metal is called zarbuland. In both these techniques, when the silver sheet is placed over the design, it is also rubbed with finger until tracing of the design is transferred to the sheet, and cut along the outline, then punched or chased, finally dipped in a hot solution of saltpeter containing clay and ammonia to turn the zinc velvety black but the silver retains its white brilliance. 7. Aftabi: It is a kind of metalware where designs are cut out from the metal sheet which is overlaid onto another metal.

Koftagiri

Repousse Work

Tarkashi

Bidriware

Tainishan

8. Mumabat Kari: In this metal ornamentation, the patterns are wrought at a slightly raised level from the surface of the article. This way, the designs seem overlaid. For this purpose, lead is first laid on the article in the shape of the desired design. 9. Nakashi: Nakashi is an ornate lacquer work on an embossed surface in which gold leaf and/ or paint is used for decoration and designing, in adjunct with other colors and other kinds of decorative metal ornamentation. 10. Minakari or Enameling: Enameling could be described as the art of coloring and ornamenting a metal surface by fusing over it various mineral substances. a. The metal part to be enameled is engraved or repoussed or blocked out and the enamel dust of the requisite color is poured into the grooves formed, then placed in a red hot furnace which melts the dust and the colored liquid gets diffused equally. It is then burnished with a wet stone resembling blue copper.

Silver Filigree

b. In the other method, wires are fastened by a gum or impinged or welded to the surface. c. The third method is to paint and heat it a little to just melt the colors. 11. Silver Filigree: In this process, pure silver ingot (masses) are put through a wire drawing machine. In the earlier times, sliver ingots were beaten on an anvil and elongated into long wire by passing it through a steel plate with apertures of different gauges. The very hair-like wires of 36 guages are still done only in the old drawing technique, then twisted and flattened. Two wires of the thinnest is wound together two or three times on a charkha after heating. This pleated wire is flattened again to make it as thin as a single wire but with granular edges on both the sides. This wire is then bent to get various patterns. A filigree object is thus a combination of a number of parts pieced together. It is the filling of the interspaces by the delicately bent pieces that gives filigree its character.

Zar-nishan

Zarbuland

Aftabi

Mumabat Kari

Nakashi

Minakari

II Cluster Research â&#x20AC;&#x153;In Indian metal craft, emphasis is basically on chaste lines and elegance of form. Ornamentation was never used to cover up flaws in the shape. Nevertheless as metal entered the ritualistic world, decorations became inevitable, especially in temple accessories such as the numerous vessels used in worship, incense burners, whisks, lamps and musical accompaniments like bells, cymbals and gongs. As good craftsmanship developed in the vicinity of the temples, which became ornaments of decorative art, the crafts too look on high ornamentation.â&#x20AC;? from Handicrafts of India by Kamladevi Chattopadhyay. 1. Kashmir: Kashimir is famous for metal engraving. Engraving here is mostly done on walking sticks, nut crackers, carving sets, cutlery, garden scissors, daggers and knives. Here tin is soldered on copper which has previously been graven over with diffused floral designs. The sunken ground of this is then filled with a black composition. When these objects are studded all over with raised flowers they shine like frosted silver on a darkened foliated scroll. 2. Himalayan Foothills: Products selling at the foothills of the Himalayas are famous for their Ganga-Jamuni style. Blending of brass and copper in the same article with a little German silver in it. Their special item is the water pitcher which is called kalasi in the local language. 3. Uttar Pradesh: Uttar Pradesh is the largest brass and copper making region in India. Each of the little water pots (lotas) are known by the name of their places of origin, like Eatawah, Varanasi, Sitapur, etc. Ritual articles are the specialty of Uttar Peadesh. The objects mainly built are tamrapatra, which is a large pot for storing water largely made in copper. The other object is the panchpatra, which is

used for holding all the articles needed for worship. Sinhasan, a seat for the deity, kunchanthal, plate for offering flowers and sweets, are also produced in metal. The traditional artisans are called tantheras. Uttar Pradesh is also rich in art metal ware. Moradabad in the state is synonymous with such work. It is specially noted for its colored enamelling and intricate engravings in Nakashi, Khudai, Bidri and Barik kam. 4. Delhi: Delhi is another place important for its art metal ware. It is famous for its perforations used in lamp which is done first by chasing the selected deign on the article and then cutting through the lines laid out to make the lacy patterns come out. It also has a very special plate in paildar design which is popularly known as the pie-crust pattern. 5. Orissa: Orissa produces a large variety of vessels in bell-metal. The workers belong to the Kansari community. Tarbha in the Bolangir district of Orissa is known for its silverware. Orissa also specializes in silver filigree work. This work here is known as tarkashi. The state makes jewellery in silver filigree. A town called Karim Nagar is famous for its intricate and delicate traceries of various patterns. The designs are large and reflect refined traceries which speak of powerful imagination. The specialty of the place are its perfume containers. 6. Assam: Guwahati and Sabarmati are important centers for metal craft in Assam. A shallow bowl on a stand with a dome-like cover is a typical item of this region. It is casted in both brass and bell metal and is called horahi. Something similar embellished by dangling pendants is called donari.

Kashmiri metal engraving on walking stick

Orissa Bell Metal

Uttar Pradeshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kunchanthal

Assamese Donari

Manipuri Senga

Himalayan Ganga-Jamuni style

7. Manipur: Manipur is well known for its bell-metal, particularly the ceremonial artefacts by the cire perdue. Typical item is a dish in the shape of a large bowl with a broad rim running around its neck, resting on a small pedestal. This is called krishnakanti. Another item which is the lidded betel nut container is called a senga. It looks more like a ritualistic lamp. The patterns produced are mainly simple dots, lines and circles. These are produced with a hammer to form attractive decoration/ornamentation on the borders as well as the surface. Yamguleiba is lines inscribed horizontally. This is mostly done on water pots. 8. Gujarat: The craftsmen here are called kansaras. Gujarat is known for a variety of designs for the same object. Thus, they develop large amounts of animal and bird figurines with each having distinct features from each other. Other item characteristic of this region is brass furniture. Kutch is outstanding in silver work for both â&#x20AC;&#x201C; its design and workmanship of deep engraving. The work is achieved by a technique which is called kutchikam. In this process, first the silver article is molded into the desired shape and filled with wax after which the design is traced on the surface with a nail and hammer. The metal is then softened by fire and the molten wax is poured out. Fresh wax is filled again and the design is worked on again. The process is repeated a few times for deeper and sharper tracery which makes the work more extravagant. 9. Rajasthan: The water carrier is the most strategic item of Rajasthan. It has a long evolution from clay, through leather and canvas and to finally become a zinc pot. Zinc containers, covered with cloth and a tumbler on the stopper, is called a badla, cloud, signifying that it carries water. Another product that is manufactured in Rajasthan is the surahi. It is a long badla semicircular and the kettle rectangular. In art metal ware, enamelling of a special kind is done on glass in Pratapgarh in Rajasthan and is usually green. It also has an outstanding work in silver.

10. Bengal: Bengal can be traced as the idol making of Durga with various decorations. 11. Karnataka: The important centers of metal ware in Karnataka are the Bangalore city, Nagamangala, Sravan Belagola in Hasan district and Udipi, Bustwal and Karkal in Mangalore district. Mangalore has special domestic wares in bell metal. A very common product of this region is a milk container lid called milli. It is a special round bowl with a long handle with the end curled inside called, gurdano. This is used for mixing baby food and feeding from it. Among art metal ware, Karnataka is the home of bidri metal artwork. Bidar is the place where bidri originated. The variety of products produced are hukka bases, bell-shaped furniture legs, elongated spiral designed legs for beds, betel boxes with diagonal lines, powder boxes in octagonal shapes with star motifs, rectangular boxes with a peacock with its feathers spread all over, coconut shaped lamps, mirror frames with creepers around the frame, spoons, paper cutters, buttons, fish shaped ashtrays, lotus shaped goblets covered with refined designs. 12. Kerala: Kerala is the home for bell metal work. This place develops simple yet classical wide open vessels with flat or curbed rims which are called urlis. It also develops a wide range of bell metal tumblers. There is a special kind of jug characteristic to the place with the lower part rounded in convolutions and a long spout jutting out at the side. Kerala is also known for its statuary. The main centers for this work are Trivandrum, Payyavur in Cannanore disctrict and Angadipuram in Pulghat district. A distinctive quality of the Kerala bronzes is their wonderful directness, devotion and serenity: the Krishna in the Trivandrum Museum, a chaste figure with no ornamentation, only a single necklace. The left hand suggestive of resting on a cow but without the animal is a typical example. Kerala makes a different version of Shivasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tandava dance, known as gaja tandava or gajasanhara in which Shiva is crushing the demon in an elephant form. Among art metal ware, koftagiri is widely practiced in Kerala. Trivandrum also does a bit of tarkashi, but uses silver ware, in which panels and

Keralaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Urali

Kutchikam

Tamil Naduâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Brass Idol

Rajasthani Surahi

Durga Idol Making of West Bengal

pictures are made depicting complete scenes from the epics. 13. Tamil Nadu: In Nachiakoil in Thanjavur, artisans are called pathers. This place concentrates on working in brass. Tamil Nadu is also one of the famous bronze producing regions. The artisans working in bronze are known as stapathis, which literally means

icon makers. Stapathis can be found in various places like Madura, Karakudi, Sriviliputtur in Ramanathapur, Swamilal in Thanjavur. Swamilal is best known, as the whole place is engaged in image making in both â&#x20AC;&#x201C; stone and bronze. They specialize in making various dancing figures.

Terracotta Craft

I Craft Research

Earthenware is the oldest and most widely spread craft in India. It seems like clay was man’s first material to use his intelligence and mould various utilitarian products. Every region of India has developed its own specialty and has various traditions and cultures which are brought out by their clay models. As mentioned in the book called ‘Handicrafts of India’ by Kamladevi

Chattopadhyay, “Geneva Museum of Ethnology says: ‘Nowhere in the world is the part played by traditional folk pottery greater than in India. This exceptional importance, both numerical as well as functional, arises from the fact that while working in clay in India has a sociological basis, it has also a religious one unlike in most other countries where it is mainly utilitarian.’”

History The history of the terracotta craft can be traced back to the excavations of the Pre-Harappan and Harappan civilizations. The excavations are characterized by painted objects largely made of black and red clay. There have been found occasional use of white and other adjunct colors. The excavations of pre-Harappan pottery found at the Kalibangan site in North Rajasthan are largely characterized by floral and faunal geometrical designs. The pottery excavated from the Harappan civilization sites included ‘dish-on stand vessels with narrow tapering bases, beakers, pointed base jars, handled cups, jar stands, perforated cylindrical vessels and also a variety of vases, pans and plates’. It is believed that the potter’s wheel is the first machine that man invented to use the power of motion for a productive purpose. The use of fire revolutionized earthenware and thus terracotta art emerged. The use of moulds was devised by the Harappans in the latter part of the third millennium B.C. which was used only for the face until the Mauryan period.

of India, “From the Gupta period when art really flourished, both techniques came to be employed. As a matter of fact our ancient writings take the moulded bricks back to the Vedic times. But somehow, there seems to have been far less interest in glazed objects then.” Glazed Pottery: According to many historians, glazed pottery came to India via Persia. The craft of glazed pottery is believed to be brought by the great Mongul Chengiz Khan in A.D 1212. It is said that after winning the conquest in China, he brought this craft to Indian along with a Chinese wife. According to the Archaeological Survey of India, “glazed tiles first appeared in Delhi in the Tughlak monuments dated between A.D. 1321-1414. These are of Turkish inspiration.”

Later in the Sunga times, large-sized single moulds were evolved were evolved and simultaneous experiments produced the double moulds. As described in the book Handicrafts

Terminology The basic and most common object obtained from clay is the pitcher which can also be called the earthen pitcher. In Sanskrit, the earthen pitcher is known as kumbha, with the prefix ku meaning earth. The title given to the potter or the molder of the clay is derived from the same word ‘kumbha’ with different variations depending upon the region. Thus, the one who makes pots is called kumbhakara or kumbhara, kumhar, kumar

and kubha. As mentioned in the book, ‘National Handicrafts and the Handlooms Museums’ by Jyotindra Jain and Aarti Aggarwala, “Words for potters in Dravidian languages also look back to the same Sanskrit derivations; kumbara or kovara in Kanarese, kumara or kumrulu in Telugu, kusavan or kulalan in Tamil, and kusavan or kurayun in Malayalam”.

Mythological Legends There are various myths and legends abounded by India which talk about the origin of the potter and his craft. The most famous one among all is the one about the Indian mythological characters - Shiva and Parvati’s wedding. The story has different variations across India which talks about where did the potter and his craft come from. The legend goes like this – long time ago, at the marriage ceremony of Shiva and Parvati, an earthen pot, kumbha, was urgently required. One Brahmin named Kulalak offered to help on a condition that he should be provided with all the tools for making the pot. On hearing this, Lord Vishnu provided him with his sacred discuss called the sudarshana chakra. Kulalak used this chakra as his wheel. The wheel was then mounted atop Shiva’s grinding pestle called gothana which he used for grinding his Cannabis Sativa or bhang. The Brahmin used Shiva’s loin cloth called langota as the all purpose cloth for making the pot and he used his gourd pot or kamandalu for storing water. Shiva’s sacred thread called janeu was used for separating the pot from the wheel. The mythical tortoise of the Indian mythology called the adi-kurma, was used as a scraper cum smoothener for the pot. Thus an earthen pot was created and Shiva and Parvati’s wedding took place. Ever since, all the descendants of the Kulaluk Brahmin are known as kumbhakaras or makers of the earthen pots. Another legend which is thought of as the origin of the earthen pot is that when the churning

of the ocean took place and the Gods took out the nectar, they needed a vessel to keep it. So, Vishwakarma who is considered as the celestial artificer molded a pot. As the book ‘Handicrafts of India’ by Kamladevi Chattopadhyay mentions, “A water pot filled with water has, from time immemorial, been a symbol of good omen and in indispensable in any ritual. For worship or at a ceremony, if no image of a deity is available, a water pitcher does the duty, and is therefore called mangalghat, the sacred vessel’.

Process of the Craft The process of obtaining clay which is suitable for molding is as follows:

clay to prevent the object from cracking while sun-drying and firing.

1. Obtaining mud from ponds and river beds: Wet and watery mud is collected from the ponds and river beds to convert them into processed clay.

4. Kneading: The dry mixture of clay and other added substances are then kneaded with both hands and feet by sprinkling water and blending it thoroughly to form a dough-like mixture.

2. Beating and taking out impurities: The obtained mud is then beaten or pounded to form dry clay. The impurities like stone, gravel, small pebbles, twigs and roots are then removed from the clay. The clay is then kept in plaster of Paris moulds so that excess water is absorbed by them and clay id dried. 3. Improving the quality of the clay: Depending upon the quality of clay by looking at its extent to which it is adhesive, brittle or elastic, a variety of materials like sand, rice-husk, ashes, cow dung and cotton wool are added to the

Clay Kneading

5. Storage: The clay thus prepared is ready to be turned in the wheel but care is taken to cover the clay with polythene sheet, jute or some such covering to save it from direct sun and prevent it from drying. 6. Firing: The final stage of procuring clay models is that of firing so that the siliceous material is fused into clay and makes the clay object strong and durable.

Mud obtained from river bed

Mud free from impurities

Kiln to fire the clay products

Clay stored under a polythene sheet

Techniques of Clay Moulding Indian craftsmen use the following techniques, individually or in a combination, around the country to create different objects out of clay like utensils, ritual and toy figures, relief panels and plaques. Clay can be molded in the following ways: 1. Throwing on a wheel: The potter throws the kneaded clay into the center of the wheel, rounding it off and then starts the spinning of the wheel. As there is momentum in the whirling, he begins to shape the clay into the form he wants. When finished with the shaping, he severs the object from the wheel with the help of a string. The object is then kept for drying and later fired in a kiln.

Throwing on a Wheel

2. Moulding over an old pot or basket: To create round bottom objects, clay is kneaded with the required add-ons (mentioned above) and is hand formed into a slab. The slab is then over the convex bottom of an old and broken pot. Once dry, it is removed to form a concave vessel which is fired in the kiln. 3. Modeling by Hand:

Moulding over a pot

The hand modeling in clay is done by two methods: a. Coiling Method: In this method, a lump of clay is rolled on a flat surface to form long cylindrical piece called a coil. One after the other, these coils are made and joined by hand and water by piling one on top of another to increase the height of the object. When the required shape is acquired, the object is left to dry which is later fired in a kiln.

Coiling

b. Slab Method: To acquire a long or a wide plain clay surface for building up on it or for using it to create a concave vessel, slabs are made. A slab is nothing but a lump of clay which is rolled flat with a specific thickness with the help of a rolling pin.

Slab Method

Tools Used 1. Wheel: The wheel is the basic tool which is used for making products that have to be symmetrical along their axes. The rotating wheel could be power operated or hand operated.

to apply slips (a semi solid mixture of clay and water) and paint to a clay product while working on it. The best brushes for pottery are either of sumi or bamboo.

The power operated wheel works on electricity and has continuous motion. The work of the artisan may not be interrupted because of the continuous motion of the wheel.

9. Calipers: Potters use this type of caliper to measure the inner and outer dimensions of pots where they will meet with other parts of a working set. For example, they are especially useful when measuring lids for jars, measuring the base of a cup to match with the depression in the center of a saucer, or to measure the base of a pitcher that is matched with a the interior floor of a basin. Calipers can be made of metal, wood, or plastic.

The hand operated wheel is used by artisans even today in various clusters because of its cost-effective nature. The wheel requires a circular motion which is created by using a long rod and placing it in depressions on the wheel to give it a circular motion. 2. Potterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Needle: The use of the needle in pottery is to trim the edges of the earthenware while on the wheel and to use it for keeping a count of the pieces when using coiling or slab making for modeling. 3. Cut-off wires: Potters in the villages generally use their hands for removing the thrown pot from the wheel. Metallic wire with hardwood handles can also be used for removing the turned products from the wheel and also for cutting large lumps of clay. 4. Ribs and Scrappers: These tools are used to shape and smoothen the products made on the wheel. Ribs are generally made with hardwood or rubber. They are also used to control the thickness of the walls of the thrown item. Scrappers look a lot like ribs but are lighter and used to smooth wet and soft leather hard greenware. 5. Loop, Wire and Ribbon Tools: These tools are generally used in hand modeling and are used for trimming and shaping the clay. 6. Wooden Modeling Tools: These tools come in a variety of shapes and sizes which are used in modeling hand made products. They are also used for trimming in the throwing process. 7. Sponge: Sponge is used mainly to absorb excess water from the clay surface while the clay products is being prepared by hand or thrown. 8. Brushes: Brushes are mainly used in pottery

Loo, Wire and Ribbon Tools

Wheel

Wooden Modeling Tools

Potterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Needle

Pottery Brushes Cut-off Wires

Rib

Calipers

Types of works done in Clay Terracotta work in India cannot be enumerated. There are indeed some special types of clay work which are seen in various parts of the country. 1. Blue Pottery in Delhi: The blue pottery of Delhi is a very old and distinctive tradition. The base of this pottery is powdered quartz which is mixed with gum to make a soft paste which can be molded and is vitreous and semi-transparent. It has a penetrating blue, bordering on turquoise, sometimes shot with green. 2. Blue pottery of Jaipur: Jaipur’s blue pottery is very famous because of the base it uses for the pottery. It is the only pottery which does not use clay but uses a base which is prepared out of a material from which the slip is made. The raw materials required for the pottery base composition are quartz, raw glaze, sodium sulphate and fuller’s earth commonly known as multani mitti. The process that simplifies the procedure of making blue pottery of Jaipur is that all the raw materials require the same temperature for going into the composition and the pottery needs to be fired only once unlike other pottery and that the slip does not develop any cracks. The pottery is more impervious and is more hygienic for daily use. The typical turquoise is obtained by mixing of crude copper oxide from old scrap baked in a kiln with salt or sugar and filtered for use. The dark ultra marine with which the outlines are done, is got from the cobalt oxide. Some of this pottery is semi-transparent and mostly decorated with arabesque (linear) patterns, interspersed with animal and bird motifs. 3. Kagzi Pottery of Alwar: Rajasthan pottery has certain distinct characteristics. The mouths of the water pots are small probably to prevent spilling when water is being carried. Alwar is noted for its paper thin pottery, almost sheer body pottery, known as kagzi (paper) pottery. It has been proven by the excavations that such a pottery was prevalent in ancient times. In this pottery, the double-walled surface is cut into different attractive patterns, which helps to

circulate the air and keep the water cool. 4. The painted pottery of Bikaner: The painted pottery of Bikaner is tinted with lac colors to which the gold shade is added. As mentioned in the book, ‘Handicrafts of India’, the Nohar center of Bikaner is famous for its products. 5. Pottery of Khurja, Uttar Pradesh: Khurja has evolved with a style of its own by raising the pattern with the use of thick slips into a light relief. It also works out its own shades in warm autumnal colors like orange, brown and a special light red. Floral designs in sky blue are worked in a white background. 6. Black Pottery of Nizamabad, Azamgar District: This special kind of earthenware is distinguished by its dark lustrous body. This luster is obtained by dipping the object into a solution of clay and vegetable matter. The pot is made to dry and then rubbed with a vegetable oil and fired. The vegetable matter evidently gives out dark oxide to get a lustrous effect on which, scintillating silvery ornamentation is done. The double glazing and double firing lends the container a beautiful black color. The engraving on the pot which is called nakkashi, is usually done in floral patterns on a semi-dry pot with the use of a bamboo twig. After firing a powdered mixture of lead, mercury and tin which is called bukani is filled in by hand onto the etched grooves of the design, washed with water and finally burnished to highlight the starry sparkle of the design against the black ground of terracotta. 7. White pottery of Kachchh, Gujarat: Kachchh produces neutral white wares which are gentle and pleasing to the eye. The white clay used in Kachchh (Vidi) develops a soft white pottery. 8. Gopichandan Pottery of Saurashtra: Saurashtra has a clay called gopichandan because when it is mixed with water, it becomes like chandan or sandalwood paste. The finished article glows like burning buff. 9. Dal gate Pottery: Kashmir produces earthen ware of ordinary clay but has a glaze like surface. Some of the glazes are made to resemble the cracks of a batik surface. Products sold along the side of Dal lake in

Blue Pottery of Jaipur

Blue Pottery of Delhi

Kagzi Pottery of Alwar

Black Pottery of Nizamabad

White Pottery of Kachchh

Srinagar specialse in these glazes and this pottery is popularly known as the dal-gate pottery. 10. Lac coloring: In many parts of India, there is a tradition of coating terracotta utensils and figures with lac.

This may be done with colored lac or by using plain lac to provide an impervious inner layer to vessels. Both the lac as well as the utensil must be sufficiently heated before a smooth coating can be applied.

Objects of worship made in Terracotta Vast amounts of religious figures are made in earthenware due to the inexpensive availability of the raw material â&#x20AC;&#x201C; clay. The products in this range may be classified into three categories: 1. Figurines of Divinities: The most popular figure of a deity made with terracotta is the Ganesha who is worshipped on various festivals and also on a daily basis. The next is the idol of the goddess Durga and goddess Saraswati.

2. Ceremonial Pottery: This includes an immense variety of objects which are specially produced for occasions like lamps for Diwali, toys for Dusshera, pots for seedlings on Sankranti and the painted pots for marriages. 3. Voting Offerings: Many idols are formed using clay as offerings to the Gods for fulfillment of the desires of the people.

God Idols beiing created at a potterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home

II Reflection on Cluster Visit Dreams – they do come true! Not very long ago but nearly nine years, I used to fantasize about my life as a traveler. The kind of traveler I used to imagine myself as was not one of those wandering around spotting the tourist attractions and exploring luxurious hotels and towns but a traveler who is living with different communities, with various people, living with them, knowing their culture, learning their skills. While watching channels like Fox traveler and Discovery and others, I used to be awe struck about how each community in this world must be doing some or the other kind of artistic work to survive. As I was a child that time, I never even thought of India, that it could be one of those places where every region, nay every village, could have a specialty of its own, where the whole village strived towards working in one medium or one occupation. Nevertheless, I couldn’t think of a single huge group or community which could work in one profession. While daydreaming about such thoughts, I used to get filled with happiness and excitement and then eventually get my feet back on the ground. It is blissful to fulfill your dream but it is phenomenal to realize that what you are doing right now was once your dream and you are actually living in your dream. A similar euphoria is flooded within me while visiting various villages to learn about their crafts and to also learn from them their own craft. Just yesterday (30th Jan, 2014), I visited a village called Marasandra which is a suburb of Bangalore and is some 25 kms heading north. I was not expecting anything while heading towards the place in a bus with one of my friends, Aarushi. My intention of visiting this place was to learn about terracotta work so that I can use this work for developing my product range. I had heard that this village is a cluster of craft working in terracotta. The only doubt I had in mind was the communication barrier due to the regional language – Kannada, which I am unfamiliar with.

At the same time, I was optimistic about finding at least one person in the whole village who would know Hindi or English – languages that I can understand well, that someone who is also willing to help us talk to the locals about their work. I was prepared to grant some currency in return of the role as a translator. While being occupied with these thoughts, I didn’t realise that twenty minutes had already passed by since we started from Yelahanka, and we hit the bus stop of Marasandra – a village which is on the Doddabalapur main road. I knew the landmark of the possible location of these workplaces which was the Suman School. After enquiring about the location of the school, we started walking on the main road moving further away from Yelahanka. While walking for 15 mins, we asked a person in a Bisleri shop about where the school was. The guy was generous enough to come along with us show us the school where he studied in and which we had crossed already and missed because of a tiny signange that was not visible. Fortunately the guy knew a little Hindi and in his language ‘shulp shulp’ Hindi. He took us to a potter’s house when we asked him the location for terracotta work. Although the conversation was difficult with Prasad, the Bisleri boy with his shulp knowledge of Hindi, still by using basic hindi words and understanding the basic Kannada words, we could communicate well with him to make him understand the thoughts and reasons for our visit. Even before we could ask him to help and accompany us to look around for some artisans who work in terracotta, Prasad was with us, taking us to various craftsmen’s houses to show their works. It was intriguing to watch the film-like village and the small thatched workplaces and houses of the craftsmen. The first place that we went to was the house of a very old artisan aged 55 years, who was preparing his clay for work. He was taking out small pebbles from a huge lump of wet clay. The whole scene was very

fascinating and the space was cool because of the wetness of mud and shade of the thatches. With a lot of effort, we tried to understand the whole process of procuring raw material. The basic material â&#x20AC;&#x201C; mud was being transported from the Marasandra Lake or kere to the artisansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; houses. The artisan was not going to work on the wheel or model that day. He asked us to come down the next day or the day after that. While watching his dedication towards work and the long ten hours of work a day, I felt that the amount he was earning by selling his pots at a meager price, was unfair. I observed that the range of products which were being produced was limited to plantation pots of a specific kind and God idols which were produced during festive seasons. On my next visit, I would learn more about the market of the products and the reason for limiting the product range. As that artisan was not working on his wheel, Prasad took us to around 3-4 terracotta artisans who were working on idols and show pieces Unfortunately none were working on wheel. We came across one family which included the artisan, his wife and a son who must be in his late twenties who worked only for making God idols. The artisan said that there is no money in making pots. We get twenty times more money by selling these idols. The method of joining two moulds of clay to form a volumetric figure was fascinating. That artisan agreed to teach us the modeling of figures in clay and called us later for the same. The next house that I went to, was the workplace of a family who used to make Plaster of Paris moulds themselves for making the idols for the festivals. I observed then what a kiln looked like. A huge floor level well surrounded by bricks and on which pots were kept for heating. It took one full day for all the pots to be burnt and made strong. Due to the language barrier, there was less conversation but I believe that the next time I go there, the journey would be more fruitful. The visit was great to get acquainted to the region and its people. Indeed these people are welcoming and are more than happy to share their work and craft. While walking inside the village, I was held back with the thought of my daydream, when I realized that I was living in it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; walking through the interiors of a village, talking to various people, knowing about their culture and learning from them. I had never ever thought that this research and study will lead me to the least expected thing that could happen to me.

Prasad was a great help and I felt that he was a physical form of my optimism. His non-selfish motive of not expecting anything moved me and let me believe that there are still people who are ready to help when needed without thinking of any benefit. Looking forward to visit Marasandra yet again to know the people more and learn their craft their way.

Street View of Marasandra

Clay idol

Artisanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s House

An artisan separating impurities from clay

Mould og Plaster of Paris for making idols

Kiln for firing clay pots

III Reflection on Artisansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Interviews On visiting the terracotta craft cluster based in Marasandra village which is almost 15 kilometers from the NES Quarters Yelahanka, I for the first time confronted the artisans who have spent their entire lives working in clay. I was eyeing the entire village on foot and observed that every second house was involved in terracotta work. All of them worked hard to make clay idols of deities and other human figures which had a particular season of sale (mostly during festivals). Most of them also worked on wheels where clay was thrown on to be molded into a pot. I and two of my friends spent half a day with an aged potter who was working towards the fulfillment of an order of 600 plantation pots. The first thing that caught my attention the moment I saw him working was his physical form which was involved in the rigorous backbreaking work. Never had I seen a potterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wheel which was hand drawn and never had I witnessed a 75 year old laboriously standing, throwing, applying momentum to the wheel and molding. The site was compassionate for the plight of the artisan. I with the help of my Kannadiga friend, tried to start a conversation with him making sure that his work is not caused any trouble. Our conversation started with momentary dialogues until the artisan was convinced and comfortable about the reason for our visit to his workplace. I was content to have the potter smiling and laughing with us by the end of our stay there. My conversations with the other potters and artisans in town also lead to the possibilities and reasons for the intervention that I intend to have. I questioned mainly about the range of products produced by the artisans, their target audience or market and the quantity of items created within 11 hours of laborious work every day (6a.m. to 5 p.m.). On my enquiry, I discovered that the products were mainly produced to fulfill orders placed by dealers from the cities (mainly Bangalore). The range of products was mostly limited to one or two types of plantation pots, piggy banks, coal stoves and God idols. Out of these,

God idols were mainly sold during festival seasons like Diwali, Dusshera and Navratri. On questioning them about the non-innovation of products, they simply answered that the new products are not sold enough. The amount of time that is spent on doing the intricate and different style of work does not pay off because of less or no sale. One of the artisans, was greatly hopeless about the market for terracotta products. His opinion about the people who intended to intervene in this work was negative due to his past experiences. He felt that people come and go but never come back. He demanded long term development and was unhappy with short term earnings. I felt that my role as a designer can only be justified not by producing good designs using the crafts but in reality marketing the products and opening huge market opportunities and creating demands for the craftsmen. The terracotta pots have also got a competition against the cement pots. It is important to expose the advantages of the natural materials used in the handicraft industry which renders them more eco-friendly and non-toxic as compared to the other products. There are definitely a few artisans who have started developing contemporary products as a result of intervention but still, there exist a major percentage of craftsmen whose crafts are now endangered. Most of them have also started getting involved in other businesses like farming and construction. They work in terracotta only when they receive orders and during festivals. The visit and conversations with these craftsmen have burdened me with a larger responsibility and a greater role as a person who can create work and better opportunities for them. I do not wish to let their confidence down and make them believe that anybody who comes just comes and goes away and never comes back. Indeed I am a little scared right now but at the same time I know that the first step will lead to the next.

IV Artisans’ Interview Transcripts Interview I (Bayianna) This interview transcript is the translated version of the original conversation. My friend Kiran, was present with us who was responsible for making the conversation happen. Another friend Aarushi, accompanied me for the visit to develop her own knowledge. ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He went to develop farms on his land and got involved in farming. AARUSHI: Has he taught this work (pottery and clay work) to others? (The artisan interrupts in Kannada and all of us listen to him) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): When he came back to terracotta work after farming, he was facing a competition against the cement pots which had started coming to the market. Did not receive many orders. The cement pots have more demand because they are stronger than these pots. The demand of terracotta is less. (Three of us watched him working on his wheel while he gave momentum to the wheel with a long shaft and used his hands with great pressure to mold the clay on the wheel in the form of a plantation pot. We discussed about learning wheeling from him and paying him money for his training.)

how long has he been working in this craft? And How does he feel about his work? How many pots does he make? For how much does he sell them? Where does he sell them? How much profit does he earn out of it and also if he makes any other kinds of products or is he ivolved in making only these pots? AAUSHI (Pointing at the son of the main artisan who was cutting out slab pieces from a pre-formed structure): Is he cutting slabs out of those? SURABHI: Yeah he is. Those are sigdis (biogas stoves) actually. Ok, so can you please ask him these questions Kiran? (A conversation between Kiran and the artisan in Kannada) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He is saying that he started working with this work when he was a child. He gets orders from people and then he makes the products to fulfill the orders. People come to him and give him order. He does not go anywhere to take orders. He is saying that now only he and his generation is working in this field. New people and new generation are not learning this craft. They are instead going for jobs.

KIRAN: Give me more questions at a time so that it is better to converse with him.

He makes these plantation pots, those stoves, lamps (diyas) and Ganesha. He also makes those masks which are hung on the buildings to protect it from the evil eye. Basically he does the basic products which have been there in market since a long time.

SURABHi: I see. Ok So can you ask him since

SURABHI: Ok, and how much does he sell

SURABHI: Since how long has he been working in this craft?

these pots for? How many pots does he make per day? KIRAN: And what else? SURABHI: Ask him if I give him a design, will he be willing to do it? How much will it cost me? And also ask him about the cost of the clay. Also ask him how much does he pay to the tractor for transportation of the clay from the lake to his place. Ask him if I ask him to create a product out of my design, how much time will it take. Ask him this much and then we will move onto the next set of questions. KIRAN: Alright! I will first tell him the reason why we are here and explain him everything. I will also tell him that we are going to spend half a day with him and will it be fine with him. This will make him a little more comfortable. (Conversation between Kiran and the artisan in Kannada) KIRAN: He is fine with it. I told him the entire story about why we came here. How you are going to help him develop new products and what’s your intention behind learning this from him. He is saying that he is fine with it. He is ready to do what you ask him to do. SURABHI: Will he understand designs done on paper? Or I will have to come and explain him? (Kannada conversation between Kiran and the artisan)

KIRAN: Give me a set of questions to ask. SURABHI: Yeah alright! Ask him how does he feel about his work and how much time does it take for the pots to dry. How much time does it take to bake them? And first ask him how much is the order for and then ask him how much time does it take for the pots to dry and next when does he bake them? KIRAN: Ok so you want to know the process? SURABHI: Yeah and later, once we finish with this, I would like to know about the material procurement. How does he get the material and what he does after that? (A conversation in Kannada started by the artisan which is continued by Kiran with the relevant questions) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He has an order of 600 pots. It will take him 20 days to complete the order. After doing everything he will fire all together. It takes 15 days per pot to dry. SURABHI: Does he have his own kiln? (Kannada Conversation) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): Yeah, this is own place. He uses this kiln to fire the pots. He doesn’t have anything to say by his own about his work.

ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He is saying that if he has to do a prototype kind of a thing then he will understand from the paper.

SURABHI: So he said that he works in a farm!?

SURABHI: Can you ask him what the cost of clay and his labour will be?

SURABHI: So, only when he gets orders he works with clay?

KIRAN: I would suggest you to not ask this to him now. You can talk and negotiate later according to the design you come up with.

KIRAN: Yeah!

SURABHi: Yeah! That sounds more sensible. KIRAN: I don’t think right now we should do a business with him. Let us just talk to him and form a relationship with him.` SURABHI: I agree with you Kiran.

How does he feel about his work?

KIRAN: He has a land. And he works there.

SURABHI: Can you ask him why doesn’t he make new products? KIRAN: I asked him. He didn’t say anything. I asked him why he doesn’t learn making the cement pots, he didn’t say anything. SURABHI: Can you ask him again? And also ask him why doesn’t he develop new products? New pots or other things? Also later you may ask that how much he earns on a daily basis.

(Kannada conversation between Kiran and the artisan) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He is saying that for completing this order of 600 pots, he requires 1 load of truck which costs him Rs. 600. For firing and all he requires wood, which comes for 1,600 Rs. He puts every pot in the kiln. The ones which are damaged are also put in there. The stock is sold at a whole sale rate of Rs. 17/18 per piece. But the person who purchases it from him, sells it for 30 rupees. I then asked him how they can sell the broken pots. He then said that the broken pieces are rejoined using adhesives and are sold. I then told him that people are trusting and buying products. If the trust is broken what will you tell them? He then said what to do about it. He also said that if you are going for a cement pot for plantation, it would require more amount of water than usual. It will be difficult to grow a plant in the cement pot because it won’t grow easily and won’t have space to breathe. Clay pots are porous and thus encourage the growth of a plant. He is not doing the cement work because since the beginning he is involved in the clay work and he is emotionally attached to his work. He does not want to change now. Also, that work is easier than making terracotta pots. Cement pots are made using moulds and cement has to be simply filled in it. For developing new products, he did not give any concrete answer but just said that he is doing just this. He said he does not know what else to do. He is comfortable working in this form. It will be difficult for him to change his form. AARUSHI: I think one of the reasons could be this is a very cheap source of livelihood. I don’t think he has the room to experiment. He will have to bear all the cost. He will have to buy the raw material. Then he will have to take the risk ofmarketing his product. KIRAN: And it takes 20 days. He is getting 18 rupees for one pot. So for 600, how much will he get? SURABHi: 10,800 rupees. KIRAN: Earlier, there used to be 80-90 houses that did this clay work and everyday they used to sell two loads of these clay pots. But people sell

it for 30 rupees outside. SURABHI: Can you ask him about his process of procuring the raw material? Also ask him if he uses any measuring instruments to bring out the similar pots every time. I also wanted to know about his community. To which community does he belong to? KIRAN: Are you sure you want to ask that? SURABHi: Yeah! The idea is to know which communities are involved in this craft. In the books there is a lot of mention about the communities that are involved in specific crafts. (A Kannada Conversation between Kiran and the artisan) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He is saying that he will get one tractor of clay and won’t use all the clay at once. He first takes some amount of clay, adds water and makes it softer by kneading it with hands and legs. Then he prepares that clay only for one day. If there is any waste or left over, he uses it for the next day but he does not make clay out of the whole raw material at once. All this clay here, will be used by him today itself. Regarding the measurement part, he is used to it. He does not require any measuring instrument for measurement. He is form the kumbhar community. He says that whoever does this kind of work is called kumbhar. Similarly, he mentioned that whoever does shaving work, they belong to the community called ‘chaure’. The one who do the jewellery work and all are caller ‘acharis’. So I asked whether on the basis of work only they derive with the community or what and he exclaimed… yeah! That is the way it is. SURABHI: Can you ask him how many children he has and what are they doing currently. (A kannada conversation) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He says that no one is learning this work. That is his son there (pointing at him who was cutting slabs out of stoves made of clay). He does according to his interest. (The artisan interrupts and starts talking in Kannada)

ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): Whenever he is tired, he just takes a rest and stops working for a while. For entertainment he does not go for any movie and all. He simply takes a refuge from work by visiting his farms. He takes care of it and spends time there. When britishers were here, they liked the terracotta work and started to learn it. They did everything but couldn’t take the pot off the wheel and put it somewhere else. So they gave up on this craft and thought that this was not their cup of tea. His son does not like to do it but is doing it now. AARUSHI: Didn’t his son study? Did he like to study or not? SURABHI: Can you also ask him how old is he and what his name is. Also ask him who all are there in his family. Who all do this work in his family? KIRAN: He started doing this work when he was 8 years old. (A Kannada conversation between Kiran and the artisan) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He has four daughters and one son. All his daughters got married. His son is helping him with this work. His wife also helps him with the preparations of the clay work. She also prepares food. She knows how to work on the wheel but she does not do it. (We opened a packet of oreo biscuis to eat and also offer them to the artist. He willingly takestwo and eats after cleaning his muddy hands with a jute bag) (A Kannada conversation) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): His name is Bayianna and he is 75 years old. (A Kannada Conversation) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He says that he has been to Srishti SURABHi: When was this? ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): Two years back.

(A Kannada Conversation) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He is saying that when he was teaching at Srishti, he was doing all the work and the students were taking pictures with him. Later they claimed that they had done all the work. They didn’t know what to do. When he was working on the wheel, they alse held it and claimed that the pot was made by them. The students gave him sketches and all and he made the pots. But no one actually bought those pots. Only the colleges’ students spent some money to buy them. The pots took more time and were expensive as well. Plus nobody was buying them. That’s the reason he wasn’t getting his money back. (All of us stood there and recorded his next activity of kneading the clay and taking out small impurities from it to use it for making more pots) (A powdered substance is used to avoid clay from sticking to the ground. This was the ash of the burnt wood.) (The artisan throws huge lumps of clay on the wheel such that there is no air bubbles in the clay while on the wheel.)

Interview II (Maniraju) This interview transcript is the translated version of the original conversation. My friend Kiran, was present with us who was responsible for making the conversation happen. Another friend Aarushi, accompanied me for the visit to develop her own knowledge. (The three of us went to another artisan who was making space a space for money to be entered in his wheeled piggy banks) (A Kannada Conversation started by the artisan) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He is saying that he has also been to Srishti. SURABHI: Yeah! He told us this the other day we visited him. (A Kannada Conversation continued by the artisan) SURABHi: When will he fire these piggy banks? (A Kannada Conversation between Kiran and the artisan) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): These pots are 2-3 days old and those there (pointing at another group of piggy banks) are 15 days old. SURABHI: So you mean to say that the black clay will change to red after firing? ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): Yeah (A Kannada conversation between Kiran and the artisan) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): After the pot dries, it shrinks. SURABHI: Since how long has he been working in this craft? (A conversation between Kiran and the artisan) KIRAN: I am now explaining him why we are here. (A Kannada conversation)

ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He is saying that yes he will do your work but will not execute it later. This is because it won’t sell. (Kannada interruption by the artisan) AARUSHI: Did he say why will it not sell? ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He is just saying that it does not sell. New things don’t sell. AARUSHI: No, but tell him na that she will take it to the market, make the product look appealing. (A Kannada conversation between Kiran and the artisan) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He is saying that earlier he used to make different products like the utensils for the kitchen. But now, they have been replaced by the metal utensils. He says that he is making the piggy banks because children will buy it - only for keeping at home or collect some money. AARUSHI: I think you should talk to him and explain him that if he loses his hope like this then there is not point making piggy banks as well. There is enough variety for piggy banks as well in other materials. In fact we get more shapes and sizes. But there is something more to these kind of terracotta products because of which people are coming back to it. If we go out, we buy those clay tumblers called ‘kulhars’. Why do we do that? We have the most expensive crockery at home. I think you should explain him that if we are coming back, there is some charm to this kind of work and the products. If you think about it, he is doing this work without any hope. Then why is he doing it at all. We are here to encourage him and that is why we are here. Through his products, we are making people; eco-friendly and the products are user-friendly by retaining the same charm. Today, people still like to drink from the ghada because of its taste. This is what you have to bring across him. He needs to feel encouraged. (A kannada conversation between Kiran and the artisan) AARUSHI: One more thing is that people want

to get back to these products because of the organic thing coming in. This is eco-friendly. He should just not feel hopeless about it. (A Kannada conversation between Kiran and the artisan) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He is saying that no one is interested in this. If he makes a pot, it will be better than the other products in the sense of natural coolness and all. But still, people are not buying it. SURABHI: Tell him that that is the reason I am here. I want to bridge this gap between the artisan and the market or the user. AARUSHI: Yeah tell him, this is what she is here for. She will create a market. SURABHI: Also make him understand that people living in the city have various requirements and expectations. But because these products may not be fulfilling their expectations, people are not buying them. I am here for making them aware of such needs of the users and design products accordingly. These may in turn sell in the markets and fetch them money. These piggy banks won’t be bought by a larger audience. This is again a very traditional product. People now a days really want to use utility based products. AARUSHI: In reality people are stupid. If you take the example of multani mitti. Nobody buys it as such but if it is sold as a beauty product under some brand, everybody is like oh my god, that is so great. If we know as humans that this product is better and has better cooling options, and which is cheap why won’t a person by this. This is what is needed - the marketing of the product. This is what she has to do in the course of time. (A Kannada conversation between Kiran and the artisan) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He is saying that ok you give him the design, he will make it and give it to you. He said that he did a project in Srishti to make a pop-corn maker. Technology was used to ensure proper usage of the pop-corn maker. They used a smoke discharge tube as well with the clay pot. The product came out well but they didn’t do anything after that. Then I told him that that was a short term project for a small duration. Students were involved in it and they changed their pro-

jects in the next session according to their interests. But she wants to take this as a profession and won’t leave in the middle. She wants to take this project ahead. SURABHI: Can you ask him from where does he get the raw material? (A Kannada Conversation) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He gets the clay from the nearby lakes and hires tractors to transport clay till here. He goes there and tells the people picking clay that what kind of clay he requires. SURABHI: How much does it cost him? KIRAN: It is only the rent that he has to pay for. SURABHI: And what is the rent? (Kannada Conversation) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He is saying 5000 SURABHI: How many pots does he make with that? (Kannada Conversation) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): With that much clay, he can make 2000-2500 that size pots (Big size) SURABHI: How much does he sell each pot for? (Kannada Conversation) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): 5000 of the smaller pots can be made out of that much clay. SURABHI: Since how long has he been working in this craft? KIRAN: He started working in his life with this work only. SURABHI: How old was he then? And how old is he now? Are there any patterns that he uses in his work? Is he involved in any sort of carving work on clay? (Kannada Conversation) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran):

He is working since 20 years.

(Kannada Conversation)

ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): His name is Muniraju.

ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He does not use any carvings. He does not do any patterns. (Kannada conversation started by the artisan) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He is saying that someone in Narayanpura, is doing works like what people need. He is customizing and all. SURABHi: Where is this place? (Kannada Conversation) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): Rajendra Kunte. 6 kms from here. SURABHI: What all products does he make? KIRAN: This person or that? SURABHI: This one only. ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He makes only the money pots and the God idols in different sizes. SURABHI: How often does get these orders and how does he feel working? ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He is saying that he works continuously. He goes to the city and gets the requirement of the pots form various people and comes back and makes the pots. He continuously works though. SURABHI: Can you ask him how many people are there in his family? Also ask him how many are working with him in the clay work? ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He is saying that he has a son who dropped out of school after 10th because he was not interested. He joined his dad in the clay work. He didn’t say anything to his son. His son dropped out, searched for jobs but couldn’t get through. Therefore, he joined this work. SURABHI: Ask him how does he feel working and if he has anything to say. Ask him what his name is.

(Kannada Conversation continues) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He is saying that he does not feel like working in clay. This is because clay work is difficult. After you cross 30, it becomes difficult. This is because you have to spin the wheel, throw the clay and all sorts of rigorous activities are involved. Due to this, your chest and back starts paining. After some age, no one would do new things. Because of the health issues, they do all small scale works like these pots. SURABHi: Why doesn’t he work on the electric wheel? (Kannada Conversation) ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): Only to spin there is a machine. There are so many other activities that we have to still do with hands - kneading the clay, adding water. Even after getting the machine, we have to do everything. The machine alone costs 25000-30000. If he buys it, he won’t have money to pay back the interest also. SURABHi: DO they get electricity supply in the village? ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): Yeah…electricity is not a problem. For a hour or so power may not be there but as such there is no problem. SURABHI: If I develop a design involving slab or coil method, will he be able to do it? ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He does not use those methods. He only works with the wheel and the moulds. SURABHI: If I have to get a mould made, will he be able to get it made? ARTISAN’s TRANSLATION (Done by Kiran): He can. SURABHI: Thank you so much.

1. There still exist markets for handcrafted products. 2. The product range is economical and can be purchased by any person who is fond of buying these products. 3. The handcrafted products that dominate the market in Bangalore are majorly made in metal craft (God idols) and dhokra metal craft, stone craft (marble and soap stone - inlay and idols), wood carvings (idols and brass inlay), toys made of lac-turnery craft, black pottery, silk and cotton handlooms and organic beauty and aroma products. 4. A huge export market exists for the markets of Indian handcrafted products abroad. World Fair Trade Organisation is one such platform which provides ease of interaction and trade between various groups associated with the manufacture and trade of handcrafted products and are members of this Fair Trade Organisation. 5. Retail stores like Mother Earth, The Ants Store, Yellow Button, The Purple Turtles etc. are moving towards contemporization of the form of the handcrafted product as per the current taste of the urban people. There also exists for profit and non-profit organizations like Varnam and Maya Organic respectively, which are developing new contemporary product range using the lac-turnery craft of Channapatna. The range of contemporary products includes luminaires (light fixtures), table ware like pepper salt containers, bottles openers and stoppers, tissue roll holders, door knobs and handles, laundry bags, tissue holders, wall clocks and other home and kitchen accessories.

6. Traditional handcrafted products are mostly being used as souvenirs and also for corporate gifting vpurposes. 7. Emporiums like Cauvery, Cottage, Kairali, Gurjari, Tribes India, etc. and some retail stores such as Parchin Arts & Crafts, Maheen, etc. provide a platform to trade traditional forms of handcrafted products. Their sales mostly occur on God idols and temple and home decoration accessories. These stores also provide a platform to the artisans where they can work on a larger scale and fulfill greater orders which help them gain their regular wages. 8. Most of the government and private stores realise the importance of keeping the Indian culture and heritage alive through the crafts of India. 9. There exists stores like The Ants, which are directly involved in working with NGOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s who are working to develop and increase the production and income of the artisans. 10. There ae some expensive stores like Good Earth, Cinnamon and The Bombay Store, whose objective is to promote Indian traditional goods and thus they are based on Indian themes. Their froms of products like cutlery, home linen, artefacts are traditional Indian but they may not be essentially handcrafted. They indeed provide a great interface to engage the buyer with the traditional forms of India and create fondness. 11. Various designers are involved in experimenting and devloping new designs and forms using natural materials which are used in the Indian crafts.

Strengths Threats 1. There is a possibility of endanger of crafts due to lack of innovation in design. Flooding the market with only traditional forms may lead to their fondness only as souvenirs and artifacts. 2. Due to lack of increment in their wages, the

100

artisans have already started moving to other labor jobs like construction and agriculture. If the condition of the handicraft is not improved, it is possible that most of the crafts become extinct due to the migration of jobs of the artisans.

Market Research

I SWOT Analysis

1. Inspite of the existence of the handicraft market, there is no substantial development in the design of the products according to the urban tastes and contemporary usage. The is ample of choice for the selection of products made of traditional forms which can be used only for interior decor and can be kept as souvenirs. 2. There is a great difficulty faced by the stores which are engaged in product manufacture directly with the local artisans and resources. They face problems due to lack of professionalism in terms of meeting market requirements, on time delivery, mass production and similarity between same products.

3. Although there is a market and fondness for handcrafted products, the number of stores and outlets for marketing are limited. 4. There is no substantial growth in the economic conditions of the artisans inspite of huge sales in the export department. The money is used completely in the supply chains. 5. In the majority of private stores, there is no direct connection with the artisans. As a result, there is no education on design and development of the artisan sector.

Weaknesses Opportunities 1. There is a gradual shift in the choice of the consumers and they are moving back to the handcrafted products (due to their eco-friendly nature, quality and aesthetic value). There is a huge niche for design intervention in the handicraft industry which may further lead to its development. 2. Designs can be introduced keeping the urban taste in mind and at the same time preserving the cultural heritage of India through its craft materials and motifs. 3. Chain of stores could be established which only sell handcrafted products. With the increasing global connectivity through the internet, a platform could be established which is a direct network of demand, manufacture and supply. This may reduce the addisitonal costs of supply chains in between the network.

4. Effort could be made to be a member of the World Fair Trade Organization to establish export trade connections. 5. There is a huge scope of improving the professional and design knowledge of the artisans so that demands and orders can be met on time. 6. By working closely with the techniques of crafts involved in the production of products, flaws could be pointed and technological interventions can take place which may further result in the increase in the productivity of the handicraft industry. 7. Huge designer and entrepreneurial development is possible in the field of handicrafts.

101

102

Synopsis of the Market Reseacrh

I The Ants Store

1. The Ants store is a part of the Ants Craft Trust which is situated in Indra Nagar, Bangalore. 2. It houses a wide range of exquisite products like black pottery, silk and cotton apparel, brass and stone jewellery, baskets, etc. These are sourced mainly from NGOs across the northeast. The store showcases and works towards preserving the tradition, creativity, and passion of north-eastern artisans. Every piece of handicraft carries the Craftmark logo to guarantee the authenticity of each product. 3. It also houses a small cafe that serves freshly ground bean coffee, cool beverages and continental dishes. 4. The Ants Cafe also provides a space to conduct events like book readings, film screenings, food festivals, musical evenings, etc that introduces the soft power of the northeast people.

works along with the crafts groups and imparts design development appropriate to today’s market trends. 6. They also have an in house marketing team which provides the crafts groups with larger marketing opportunities. 7. Most of their products are exported to various enterprises which have formed linkages through the Fair Trade organizations. 8. The product range is from Rs. 100 – Rs. 15,000. 9. The Ants Crafts Trust has a young design team that works with crafts groups and infuses design innovations. This enables traditional motifs woven deftly on simple looms to suit urban lifestyles in India and abroad. The designers’ inputs intends that the craft survives and thrives.

5. They have an in house design team which

About the Ants Craft Trust The Ants Craft Trust, registered as a Public Charitable Trust in 2009 at Bangalore is an offshoot of the ant which is a voluntary organization working on development issues in the northeast. It is also certified as a fair trade organization by Fair Trade Forum – India, Fair Trade Forum – Asia, and World Fair Trade Organization. Objectives of The Ants Craft Trust: • To preserve and promote the social and economic wellbeing of weavers & crafts persons from the poorest classes of society, especially the tribals through marketing of handicrafts, skill upgradation and other activities like education

and health that are necessary for the same. • To create a space exclusively for crafts and textiles from the northeast and to promote the identity of the tribes through their craft. • To increase livelihoods in rural northeast India and to accelerate money circulation for better sustainability of crafts groups in the northeast region of India. • To promote positive stories above the diverse communities in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

103

Conversation Transcript DATE: 22nd Feb, 2014 PLACE: The Ants Café, 14th Main, 1st Cross, Indra Nagar, Bangalore NAME OF THE INTERVIEWEE: Mr. Bonapa INTERVIEWEE: The artisans are from Manipur. So there are four artisans who make this product. So the way we work is, these designs are done by not only us but by various people say students, they work with us, not here but there (at Assam). Students come there and work, they come in for internships so they come and work with those people. They give them design. However, we don’t own design. The reason is that we don’t sell as much design as much we sell for generating their livelihood. What we tell them is, you go the exhibition, you might find similar products. We don’t take part in the exhibitions. So far we have not restricted anyone saying that this is our design, you cannot use it for anything else because it doesn’t make sense to us, we couldn’t sell enough. However certain things, they will not make for us – certain cups we make, certain pouches we make, they are made only for us. SURABHI: I read there on your display somewhere that this black pottery you produce is not made on wheel, it is hand beaten?! INTERVIEWEE: This particular kind of pottery, it has to be done in hand. It cannot be done on a wheel. So there is no wheel or anything, in fact, they use the hammers to ground the clay on stones and powder it. They aare made of clay or stone. They are not painted or anything, they are natural. It is a long process of making that pot. This Assam organization is also in Manipur. So we do visit them. We go all the way there and spend some time. SURABHI: So what sort of clients do you generally have? I mean what age group? INTERVIEWEE: Ok, we are looking at clients who are generally working class, may be in their early thirties. SO, thirty to forty. The kind of customers we get do not generally ask for anything in particular and they are specially considered environment friendly. It is an ethical business. We don’t really appetise on rates. People come here generally through references and friends.

104

Most people like the way we operate. The reason being it’s not that we don’t want to be a mystery, we don’t have money to do that. At the same time, also we don’t want to look like others. We don’t want to get around doing marketing – please come and buy from us. We do not want to tell people ANTS coming. We don’t want to tell them the reason for us to sell – for the people in Assam. We want ot sell you the product. You buy it because you want to wear it. Because initially we used to sell clothes like this (pointing at a range of clothes). It is a sarong – they make a wrap around. You may like it, you may buy it today, but you may not buy it everyday. But if you want to help a person, who has stitched it, probably selling scarf or sarong once a year, we won’t make any sense. So what we have done is, we produced a new range of products – these cushion covers – they are made out of the same pattern. They do the weaving and we cut them. We do the tailoring. Because for them, they know only to do this (weaving), so we transform them into a modern article or cushion covers and runners. So we have done a lot of cushions, durries, using the similar techniques. So we get this done from Manipur. But whatever you see here is coming from the self helped groups or from some other NGO’s. We have not bought these from anywhere else. SURABHI: So all this craft on display here is from Manipur? INTERVIEWEE: No no no! Not really! This is from Orissa (a metal object). It is called Dhokra. It has come from Orissa, and they are made up of recycled brass. They are a fair trade. I mean there are from 30-40 years. So, in the process, since we became the fair trade, we also came across the people of the fair trade and the other social groups who try to promote. This one here (dhurrie), we don’t pay them 200-300, so they give us a consignment, and then we sell it. Because they cannot come to Bangalore and have a store. What we do is we try to work for each other. For example, if I need to sell anything, I need not have a store for it but they can help me sell it. Accordingly we save our costs. We can get 100% margin, we can sell that thing for them in Bangalore.

SURABHI: What about the bamboo stuff? INTERVIEWEE: Bamboo is from Assam and Meghalaya. We work from Meghalaya in Cherrapunji. The cane has come from Assam and most of the bamboo comes from Meghalaya. So we do work on a very small scale as compared to the others and again, we know pretty much who makes them, so we get an idea about the people behind the product through this idea of Fair Trade in first place. You are most welcome to visit Assam if you happen to be there. Because we have our own weaving center. You could also go there and stay there and see how the weavers live there. We welcome people to see how we work. You may ask me how am I selling something for 800-1000 rupee when in the village there the thing can be produced at 70-80. They don’t even have the houses to live in. They are getting these products by climbing the mountains. We have always had the political issues – the bandhs. We cannot have oneperson o carry these things and get it here. We need 5-6 men to carry this all and bring it to the train. If you look at it, sometimes we don’t even know if we are making money. See we are also funded, funded as in we have also taken loans from the Nabbars. SURABHi: But then you are based in a place like Indra Nagar. The place also needs a price right! INTERVIEWEE: If it wasn’t in Indra Nagar, probably I would have no walk in. How does it make any sense to have it somewhere else where there are absolutely no people. We could network NGO’s through our contacts with other corporates. SURABHI: SO which of your products sell the most? INTERVIEWEE: Jewelry of course! Some stoles in silk. We have this orginal silk. This is raw silk. It is not the mulberry silk. And this Erry George here is known as the on-violence silk. We need not kill the worm for the silk. Most of the people don’t like even weaving. We have a lot of problem in production. Like this stole here, its size is supposed to be 19 by 20. Now it may be 19 here and 19 or 19 and a half there. This is how they do it! There is no technicality, there is no proper measurement. This is done in somebody’s house, probably while cooking.

SURABHI: Do you face any other problems for production of these handcrafted products with the artisans? INTERVIEWEE: We do have a lots of problem. So here, this stock of scarves we have – we needed 18 by 20. Now some are done in 17 by 18, some in 18 by 18 and we don’t know what to do with it. We can’t sell them we can’t do anything with it. And what they say is if you can’t sell it don’t give it back to us. It is very difficult to work in the north-east. They don’t depend on this you see. Another thing is that, if my mother would be knowing weaving and I was her daughter, she won’t ask me to learn weaving, she will instead ask me to go out and learn computer, something else other than weaving because weaving doesn’t give you anything. So still we are in that phase – where we are getting there. SURABHI: They also must be having issues related to the understanding of production, and delivery on time and stuff. INTERVIEWEE: No, these things do not work there. We are not yet in a position to provide them with infrastructure because it requires a lot of money. We can do that, hire a lot of people, employ them, provide them with money, proper factory, we give them their working hours – we cannot possibly do that. The type of things we do are very small scale. And if you ask me that I want these 1000 pieces, I am not too sure whether I can make it. SO that is a challenge – the massproduction. If you want to go to the mainstream, you have to produce thousands of things, that is what is expected, because the distributor wants to hold thousands of things in hand and distribute it in 5 or 10 stores. If you can’t deliver bad luck, there is someone else who can do it. SURABHI: So are you also exporting things abroad? INTERVIEWEE: We do export. But whatever we export, we export it to fair trade importers. So whatever we have sold to New Jersey, they are also called the Green America and in Germany we have supplied to DWC, in Germany 7080 importers. I don’t know how, the population in Germany is very less but they have 800 Fair Trade stores. But again the problem is, the way they regulate this. If you are a fair trade store, you are not supposed to buy from me. Although we may be friends, you might know that I am

105

making a fair trade product in India, but you will not be allowed to buy because a fair trade importers are given licenses only to buy only fair trade. So in case you don’t choose to buy from me, my product cannot go there. That’s how we work. I recently went there that’s why I can say all about it We also work with individuals, France etc. SURABHI: So when you are working with fair trade people, you are working directly with them or you have a supply chain? INTERVIEWEE: The fair trade importers directly buy from us. That is why we have the fair trade certificate. We may not sell t though some agency but we can directly go ahead with the importers. The challenge still remains, although it is a fair trade, they still want a quality product. They have to sell it. It doesn’t work in concept selling. SURABHI: And mostly it is garment and jewelry as you said? INTERVIEWEE: We only do garment. When it comes to whole sale, we don’t really do pottery and other craft things. We do the fabric based things because that is the main objective for us. Jewelry might go but mostly fabrics go. Because this is how we want to progress. We are still a small society so we are thinking of expanding ourselves. We did talk to FabIndia about it. The idea of FabIndia is also the same – supporting the artisans. Even the imports source material from them. But according to my thought, when you are in business, it is very difficult to have that balance, you are either there are you are gone. We need to maintain a standard, we need to pay all the expenses to cover up the product – everything. My payment, my rent, has to be covered up from this product cost. Nothing extra will be coming from outside. FabIndia, I don’t know how it is, they are supposed to be socially responsible. They have produced 30-90 credit days. For example, if I am a small producer, you expect me to give you three months of credit, so I think that is not fair, that is what I think. Now we have mark ups, I buy something fro 100 rs. FabIndia has it for 300 rupees, they have different reasons why, so basically they are making money from poor people because they give them credit for three months, even if they sell quarter in three months, they make enough money to pay you back. So 75% is the profit irrespective of the expense. But people, just to get

106

into the supply chain, we do that, we also want to earn. This is competition. I just don’t find it fair for the producer to give credit to FabIndia. So, when we export to Germany, we get 50% advance before the products are delivered. That’s my experience with exports. In India, we did try to work with FabIndia. I tried working with reliance. We couldn’t get through because it is just like you get us..can you make up for that. I was like fine, we are fed up, we won’t do it. SURABHI: How do you price such things? INTERVIEWEE: Well, we have the wages, we have our transportation, our expenses, whole sale generally becomes cheaper. We calculate all that. We have mark ups on expenses. This is what every business would have. SO this is how we work. Usually it depends on the wages we pay there. So you can’t say why you paid 200 rupees there but it was 100 there. 100 was calculated as wages and after that, there was expenses calculated and it became 200. So 200 is not the profit. We are also probably making just rs. 10 profit. The 10 rupees profit is necessary to grow even to meet your own expenses. This is how we do the mark ups but every company has its own mark ups. There are companies which have four to five times extra mark ups. They do have it just because they are branded. I am not saying I am justifying you should buy from me but of course you don’t know where these things are going. In India or Indonesia, the person who is purchasing this product does not think for once in what working conditions is the product produced, who are the product behind this product. Ooh Levi’s jeans, its great, there it becomes a brand! You really don’t question, whether the makers are being exploited, or how they are working – all this does not matter. The question really remains how ethical you have been. SURABHI: But, isn’t it difficult to come into business and at the same time remaining ethical? INTERVIEWEE: Even the big companies do. But the question remains, what is the point of exploiting them on one side and then give them back on the other side? I think, every one of us, for the business ideas, we all had a good intention. Everyone started with a good intention. But I think it still can be ethical. I don’t see any reason for it to not remain ethical but if we minimize our profit, there is a possibility. We can be ethi

cal, as transparent as possible. That is why I like the idea of fair trade myself. We do have a lot of challenges in fair trade. I also go for the fair trade meetings. I might believe in principles and philosophies etc., but at the same time, see, I am a fair trade and you can be a fair trade at some point of time, but if you start selling China product, you will have the same image of me as I m from fair trade. We hardly have 100 members and we try to retain them. I think we can be ethical. We don’t go around saying that I charge you Rs. 10 for this scarf but I charge that person there 500 rupees. We sell it for 75 rupees – anywhere – fair!

in as a volunteer but I do get paid for this work. On weekends I take care of the café. The café does not have anything to do with this business but it has definitely increased the footfall. People may not buy today but they do come back and bring other people. We conduct workshops at different places so that people are informed about the products and can come and visit us. You can also join us through facebook. Anything you need, you can come to us, and we are open to all sorts of enquiries and queries.

SURABHI: So are you the owner of this place?

SURABHI: Thank you so much, I will see the café upstairs now!

INTERVIEWEE: No I am not the owner. I joined

INTERVIEWEE: Sure sure sure! Feel free!

107

II Grasshopper Product Related Questions • Since how long has your company been working in the manufacture of products using handicrafts? Grasshopper has been open since 2002. We produce an in house line of clothing called Hidden Harmony. The remaining clothes, accessories and products are produced by other designers from around India. • What kinds of products do you develop? While we work with clothes, we also showcase products in leather, wood, metal, paper and glass supplied by various people. • What made you start with this range of products? From where do you get them to the store? And how? The idea behind Grasshopper was to showcase high quality design which is rooted in craft traditions. When we opened, we contacted people whom we thought were doing work which is refined and contemporary, but which at the same time uses traditional crafts. We work closely with

the designers /suppliers. Once we have decided what to stock, they send it to us by courier. • Which products do you sell most? Which products are sold less and why? Hand made slippers in leather, designed by Edwin Pinto, sell extremely well at our store. Also our woven stoles in natural fibres, as well as the wood and lacquer jewellery by Atul Johri. • How many products are handcrafted and how many are industry made? All our products are hand crafted....apart from the paper products by Design Temple which are produced in larger quantities. • What are the price ranges for these products? The products in our store range from Rs.400 to Rs.15,000. Our clothes range from Rs.900 to Rs.12,000 (including kids clothes)

Designer/Artisan/Supplier/Factory related Questions • Who works for the development of products? Do you work with the artisans or some factories or other industries or you train people for doing such work? For the making of our clothes, we hire a few tailors who work in a small workshop on the farm

108

where Grasshopper is situated. We have trained these tailors over many years to achieve the finish we require. We source our products from other designers who have likewise trained artisans and crafts people to make their products. • Do you hire designers for intervention,

product development or supply? If yes, then on what basis? How do you estimate their design work? Whereas a majority of the clothes are made by us, the other clothes, accessories and products in the store are supplied by other designers. We do the selection ourselves. • What is the criterion of payment to the suppliers and/or artisans and/or designers – cash? Bank?

We pay our designers at the end of each month for all products sold in that month. This is done by transferring the amounts directly to their bank account. • How much are the artisans paid? We pay our tailors on a monthly basis. For other products, The designers give us the MRP of their products. They decide how much is to be paid to the people who manufacture their products.

Customer/Market Related Questions • What kinds of requirements do the customers have? When people shop at Grasshopper they are primarily looking for products that are innovative and well-designed, but minimal (without surface ornamentation). Quality is also something that people expect. • Are you facing any problems…From the buyers/target audience? From the supply chain? From the artisans? From the government? From the Chinese intrusion in the market? Our only problem is with timings – we rarely receive products/consignments on time, as promised. The other problem we occasionally face is consistency – when we repeat the order for a product, when it arrives it is often very different from the original. • What is the expectation of the customer in terms of form, function and price? I think when people shop here they are looking

for something somewhat unique. When they find something they really like then price is not so much an issue (within limits, of course) • Why do they prefer one kind of product over the other kind of product? This is very subjective – what one person loves another may not even notice. • What is the scope for such products in market? Do you think there is enough scope for the handicraft industry to flourish in competition with the other industries? Do you get any government support in the form of subsidies? I think there is a great scope for such products, provided the product range evolves constantly and stays contemporary. The quality, of course, also has to be superb. • Do you have any other business? Along with the clothes business and store, we also run a restaurant at the same venue.

109

III Mogra Pret & Mogra Mogra Prêt caters to a young, adventurous yet trimmed to tradition market. The store brings together a host of cutting edge yet affordable designer labels under one roof. The 800 square feet outlet at the Meenakshi Mall – II floor, that

offers tunics, kurtis, salwar-kameez, skirts, western wear and accessories in contemporary styling, is a value-for-money experience, where intricacy of design synchronises with simplicity of stitch and style.

Synopsis of the Interview The interview was held with Mr. Mayank Modi, who is the owner of the Mogra and Mogra prêt store located at The Leela Palace, Bangalore and the Royal Meenakshi Mall at Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore, respectively. Mayank is also into apparel design into his own store. The store houses a range of products from female garments like tops, one pieces, kurtas, suits, sarees, lehengas to accessories like jewelry, footwear, stoles to home décor handcrafted products like table ware (salt pepper containers, napkin holders etc.). The garments use original materials like pure or organic cotton, silk etc. and the home décor accessories are made from the lac turnery craft of Channapatna by a for profit enterprise – Varnam. These products are all designed by fashion and product designers and cater to all sorts of audiences who look at dressing up uniquely. The supply chain of the products is through the designers who may/may not have their own workstations with teams of local tailors and artisans. The range of the products is from Rs. 500 to Rs. 15,000.

110

There is no scope of customization in the product as it may lead to the change in the design or the look of the product, however, specific products can be produced on the demands and requirements of the customers. Depending on the footfall and the clientele of both the stores, the cost of production is looked after. For example, the store at Leela, caters to a specific audience which knows what they have to pick and thus the cost of production need not require that much attention as the quality and design of the product. On the other hand, the store at the Meenakshi mall, where the footfall is high, and people might just enter randomly to check out the collection, the cost of production has to be looked upon and the range of the products has to be kept low. The collection at both the stores is however different. (I have seen the collection at both the stores). The cost of the product is ascribed depending upon the cost of production, cost of transportation of the goods, cost and labor of the designer, the rentals to be paid against the infrastructure and the intended profit.

The Interview Transcript DATE: 21st Feb, 2014 PLACE: Mogra, Hotel Leela Palace, Bangalore NAME OF THE INTERVIEWEE: Mr. Mayank Modi INTERVIEW: SURABHI: I would like to know what kind of work are you involved in? I was in a perception that you are dealing with handcrafted products because you had collaborated with Varnam. MAYANK: Actually we don’t really concentrate on one kind of product or a concept. We try and look from the customers’ point of view. We try and produce something which is not easily available and which is easily reachable to everybody. So our garments are also from designers. The concept that you saw at MOgra Pret, is that of designer collection. Generally people feel that the designer collection is very expensive and people cannot afford it. SO what we have done at Mogra Pret is that we have made the designs a little simple with the designers who are involved in larger productions. Simple designs can be worn on a daily basis. Instead of wearing regular brands they can go for something unique. Because now what is happening is that brands are making thousands of pieces. SO you will see somebody else also wearing the same piece. Somebody who wants to look unique even on a daily basis, for them this is a very reasonable thing.

different. I don’t think whether the product is organic or inorganinc, handcrafted or synthetic because I do have some clothing which is organic cotton. I have clothing which is pure cotton, but I don’t keep any artificial fibers. All our designers are working with pure fabrics, organic fabrics and some on handicrafts. If you see, Varnam also has cushion covers. So he had a concept of the handicrafts and along with that cushion covers made up of Channapatna silk. So that was one concept. I don’t have anything to give contradiction to that or compliment to that. If you look at our shoes, that are again handmade – hand stitched. So somebody looking for something different and not very common, I cater to those kind of customers. SURABHI: So what category of users do you look forward to? Because when I looked at the product range, it is not very nominal if we look at an upper middle class persons. MAYANK: See, I am aiming at everybody. Whoever walks into my store. Basically somebody who walks into my store may not be able to afford it, somebody may be not like it, somebody might feel that it is very nice but I cannot carry it off and somebody must be like this is what I was looking for all this time. So my aim is to increase my base to as many people as I can. Obviously I cannot cater to 100% of Bangaloreans, but at least as many people as I can.

Varnam came across because I was looking out for some kind of art work. I was not looking for the regular candle stands – brass or crystal. I didn’t want to keep the regular pen holders or the napkin holders. So, I came across Varnam and this I felt was going to do well because of its entire mix. It basically is very colorful. When you have a concept store, only the people who want to buy that kind of products are going to visit your store. I wanted to promote the Varnam products. Generally what happens is that if something like that product is kept at a store where a person generally goes and buys things from, the first two tiems you may just look at it, but the third time you will buy it!

Basically somebody who has not even seen something like that, I want to promote something like that to them. So that they start changing their perception, they start wearing something that is different yet suits their personality and they are happy with it. At the same time, it also matches with their pocket. Because it is not very expensive as compared to the brands. Maybe if you buy two pieces of those brands, you can buy one piece of this. But, this is gonna be something that you can wear in a lot of ways. It is not going to be something very boring. After a while, you know I am not saying that the brands are bad, but I am saying that there is something which you see so often, you tend to go out of it very soon. This is something you can wear for two – three years, in different ways. So I am trying to promote it to as many people as I can.

I just try to look at products which are unique and

SURABHI: How long has it been for the store’s

111

existence? MAYANK: This store is about 10 years old. I have been working with this store for about 9 years. Earlier I was working with HP. I was doing their accounts and then I started designing on weekends. I started liking it and I thought maybe this could be something I can work with. SURABHI: So are you basically into the designing of a garment? MAYANK: I design and I also own the store. SURABHI: And how old is your collaboration with Varnam? MAYANK: About three years. Two and a half years. SURABHI: So you kind of approached Varnam or it came across you? MAYANK: I don’t remember how it happened. We met through a common friend. He came across to the store and we started talking. He said he wanted to do something like this. I said I would love to promote it because I am always looking for something different. One day he said he will show me some of his works. He was very small at that time. He used to make just two or three different pieces. We loved it. And since then he has grown quite well. People have started keeping specially his concept. People are looking forward to concept houses – with only that craft, with their furniture suiting what they have. He also makes lampshades. He stck to the concept very well. So, people could identify with it. A lot of people, who wouldn’t have thought of keeping candle stands of Channapatna, they only thought of toys, this has become quite a weight. SURABHI: Alright so, I am not too sure whether you will be able to answer this question for him or not, but I would like to know that if he is dealing with this craft, is he to do anything with the craft as such or is he just looking at its production and enterprise? MAYANK: See, what I feel, and maybe you can talk to him as well. He is passionate about certain designs. He wanted to promote Channapatna and the artisans because the artisans are losing their jobs and the specialty that they had and the quality that they had. I think now there are Channapatna toys around but it has not gone beyond that. He wanted to promote the craft at

112

the same time help the workers there to increase their state of living. SURABHI: As far as I know, he is basically working with women in Channapatna. MAYANK: I think it is both, but maybe especially he is working with the women. He is providing them with his skill and design input which is increasing the quality of the product as well. At the same point, I think they are able to charge more for the product because of their quality and the time of designing taken. SURABHI: Alright, so looking at the products of your store, can you let me know which products sell more and which sells less? MAYANK: Actually in my store, I don’t have designers which compete with each other. If someone is coming for the Varnam stuff, there is nothing else other than those products, they will pick up a Varnam and leave. If somebody is coming for shoes, I have just two kinds of shoes – one is the Kolapuris and one is the crochet shoes. If somebody wants a crochet shoes, they will pick up the crochet. Even in garment, I have something very simple, I have something dressy, and something in between. Somebody who is looking for a particular kind of product, will be going for that and all my designers sell well. It is not in particular that one designer sells more and the other designer sells less because it just depends upon what they make. So we don’t have competition among the designers in our stores. We have individual designers who have their own sense of styling and then somebody who identifies with that kind of style just sticks to that one. We have all kinds of customers coming in. Our product range starts at 500 and it goes upto about 7,000. So somebody who is looking for regular tops, picks up something for 600-700, somebody who wants more dressy, picks up salwaar suits for 5000-6000. I cannot particularly say that one particular designer is doing well while the others are not. All of them are doing well. SURABHI: Alright, so do you have some specific requirements from the user which needs to be customized and sold? MAYANK: We don’t customize too much because it may change the entire look, because again if you are looking at a single one piece and want to change the look completely, it is going to

increase the cost of it. SO we do a little changes here and there, maybe if she wants it sleeveless, or if she wants it with sleeves. And sizes we can do. We have high end sizes also – XL and XXL and minor changes like color change or may be sleeveless or with sleeves, or lower neck or deeper neck, we can do that but we can’t change the entire design. SURABHI: And what about the accessories? The handicrafts? DO you have any specific requirements coming from the users that can be manufactured later? MAYANK: Not really! Because these accessories have gone one step ahead. These are things that one can’t even imagine. So I would definitely help the customers out if they have any particular requirement. But as of now, they have not really come to us for a particular kind of product for use. He is gone beyond, he is gone to salt and pepper, which you cannot imagine in Channapatna. People they just come, they don’t really think beyond a certain point of what they see. But if they do get back to me with specific requirements, I can do that. I can try and coordinate with designers and get it done. SURABHI: Anything that they expect in terms of the products – its form or the shape? MAYANK: When they walk in, for most of them it is something new. So, they are quite happy to see it. They are excited about seeing something different. But, at the same time they are a little skeptical. This is because the cuts are not straight cuts. They need to try it. You have to basically teach them and convince them to try it. Once they try it, they will take it. Once they try it, they know that it is something more than just simple straight cuts, normal chudidaars that they keep talking about. So you just have to educate them. So my own concept is this. A lot of people who already know about it, they are regular buyers, they come and they buy it. They always expect something new which we are trying to so everytime. But there are also lot of customers who are skeptical – who are not sure whether they can carry this off on a daily basis. I am trying to educate them, promote them. Because for us it is not just displaying clothes and just let the customers browse and pick. For us, it is about looking at their body, what will suit them, what kind of personality they have, we suggest. From jewelry to garment to footwear – everything. If they pick up a top, we probably suggest that you can wear it with this, you can wear it with skirt, you can wear it with tights, you can wear it with

trousers, you can wear it with these shoes, you can wear it with a stole, so we give them different options where they can do a lot of things with one garment. Basically to educate them on how can they improve their sense of styling. They might be having that sense already but just to try it with different things. SURABHI: So do you also hire fashion stylists? MAYANK: No, we the stuff itself are trained in such a way that they know exactly how to go about it! SURABHI: So now I would specifically like to talk about the lac-turnery products here. What scope do you think these products have in the future in the market? DO you think they have enough scope to flourish and compete with the imported markets? MAYANK: Yes yes, they have a big potential in India because in India they already understand handicraft. Here now the designers have started experimenting, with the handicraft which is already existing. Experimenting in terms of color, different shapes, more modern shapes, so that more and more people get attracted. There are people who are very traditional, they stick to those old kind of handicrafts. But, the designers have also realized that we need to get newer people into buying these products so that the artisans are alive doing their things, the craft is kept alive. So they are getting better quality products, more modern, more colorful, which appeals to the younger crowd also. Like even I would buy a Varnam product to keep in my house. Like you are doing a project on this. Youngstres are already aware, but they feel it is very boring to buy something like that. They feel it is very traditional. So these if you see, they are very colorful. It is not very traditional and boring. It has got brighter shades. Definitely the designers have understood that they need to improve, they need to go along with what the customers requirements are. I think what they are doing is correct. It is just that they are very few at the moment. Very few. Not too many people know about it. Once it is promoted, obviously it is going to take a whilel. But, onec it is promoted people are definitely going to move towards buying this but nothing else. I think nobody prefers something imported or something that might need a lot of handling. This is evergreen. SURABHI: So do you have any kind of compe

113

tition or problems that you face as compared to the other market, as the China markets or any other? MAYANK: No! I don’t think we can even compare it to the China market. These things are something which are used to decorate the house and should look nice. Even if we use it, it looks nice. So the people buying such products are not going to buy something which they can just keep it for a while and after a couple of months it looks really bad. And those things are not easily available. They are going to buy quality products because these things are wood, we need to put up a quality product for it to come out in the kinds of designs that it need to go out. SURABHI: One thing that I was quite eager to know is that you have two stores – one here at Leela Palace and the other at the Royal Meenakshi Mall. SO how do you kind of balance the cost of production of products and the cost of infrastructure? MAYANK: See, this store here is a completely different concept, the rents here are different. There I am looking at a higher number of walkins. Here I only looking at quality walk-ins – who come, they know what they are buying. Here people already know, some of them also educate us that probably we can get this or that. There, I am educating them, that this is a different concept. You should try – try over these pants. It’s a completely different setup altogether. So it is not really something that I need to balance. I just have to make sure that the concept is correct. And you are talking about the cost of production, there the cost of production has to be as low as possible. We concentrate on dong that so we try and increase the sales, we try and increase the number of pieces, that we produce. Here (Leela Palace), we don’t really concentrate on the cost of production. Here we concentrate on the garment, its style, at the same time we try to keep it as reasonable as possible. But that’s not our main criteria. SURABHI: SO the collection here and there is totally different. MAYANK: Totally different! Totally different designers, totally different range. You could see. So how did you get into this field of craft designing? Because a very few people of your age are looking at this way.

114

SURABHI: For me, it is my own interest. Since my childhood, I have always been attracted to those road side terracotta places and other bamboo and cane works. But then, since two years only I have been in Bangalore, and I have been seeing a lot of exhibitions at CKP, Soul Sante, everywhere. So my observations from the roadside artisans has been that they are making very traditional objects which have been developing since years. I have been looking at those kind of products a lot of times. Now, whenerv I visit these exhibits, especially at CKP, it is the same old story. I just thought there should be something different and I feel that Indian heritage is so rich. If there is something that can be done about improving the condition of the handicraft industry as compare to the imported goods, I really want to look into it. MAYANK: See it is going to be a little difficult. But there are a few people who appreciate these things and want only these things. They are not looking at Chinese stuff. I would not be going in for the Chinese products. No matter how cheap and good-looking it is. Even in India, if you say ‘Made in China’, half the populations picks it and leaves it. Foreigners come, and whatever garments they see labeled as made in china, they immediately put it back. That’s the mentality that they have. China is catering to a different category altogether. Buy, wear, throw. Take a watch for 100-200rs. Wear it a couple of times, enjoy it and throw. Some people don’t want to do that. They want to keep it and use it for the maximum time possible, treasure it. It is an attachment. There a lot of people like that. There are people who don’t get on something. If you make something and you give it to them, they will happily accept it. SURABHI: Thank you so much, it was great meeting you! MAYANK: You wanna have something? Coffee or anything? SURABHI: No, Thank you, I would just look around!

IV Mother Earth Product Related Questions 1. Since how long has your company been working in the manufacture of products using handicrafts? Since 1994 Industry has been working with craft based manufacturing 2. What kinds of products do you develop? We started with a range of home products like table linen, cushions, gift boxes, laundry bins and now are into apparel as well. 3. What made you start with this range of products? From where do you get them to the store? And how? Our Founder Neelam Chibber has been involved with crafts from her college time, her idea was to give a platform to artisans wherein products designed are to suit todays day and age, that is keeping in minds the evolving requirements of consumers. We have our own production units in

and around southern india and we source from organizations as well. 4. Which products do you sell most? Which products are sold less and why? In our home range table linen sell the fastest. Sold less is a notionâ&#x20AC;Śproducts perform or failâ&#x20AC;Ś but at the end of the day when u offer discounts even they sell. Products mainly sell on visual appeal and ultimately price factor. 5. How many products are handcrafted and how many are industry made? None of our products are industry made. Even our furniture is made using hand held machines. 6. What is the price range for these products? Our range starts from 49 and goes upto 49999

Designer/Artisan/Supplier/Factory related Questions 7. Who works for the development of products? Do you work with the artisans or some factories or other industries or you train people for doing such work?

8. Do you hire designers for intervention, product development or supply? If yes, then on what basis? How do you estimate their design work?

We have a team of in-house designers and product merchants. They travel and work with artisans and we also invite artisans to our workshop and work with them in Bangalore.

Yes ofcourse we hire designers and they are involved in intervention and product development. Our organization prefers candidates who are keen on working in the craft sector and are to some extent prepared to understand the availa

115

ble skills and explore within that.

10. How much are the artisans paid?

9. What is the criterion of payment to the suppliers and/or artisans and/or designers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; cash? Bank?

We are a compliant organization and its mandatory for us to pay minimum wages, PF, ESI and so on. Based on skills the pay get better.

Bank

Customer/Market Related Questions 11. What kinds of requirements do the customers have?

14. Why do they prefer one kind of product over the other kind of product?

From colour to specific sizes to specific products for certain purpose. The range varies

Requirement, price point, look and feel and aesthetic value.

12. Are you facing any problemsâ&#x20AC;ŚFrom the buyers/target audience? From the supply chain? From the artisans? From the government? From the Chinese intrusion in the market?

15. What is the scope for such products in market? Do you think there is enough scope for the handicraft industry to flourish in competition with the other industries? Do you get any government support in the form of subsidies?

Initially the Chinese intrusion was a treat but then customers understand quality and love handcrafted so we are secured. Supply chain is an issue to the extent of seasonality of materials. 13. What is the expectation of the customer in terms of form, function and price? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wide parameter..but walking into a brand they know the kind of look available and accordingly choose a brand..

116

Subsidies is like a liability for this sector to flourish artisans have to be entrepreneurs..thats the best method. The scope is immense and the markets are expanding. 16. Do you have any other business? Nope

V NGO Maya Organic MAYA ORGANIC is a livelihood development initiative that supports youth and artisans in Channapatna to build viable micro entrepreneurial alternatives through its product development, marketing and skill enhancement initiatives. It follows the capability model wherein it holds that building inherent capabilities of individuals and institutions eventually makes them competent to respond to future challenges of markets, social conditions, environment and politics. It also partners with markets and develops de-

signs for products and services so that the efforts of the artisans are dovetailed with professional inputs, backed with contemporary and relevant designs and market approaches. MAYA ORGANIC recognizes that merely with inputs of finance/ technology or even some kind of knowledge little is likely to change since it may not be possible for people to depend on these continuously. Building capabilities thus not only becomes essential but is perhaps the most sustainable and effective way to alleviate poverty.

Synopsis of the Interview This document is the analysis of the interview that was scheduled with Mr. Murali, who is the managing head of Maya Organic â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a non-government organization. Mr. Murali talks about the way this organization works and has been involved in working with the lac-turnery craft of Channapatna. Maya Organic is a non-profit independent organization branched out of the parent Maya Organization. It has been involved in vocational training and livelihood generation for the artisans in Channapatna for 15 years. It is a member of the world fair trade organization and has been working to develop contemporary toy products using the lac-turnery craft of Channapatna. They mostly develop toys for a child aged 3 years and below, although there are some for up to 5 years. The organization has also started developing home dĂŠcor and gifting accessories using the lac-turnery craft. Their major sales are through exports of toys; accessories are catered to a very small market and generally produced

on demand of any order. They also have collaboration with certain retail stores in the market. They use the Amazon online portal to market products abroad directly. The organization provides vocational training to the people in Channapatna and trains them in the skill of the lac-turnery craft. They have developed a whole system where the organization itself looks after the raw material procurement, its seasoning and storage, machinery for producing lac-turned products and other basic machinery for elementary carpentry work, packaging of the products and marketing. They are also looking at land for forestation so that the raw material is grown in-house. It is an organization of around 80-100 artisans where the male-female ratio is 50-50%. The training institute is only located in Channapatna. The instructors are skilled labor who have been working with Maya Organic ever since its beginning. The design input is provided by some in-house designers and also some other free

117

lance designers who have been associated with the organization on and off basis. The people who have to be given the training are selected by observing their social background. Mostly people in need and who belong to below poverty line are chosen to impart the training. On the other house, the production house employs anyone who knows the craft and then is eventually skilled. The artisans are paid on the basis

of two models â&#x20AC;&#x201C; piece rate and monthly wage. Generally artisans who have better productivity prefer to be paid on a piece rate basis where they get the value of the number of products produces irrespective of the amount of time they have worked in. Artisans, generally women, prefer to get paid on the monthly wage model where they have a stable source of income.

Reflection on the Interview Maya Organic seemed to be an ideal model for me at the stage where I am right now in terms of system design. My outlook towards their product design is that they are dealing with small scale products and basically toys and have a different target audience than what I want to cater to. They have come out of the traditional forms of the lac-turnery craft for making toys and have brought out new ideas for design.

this was my first interview to learn about the market, the production and its supply, I felt that it was quite an opener for me to get me acquainted to the kinds of markets, the ways of production, the various other organizations and systems that need to be kept in mind. The interview has given me an insight towards the development of the system which I plan to develop as a futuristic scope of this project.

I felt that the organization was extremely experimental and was limited to the small scale of the product. This has grounded in me the intention of experimenting with large scale products. As

I am look forward to exploring designs that are suitable for interior space usage and can probably be integration of different craft forms.

Interview Transcript DATE: 18th Feb, 2014

SURABHI: I would start by asking you that since how long you have been working in the lac-turnery craft.

Channapatna craft because the parent organization was working in the child labor sector. This way we got into that region. Later on we felt that since there is a craft there and many people are dependent on it for their livelihood, we also noticed that there is no proper institutional kind of support for the whole craft. They are using the same old techniques, producing the same old products, which are typical of handicrafts. Because of this what happens is it does not sound profitable for somebody in invest into new designs, to scale it up and things like that.

MR. MURALI: Our organization Maya Organic has been there for 15 years. Basically we are a livelihood organization. Our intention is to work with informal sector workers and see how we can provide them a better livelihood. We chose

We also have a very clear inherent advantage in the craft. You see, they are eco-friendly, childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s products are produced. Natural dyes possibility is there. Keeping all this in mind we felt that yes, we can set up this craft, and we started

PLACE: Maya Organic Office, JP Nagar 2nd Phase, Bangalore NAME OF THE INTERVIEWEE: Muralidhar K INTERVIEW:

118

working with this craft. Also, we were in the vocational training earlier. Before this part ‘Maya Organic’ started, as part of the parent organization, we were providing vocational training for the school dropouts. This is almost fifteen years back. SURABHI: So which is the parent organization that you have been talking about? MR. MURALI: Maya! Maya is the parent organization. But now, it has become different organizations. Like Maya Organic is one independent organization, the print media has formed a different organization. It has been almost fifteen years. Started off with a vocational training center, providing lac based skill mainly to girls. We started like that. Our approach right from the beginning has been to link it to the market. Because if you provide vocational training and don’t link it to the market, very often so happens that once they learn the craft, or any particular training, they link it with the job market. Since the very beginning, as part of the parent organization also we had some links to the market. In the sense, if we are providing training in a particular field, we always book orders in that particular thing. Partly they spend time on the shop floor. So, linkages, making product and putting in the market is very much a part of how we have been providing training. Likewise, for the lac ware craft also we did the same. We saw what is the existing product in the market. So if you do it the same way, provide training to make the same old products, the same child labor in Karnataka, where can we improve on that? How the product should be better - with a clear emphasis on quality. SURABHI: So, where are these training institutes located? MR. MURALI: Right now we are working only in Channapatna. We are only working with the lac ware craft. Earlier we had a few others in Bangalore. But, now we are focused only on Channapatna. Also, instead of providing only training, we started working with a large group of artisans. Those whom we have trained, we formed into groups plus in some sections of Channapatna, there are around 2000 artisans. We might not be able to cater to everybody, but we thought to start as a model. Because when we talk about training and self-sustainability, we wanted to share model that is sustainable with our own infrastructure facilities. There are a whole lot of issues in Channapatna. It is not just design. We have to look at many other things.

SURABHI: Even the raw material procurement… MR. MURALI: …yeah, the infrastructure, power. So many issues are there which are typical to a handicraft. So, when we got into looking at newer products, production, all these issues we had to look at. That’s how we look at it…as a whole. Presently we are working with about 90100 artisans. We have an infrastructure base there. Almost 50-60 artisans work in the spaces that we provide. We also work with a few outside people. We do provide training, not may be on a regular basis, but as and when the need is there. Especially when we have to focus on women, we provide training. SURABHI: So, you are basically focusing on women! MR. MURALI: I will say that there is a specific focus on women but, that doesn’t exclude men. 50-50%. 50 per cent men and 50 per cent women are a part of our organization. But, when we are providing training to a batch, we tend to look at a more need based women training. SURABHI: So how do you approach these women? I am asking this because I have been to Channapatna for three to four times now and I have recognized this whole bidi or cigarette sector. Women are now actually moving towards that sector because they earn more. So how do you approach them? MR. MURALI: See, Maya Organic, as I said, as a parent organization was working in Channapatna. We have some kind of contacts and experience. We have a certain history in Channapatna. The organization has been there for the last two decades. The parent organization has been working there on the issues of child labor. We are mobilizing the community for child rights and child education. Even now, the other parts of Maya which have become independent, still work in Channapatna, Ramnagara, to set up school etc. So we are in a way sort of connected to the community there. Even now, as part of the current organization, there is something called the ‘health project’. It is not that we relate to the artisans only with respect to the craft. Maya Organic works looking at the overall scenario and we do have certain contacts. Our colleagues who are there in Channapatna, are in touch with the community, based on the need, there are people we identify our spots. For example, in this house, these women require economic support. They are looking for a job and all.

119

But they are in a category where they have not gone through education, they are going to end up in the informal sector work. Handicraft kind of things are better because it belongs to Channapatna. So we select those kind of people, provide training to them, and once their training is over with them, we see if we can support them with our orders. SURABHI: So you have already mentioned about providing them with the livelihood and seeking market. Are there any other problems that you are looking at overcoming in some way or the other? MR. MURALI: I am sorry but can you make it a little simpler? SURABHI: Okay, so what are the problems associated with the lac-turnery craft of Channapatna? What is it that you are looking after? MR. MURALI: See, as I said, we are looking at the craft only. The whole issue of procurement of materials, investment in materials, power, people have to work at their home since the power is very problematic. All these issues are there. Storage of wood, keeping the stock of wood. All these issues are very typical to Channapatna. When we work with a group of artisans, we look at he whole supply chain. We procure the wood and we store it and keep it. So we have a central warehouse from where we supply raw material to all the artisans from where we work. Private entrepreneurs procure the wood and keep. Individual artisans sometimes may or may not be able to procure. So, since we work with about 60-80 artisans, we continuously source the wood and keep. Planning raw materials, storing it, seasoning it, all that becomes a part to consistently book orders. We have set up a generator in two places so that work happens continuously from 9-6. Otherwise what happens in Channapatna is people tend to work only when the power is there. Then there is regular order, consistency of work. All of these are a problem. Being an organisation we tend to support them with raw material storage, procurement of materials. Once the training is completed, we also organize them into groups. Somebody is earning, somebody is assembling, quality inspection, packaging, we have set up a system like that. SURABHI: So what is the process that you follow in getting the artisan to the training institute and teaching them? Do you impart design

120

knowledge as well? MR. MURALI: See, we are looking at new people. When I say training, we are looking at people who are not in the craft already. So we take 3-6 months for them to start getting used to the skill of turning on the lathe. Channapatna craft is essentially a lathe craft. We introduce them to the basic operation of how to handle the lathe, how to use the tools, how to turn basic shapes. Simultaneously, we also tend to focus a little bit on literacy. This is because they need to understand the measurements, dimensions, drawings. This is the skill part of the training. In three months they get a hang of how to do it. Later on, when they start doing projects, they start getting skilled. How fast they work, how perfectly they are working, all depends upon an individual. They can pick up the craft and go and also they can start producing simple shapes within 3-6 months of time. SURABHI: Alright. So who provides this teaching input? MR. MURALI: See, in our setup we have artisans who are skilled artisans already. They will be the one who will be getting the students while working. With respect to other skills, whether it is looking at a drawing, understanding the drawing, etc. colleagues will be there. We keep conducting the classes. Once in two or three days. This is for them who are not getting the overall training. SURABHI: So do you have some kind of an admission criteria? MR. MURALI: We have a selection criteriaâ&#x20AC;Ś Yes! We have our own criteria in which we look at the background, what is the advantage to the familyâ&#x20AC;Śwe do a study of all this and then we select them. This is for the training purpose, whereas we take people into our setup who wants to work as artisans. Anybody who feels like can come and join us. SURABHI: Who provides with the design input? But before that, I would like to ask, what kind of products do you develop? MR. MURALI: Our range mostly has been toys. 80-90% existing range what we do is mostly toys. We focus mostly on toys because Channapatna already known as toy town, and is already doing a range of toys. Channapatna is called Gombe (Toy). So we started focusing on toys. A toy is something with which a child should be

able to play. Not necessarily something that you put for display. Most of the Channapatna toys because of people not understanding toy safety and things like that, many of them were just assembled using glue etc. which can be put into display. Those are not something children can play with. If you give it to a child, it will break immediately. As we got this to our knowledge, we got involved in making toys which can actually be used by children to play. That means, we have to look into safety, the way the toys are being used and then we slowly put into the market paying a lot of attention to its finish etc. We have got enquiries, we have got enquiries from outside the country as well. When we got enquiries from abroad, there were some safety standards that had to be fulfilled. SO we got into understanding these safety standards. It is a journey. So, now if we design a toy, we ensure that it is as per the safety standards of those countries and get them tested, certified and then we export them. SURABHI: Ok, so who is the person who gives the design input? Do you have specific team or an individual involved in designing? MR. MURALI: Yeah, I would say, we have a team in the sense, in house two or three of us are there, who keep working on the design. Simultaneously, we also depend on a few outside people who are not full time working with Maya. With them as well, based on their need we provide them the jobs. Continuously we do keep working on some ideas, once in three months also where we want to bring out the new set of toys, we have a few people, who had were earlier associated with us, we go to them and they design products for us. Sometimes it also happens that clients may ask - I have seen something like this, can you make something like this. We actually look at it like that. There are a wide range of toys in various media, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think it is the death of idea, you just have to look around. Traditional, toys, new toys or modern toys, ideas are always there. So we try to look at them and see how we can produce them in Channapatna craft. Basic concepts are there for children depending on the age groups - counting, shapes, sorting, coloring, etc. Keeping those things in mind we go ahead with the design. SURABHI: SO do you have a specific target audience? Or do you target a specific age group? MR. MURALI: We make the toys keeping age group in mind. Mostly the toys that we have right now are for less than 5 years. Majority of the toys are there for less than 3 years. That is the age

group where parents are also more particular about natural dyes and things like that. As the child grows older, complexity of the toy increases. Not necessarily people may require organic colors or other such things. SO right now what we have is majority for less than 3, we have come upto 5. Beyond 5, we have a very few. The nature and complexity of making toys beyond 5 increases, so making the toys with only wood becomes expensive. Keeping handicraft in mind, it also becomes difficult to increase the complexity of the toy. We have accessories. A few we have. Very recently we have started increasing the accessory range. We have another person who works with us, again not on a regular basis but has been associated with us for many years. So she is making her range of accessories - plant holders, pen holders, shelves and stuff like that. She takes it like a project and does it and we select some of them and then take it forward. After some time we again go to her with our requirements so she works on the design and makes new products. SURABHI: How do you market these products? MR. MURALI: We had participated in some exhibitions. When we participate, we get some responses. We have certain channels for export distributors. Our 80% of market right now is exports. We export toys. Accessories we have never exported. We produce them in smaller quantities right now. We sell them through internet. If somebody wants to buy them for gifts etc., we send the catalogue to them. We had tried to collaborate with FabIndia some time back for one or two products but it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go forward. Accessories was not what we were focusing on that time. Since FabIndia was not interested in toys, we just tried a few accessories and they picked some. We still have to explore and see. Recently we have put it on Amazon. Within India we are distributing them through some shops. SURABHI: Are there any designers or architects associated with this craft with your firm? MR. MURALI: Architects I will say no. Architects for toys no. In case of designers we have people. People who have been working with us on an off-on basis. We still contact them whenever we need products. Our set up is not too large. So hiring somebody full time is not a viable option for us. In house we keep doing something. These people working with us take some time to understand the craft. So initially they did some projects, they got familiar with the craft. When

121

ever required we get in touch with them. If they develop something on their own, they come to us and we take it forward. There are some people. There is a person whose name is Madhuri, who is not a toy designer but an accessory designer from NID. She had worked with us for almost six months earlier. She is still associated with us. She is a freelancer. There is one more person associated with us, her name is Tulip. She designs and gets involved in prototyping and testing. She is familiar with the process and she still relates to the craft. We also try doing products for a few outside designers. We didn’t do much of it earlier. That is not a part of our work. Green toys - they are a design firm. They wanted a range of lac ware wooden toys, around three-four years back. They came out with their own designs. 5-6 designs. They came to us for development and they are mostly selling it at US. They got certain quantity made only in US. Some people come to us for accessories. Actually there was an architect couple. They try to develop some designs of their own and they come to us. We develop the prototype for them. It is their product. Then they take the product, market it and put up in the exhibitions. Likewise, there are some designers who want to work with Channapatna, who are on the same line. We develop the product for their design and they take it away. SURABHI: So how are the artisans paid? As of now what I have seen is that the artisans are getting the value of the products that they sell. MR. MURALI: We have two-three models. Mainly two models. One is the piece rate. In this, whatever number of products the artisans produce, they get the money for that. There are some who take money on a monthly wage. Generally the piece rate is preferred by those who are fast in production because then they definitely earn more. Those who see that they are not producing higher quantities, especially women, and want some stability, they prefer to earn a monthly wage which is a mode of the steady income. SURABHI: SO is the organisation getting any profit out of the work that its doing? MR. MURALI: See we are a non-profit company. So even if we can generate excess money, that eventually has to be used for the purpose of the

122

craft and development. Yes, in the last two years, we are kind of self-sustainable, we are able to meet our own costs, at least the basics. That is why we don’t have budgets for advertisements. We don’t have marketing kind of budgets. For whatever we are doing now, following the costs of the artisans, marketing, distribution, we are able to do all of it by ourselves since the last two years. We also keep investing in further training. Last year we hired a designer for developing designs. This is all additional costs. We also tend to get into additional benefits like this time we got into health benefits. This year we very clearly want to see how we can arrange exposure to the artisans. Earlier as well we had done it. Once a year, twice a year we had taken them out. 90-100 people, we take there somewhere for an excursion. This year we want to see how people are working in development articles etc. They are all Kannada speaking people. As of now, we are trying to give maximum exposure to the artisans with our own structure. SURABHI: Yeah..so actually I had heard that there is this whole park coming up in Channapatna. Are you in any way linking to it? MR. MURALI: Actually there is already an export handicraft park set up park. They have allotted places there for different people who are into exports or wanting to export. Also to the members of the Export India Commission. They have allotted lands there. Some industries have put up certain infrastructure for production. Their mission is mostly to be into regular carpentry work. It is not necessarily to help the smaller artisans or the lacquer artisans. Lacquer happens on a smaller lathe. It is made on the spot, colored there and finished. The craft park is more into machine production of all kinds of carpentry work. They also have selected 2-3 machines which can make smaller beads, router tables which can cut smaller shapes. But majority of Channapatna doesn’t use it. So right now, at this point of time the crafts’ park is not necessarily saying that we will only focus on lac ware. They are saying who ever is in Channapatna and can export products, can be a part of it. Though it’s called the crafts’ park which is used for the promotion of handicrafts, lot of people do a variety of toys and flat products - trays and stuff like that which probably can be produced there and some amount of hand crafting can be added onto it. Our parent organization has also purchased

a land there. We have put up a small building there. One part of the training we did there. One room of the infrastructure we provide for training and right now we have initiated one small room of 14 girls who are going through training. We are a non-profit organization and want to promote enterprises, so one women’s enterprise only we want to promote there. All these years they were working as a part of our setup so we thought of promoting a women-only enterprise. So one setup is working in the crafts’ park in another place in the same premises. We also take help of the crafts’ park to make some products which are a combination of lac application and flat wood. Smaller items. When it comes to slightly difficult cutting etc, it cannot be done initially, so we see how it can be done in the crafts’ park and all the other things we can produce with the artisans. SURABHI: So what do you think is the scope of such products in market for the future? Do you think they can flourish and be competitive with the foreign products like there are so any toys coming from China which are made in plastic. Even these lac turnery toys are coming but are not able to produce this shine of the lac. MR. MURALI: So lac finish is coming from China? SURABHI: Yeah it is! They produce the wooden toys on machines but cannot obtain this lacquer shine. MR. MURALI: Correct! See! The moment you say lac-turned craft, lac is there, this is what distinguishes it from the other products. It is turned on a lathe. So anybody who has a machine can turn it. Anything that needs to be produced in volumes can be produced on lathe. There are CMC operated machines which can produce such products. The important characteristic of the lac ware craft lies in the fact that lac is applied to the surface and then it is finished. That is why its geographical indicator is towards Channapatna. So what is coming from China, could be a turned product. It need not be a lac product. We see potential! There is a slow movement of people towards natural dyes, naturally finished products. So I think, if you market it properly then there definitely is scope. Second point is, the finish of the lac - the gloss finish of the lac, in our experience so far, we didn’t find anybody who is not fascinated by such products. So that is the very inherent advantage of the craft. The finish is

beautiful. The colors can be synthetic or natural. So if you put a synthetic color on that, it will look like plastic. You won’t be able to distinguish the product from any other product that is there. So, you should move into natural dyes, or transparent finishes and let the wood be visible. This is the very clear advantage. You have to se how you have to market it. Right now, through Maya Organic, we are able to survive mainly because we are focused on toys and toy safety. People who are looking for these kinds of natural materials are interested in natural dye - that’s the advantage. Since we also said that we are a fair trade organisation and we are a non-profit company, essential thing is that quality is very important. SO we see a potential and it is not that you ca flood the whole market with toys because it is a handicraft, there is a limit to which you can produce. There are 2000 artisans. We are working with around 100. If you can expand the market so that various designers and consumers can start looking at Channapatna for their own designs, that’s a good achievement. 2000 people are ready to work. This is a very eco-friendly craft, its not like any object where you mass produce things. The history of the craft is that there is no dust allergy anywhere, there is no volatile content in the lac. There are advantages in that. Along with that you have to very clearly address issues like the availability of wood, how to get sustainable raw materials, if you don’t focus on it over a period of time, now it still is not a very big problem. But, it can so happen that after a period of time, the raw material availability can become very difficult and is not generated. These are the things in which as an organization we have to look into. It is not possible to look at only a few artisans. It is difficult, but in one part of our mind, it is there that we have to take those steps. As we survive and go forward, we also want to focus on a few other things, so that Channapatna gets the benefit. SURABHI: Ok, so right now you are not looking into getting raw material by planting trees and stuff? MR. MURALI: We have discussed it once or twice but we have not got into it. Coz getting the land, getting the license is a lot of work and getting into the forest department is an absolutely different work. Our organization is not tuned into forestation. So maybe we have to look at some other organization who works on these issues, see if they can look at how to grow this wood - in

123

and around Channapatna. These are the issues we have to look at. Introduction of new colors and techniques, improving the tools and techniques in the craft itself. There are a lot of improvements that are possible for the artisan ship which can improve their productivity. So all those things are what we have to slowly focus on. SURABHI: I also wanted to know, that these artisans require an artisan license. So are you also helping them to acquire these licenses? MR. MURALI: Artisans don’t need to have artisan license. But I think if you have become the member of the Handicrafts’ Board, etc., they provide a membership on license. If you get that license and the membership, there are certain benefits from the government that you can get. But to produce products, you don’t need a license. It is just that if you have a license, you can certain benefits. You become recognized. You are recognized by the government that you are working in this handicraft artisan, then it is making you available to the benefits by the government. If you are not recognized then how can you avail the benefits. For that purpose, the licenses are required. There is a membership of the Artisan Association or things like that. There are certain schemes by the government for health insurance and other kinds of stuff as well, which they want to provide for artisans and other kinds of workers as well. If you are a member and if you are in this, you can automatically avail those things. SURABHI: Right, SO the other thing is, this group that you are working with are working on the designs that are provided by you alone. Do/ can they come up with designs of their own? Are you also providing them some design knowledge along with the skill knowledge? MR. MURALI: See, whenever we make a product, sampling and prototyping, there are a set of people who are involved - including the artisans. While making it, they provide some better ways to do it. As production is happening, we do encourage people to say what are the better ways to produce, where are the rejects happening, if anything is happening, what can be done about it? Personally, if you say that whether artisans are involved in the designing etc., I feel do they have the time. They have to earn something for the month. As a designer, you have studied, you have been trained, and if somebody is investing in you to produce the design, you can sit and

124

have the time to visualize what you can do. So, somebody gives the task to you and many of the artisans don’t have that luxury. Some come up with their own ideas, and yes, they are welcome. Within, the so-called artisans also in Channapatna, somebody who was an artisan and became and entrepreneur now, he can start thinking of design because now he is not working throughout the day. He is handling 4-5 people and he can take some time to develop new products. The question is not about the capability of doing or not doing, how much time is available for them to do. But in terms of trying to get them involved in the process, we can conduct workshops. Involve them in the process of why something is happening and why something is not happening. Design ideas if you say, these design ideas are all linked to perceptions and tastes. I cannot do it for my taste. I have to understand what the taste in the market is, take a feedback on what is going to sell, take a feedback and get back to design. Artisan sitting in a village there, he can make something very beautiful according to his own idea, information and color scheme, but how much exposure does he have to see the market. Does he get the feedback, does he do it etc. So in that sense, there always has to be a linkage. People for interacting with the market, for understanding the ideas etc., convert the idea into distinct products, you have to take the help of the artisan there to produce. But, in terms of creativity etc. scope that we are giving to the artisan there in terms of thinking of his own idea, is very important. You cannot make one artisan like a machine or something. Our intention is to revive the craft. Not to concentrate on five people and see somehow it survives, it should become something, which Channapatna, and Entrepreneurs are coming forward, there is a need for this, so I will employ 10 people. SURABHI: Thank you so much Mr. Murali for your valuable time. I will contact you again for the production of the products once I am done with the designs.

VI Cauvery Emporium 1. To ensure that Karnataka state’s rich tradition of exquisite craftsmanship is preserved, developed and promoted, the government of Karnataka established the ‘Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd. (KSHDCL)’ in 1964.

ket trends, by exposing them to the latest technology. • Look after requirements of the handicraft industry, for instance, wood-seasoning plants set up at the Multi Craft Complex in Mysore and the Lacquer ware Craft Complex at Channapatna.

2. KSHDCL has taken up the following initiatives:

3. KSHDCL markets the handicrafts of Karnataka under the brand name Cauvery through outlets across the country.

• Identify places where craftsmen are concentrated and set up craft complexes with facilities like living-cum-work sheds equipped with tools and machinery. • Provide raw materials like sandalwood, zinc and silver at subsidized rates to the craftsmen. • Train craftsmen in creating new designs in mediums like sandalwood, rosewood, lacquer, and bronze. • Keep craftsmen updated on the changing mar-

4. The products are developed in brass, bronze, copper, wood, lac-turned wood, marble and stone crafts. There is also a handloom section which deals with silk and cotton handicrafts. The emporium also has a range of organic beauty products and aromatic products.

125

VII Central Cottage Industries Corporation of India Ltd. 1. ‘Cottage’ is situated near Trinity Circle at M.G. Road in the Subaram Complex. 2. The Central Cottage Industries Emporium is a house of authentic handloom and handicraft products for nearly 60 years.In 1952, cottage was conceived by a band of dedicated art lovers and their consistent endeavor led to the creation of ‘cottage’ – the abode of Indian handloom and handicrafts that helped to restore the craftpersons pride in their work, recognized their genius and gave them a viable and honored future. 3. With the main showroom at Delhi, Cottage has other showrooms at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore. 4. The emporium showcases crafts from all over India. The products range from exquisite sculptures, paintings, artifacts, metal ware, woodcraft, pottery, stoneware & marble craft, branded Bankura silver, carpets, furniture, furnishings,

126

home linen, saris, ready to wear, accessories, jewelry, craft items, herbal products and much more. 5. Each product reflects the traditional myths, folklores, religious beliefs, cultural ethos and rich heritage of India. 6. Cottage has a range of products which are created to suit the modern usage by incorporating traditional handicrafts and handlooms. 7. It has also engaged itself with craft clusters in different parts of the country for providing marketing support to the product development. It has also been playing a major role in the revival of languishing crafts. 8. Cottage began as an endeavor to preserve the traditional craftsmanship and excellence of skill as a part of the national heritage and now it has become a cultural movement in its own way.

VIII Cinnamon 1. The store is located at Walton Road, Lavelle Road in Bangalore. 2. The traditional becomes trendy at every niche in Cinnamon. Sensorial experiences are essentially the top note here – incense for the aroma, textiles for the fingertips, world music for aural harmony and blended colours to contemplate on. 3. The 2000 sq. ft. store stocks lines from leading names in fashion – Vivek Narang, Jason Cheriyan, Hidden Harmony, Sonam Dubal, Savio Jon, Salt, Rasa, Priyadarshini Rao and others. 4. Also on display are rich Pashmina shawls, old Textiles and a special range of handloom saris and Dupattas by Khoj. 5. Weavers from villages in Bengal, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh have woven the saris in an effort to revive dying traditions. The jewellery collection comprises of both, old pieces as well as unusual contemporary designs. 6. Following the practise of fine stores worldwide, Cinnamon identifies colours for each season and all the products it displays respond to this palette. 7. Cinnamon’s products are made in India, and showcases the finest in Indian design, home and fashion. 8. The lathe-turned, lacquered wooden craft of Ettikopakka in Andhra Pradesh is turned anew as candle-stands by India’s finest product designers.

9. A coconut acquires a zipper down its midriff and a new life as an evening bag. Huge metallic platters with finger-deep indentations along the rim. Knobby-edged, right-angled brass vases. Straw-thin cigarillos of glossy Sunday supplements reborn as table mats by Poddar. 10. The extensive home section also includes metal ware, Bidri work, candle stands, vases, frames, tableware and accessories in metal and wood, in addition to beautifully finished stoneware, glassware, leather, aluminium and acrylic. 11. The people behind CINNAMON – Radhika & Abhishek Poddar – are involed with it in every detail and the stores speak the same language as their own style. Right from the merchandise selection, editing, display – each aspect is currently looked by either of the two. 12. CINNAMON constantly adds to its large range of merchandise, by finding new designers and introducing new collections through exhibitions every month. 13. The press and Cinnamons clientele have been very generous in their praise for the range, selection and ingenuity of the merchandise on a regular basis. Both the Indian and international press have covered the stores extensively, including magazines and newspapers like India Today, Cosmopolitan, Elle Décor, Wallpaper, CondeNast Traveller, Travel & Leisure, The New York Times, British Airways magazine, Inside Outside as well as various TV channels. This has made Cinnamon a must shop for the seasonal traveller.

127

IX Eastern Arts, Kashmir House, Banday Brothers 1. All three stores are located at the Commercial Steet in Shivaji Nagar at Bangalore. 2. These stores sell handcrafted artifacts made in brass, bronze, wood, stone and leather. Kashmir House also sells Kashmiri shawls and home

linen. 3. Their customers are mostly foreigners who are looking out for Indian souvenirs. Thus, their prices are higher than that of the products of the emporia.

X Good Earth 1. Good Earth was established in 1996 with its first store at Kemps Corner, Mumbai. 2. It sets standards for stylish luxury retails across India. 3. The founder of Good Earth is Anita lal. She believes that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;true luxury is in the details of everyday living; it is being surrounded by things that are natural and hand-crafted with designs that elevate the spirit.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

128

4. Good Earth celebrates the heritage of the Indian sub-continent and of surrounding areas across Asia by creating unique design stories. 5. It is based on values of sustainability. Sustaining tradition and the ecology isa a core value and it thus, encourages quality craftsmanship and the revival of lost Indian traditions that are beneficial to the environment and to the society.

XI Indya Kaleidoscope 1. Indya Kaleidoscope is a collection of handpicked Indian Handicrafts and lifestyle, some traditional and some contemporary, but each piece can fit perfectly well into any Indian home. 2. Indya Kaleidoscope works directly with the artisan’s which cuts down the middle man cost and ensures a fair price for the customer and the artisan. 3. It is currently working with six rural self help groups and two individual artisans.

4. IndyaKaleidoscope has a collection of handpicked Indian Handicrafts. The crafts that are currently on display are: • • • • • • • • •

Channapatna Laquerware Banaras Wood Crafts Brass Artefacts Terracotta Manipur Longpi (Black Pottery) Rajasthan Blue Pottery Palm wood crafts River Grass Mats Pondicherry Stone Pottery

129

XII Kairali Arts & Crafts 1. The store is situated near Trinity Circle at M.G. Road. 2. It is a crafts emporium set up by the Kerala Government. Handicrafts Development Corporation of Kerala Ltd, a Kerala Govt undertaking, functioning under the Industries Department, Govt of Kerala, was incorporated in 1968 towards undertaking Developmental, Marketing and Welfare activities in the handicrafts sector of Kerala. 3. The Corporation has been running a Common Facility Service Centre (CFSC) at Thiruvananthapuram for the benefit of wood based artisans to improve their crafts and also to eliminate drudgery. 4. The Corporation through its 19 showrooms spread at strategic places all over India, is marketing handicrafts procured from the Artisans directly. 5. Many other innovative marketing programmes are also being pursued by it to enhance penetration of handicrafts to various strate of society. Moreover, to meet the capital requirements at grass-root levels, the financing schemes for the benefit of the needy craftsmen are being implemented by the Corporation.

130

6. The continuing training and developmental activities are being implemented through the assistance from the various Governmental Organisations. 7. The welfare activities of the Corporation include the health insurance, housing cum workshed schemes etc. implemented by the Corporation with the assistance from the Government of India. 8. The name of SMSM Institute, the central emporium, stands for Sree Moolam Shashtyabdapurthi Memorial Institute in memory of the 60th birthday anniversary of His Highness King Moolam Tirunal of the princely state of Travancore. This institute was started during 1917 as a craft institute and later converted into a trade centre by shifting this craft centre to another place. The other sales outlets are named under the brand name â&#x20AC;&#x153;Kairaliâ&#x20AC;?. 9. The Kerala Emporium deals with metal, wood, buffalo horn, screw pine and banana fiber crafts. 10. The store showcases wooden sculptures which are originally from Kerala. The other products include silk fabrics, sarees and metal sculptures (idols of Gods).

XIII Maheen 1. Maheen is located at three locations in Bangalore – Phoenix Market City, Whitefield, Forumvalue Mall, Whitefield and Mantri mall, Malleshwaram. 2. “Maheen” in devanagiri means “intricate”. At Maheen, Gods’ figurines are created with fine intricacy. These pieces are used either as artefacts to decorate a house or establish as an idol in the temples. 3. Maheen sources its products from their own manufacturing unit in Rajasthan, where the idols are manufactured with the cire perdue method.

infinity (depends on the requirement and intricacy of the product). 5. The enterprise produces brass God figures (Ganesha, Krishna, Shiva, Vsihnu, Durga, Bells), Buddhas, decorative figurines, paintings, enamel painted, crystal studded animal figurines and wood carvings. 6. The customers who mainly purchase these sculptures are spa owners. Idols are also bought to be established in residences and other restaurants. All the idols are sold at retail prices and there is no scope of whole sale price.

4. The range of the products is from Rs. 100 to

XIV Nikaara 1. Nikaara is situated in Whitefield at two locations – Phoenix Market City and Whitefield Main Road.

4. The products include furniture, utility or kitchen ware, candle and aroma stands, pen holders, photo frames, sculptures and decorative items.

2. The store trades handcrafted products which are imported from South-east Asia.

5. The store is comparatively higher than the other stores which may be due to the import costs of the product and the rental costs of the store, which is situated in a zone where the rentals are more.

3. It basically sells traditional artefacts made of stone, metal, marble, and wood.

131

XV Prachin Arts & Crafts 1. The store is situated at two locations – at Garuda Mall near M.G. Road and at Jayanagar in Bangalore. 2. Prachin Art’s & Craft grew from Anjana (a Kitchen Store Started in 1992) Prachin Is initiative to stimulate development from within culture. The Prachin Arts & Craft Was Started in the year 2011.

al products using lost wax technique. 5. The products mainly include sculptures in metal, flower vases, metal pots, antique wall and bracket clocks, wooden furniture and tanjore paintings. 6. Their most selling products are Gods’ idols and wood and metal temples.

3. It has a production house which is located at Kanakpura Road in Bangalore.

7. Their product range is from Rs. 100 to Rs. 1,30,000.

4. It produces handcrafted products in bronze, brass, silver, copper, wood, porcelain and terracotta finished with metal. They manufacture met-

8. The products are mostly bought for home décor and gifting purposes.

XVI The Purple Turtles 1. The purple Turtles store is located in Indra nagar and showcases innovative creations of a range of Indian lighting designers along with some in house designers. 2. Work with architects and interior designers on commercial projects 3. Specialize in customizing lighting (lamp shades, bases and material of shades) to suit different spaces.

132

4. The luminaires are designed with new materials which characterize India. These materials include, banana fiber, brass, copper, mild steel with crystal glass, turned wood, tinted/colored glass and some art works made of waste metal. 5. The product ranges from Rs. 1000 to Rs. 15,00,000 6. The store also houses some of the art works for sale which can be used for interior decoration.

XVII The Bombay Store 1. The Bombay Store is located at 1 M.G. Mall. 2. The Bombay Store was earlier known as the Bombay Swadeshi Co-op Stores Co. Ltd. which came into existence on 17th December, 1905. The name, ‘The Bombay Store’, was christened in December 1995 as the brand moved from the desire to patronize all that was swadeshi (Made in India) to catering to an audience with a contemporary mindset. It became the first retail organization to be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

3. The Bombay Store operates out of 8 outlets in the high street markets and malls of major cities. 4. The categories that The Bombay Store offers are: Artifacts, Home Décor, Fashion Accessories and Wellness. 5. The Company continues to focus on the theme of “Discover a New India”. It however is not solely dedicated to handcrafted products but displays a range of artifacts and sculptures made in metal, wood and stone inlay. It also produces some home linen and cushion covers made in silk.

133

XVIII Tribes India 1. The store is located at BDA Complex in Kormangala in Bangalore. 2. The Ministry of Welfare (now Ministry of Tribal Affairs) established an organization to take up marketing development activities for Non Timber forest produce (NTFP) on which a tribal spends most of his time and derives a major portion of his/her income. In 1987, the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) was set up with an aim to serve the interest of the tribal community and work for their socio-economic development by conducting its affairs in a professional, democratic and autonomous manner for undertaking marketing of tribal products. 3. This is an initiative to generate livelihood for the tribals on the basis of their work of natural materials.

134

4. To achieve the aim of accelerating the economic development of tribal people by providing wider exposure to their art and crafts, TRIBES INDIA, the shop of tribal artifacts were set up all over India by TRIFED. 5. They showcase and market the art and craft items produced by the tribal people. 6. Their products are mostly made in the following crafts: • The Dhokra metal Craft • The black pottery of Manipur • Bamboo and Cane work of Manipur • Tribal Jewelry in brass and bronze metal. • Tribal shawls and Jackets • Silk and dupattas, ready mades, sarees and stoles

XIX Yellow Button 1. Yellow Button Store is a quaint independent store, located in the heart of Indiranagar’s shopping district that designs and curates an eclectic collection of clothing, jewelry, bags, baskets, home accessories and other handpicked products. 2. The store was started by Madhavi Rongala who threw up a career in Finance. 3. Yellow Button Store has a collection of contemporary jewelry, clothes and accessories. 4. It showcases a mix of designers from across the country under the brand names like Maya

Bazaar, 22.2 Accessories, Sanchali, House of Wandering Silk, Naksha, Eesha Zaveri, Rukhsar, Varnam, etc. 5. Yellow Button Store’s products are mostly hand crafted, sustainable and innovative and support artisans in various regions across the country. 6. The store is managed by a small team of three. 7. The products’ range is from Rs. 300 to Rs. 15,000 with the accessory range starting from Rs. 300 and the garment range from Rs. 900.

135

136

Conceptualisation Design What? For the diploma project, I resolved to develop a study range of furniture including a study table, a

study stool/chair, a desk/study almp, a penstand with a bookshelf.

Design Why? After researching the market for the existing products which are produced as an outcome of the Indian handicrafts, I noticed that they are produced mainly as decorative items. All the utility products which exist in the handicraft industry are quite small in scale. Moreover, according to my observation since the past few years and the current research, it came to my attention that people usually get a customised and permanent study furniture built for their children. Loose furniture is only bought when there is either a temporary house or a reqquirement of a movable furniture. Furthermore, the current market in India, does not provide furniture accustomed to only study. Infact, it is flooded with the desktop (computer) desks. Thus, I believe that there is a huge market for study desks made out of Indian handicrafts which can flood the market , provide opportunities to the artisans and adorn the usersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience. Approaching towards the reason for designing a desklamp - I signed up for a course called

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Lighting Designâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; at college with an intention to understand light and its various elements which are used to design light. During the market research for lights, I came across a disappointing fact about the lighting fixtures that are sold in India. The reality about is that hardly a few shops sold somtheing that was manufactured in India or belonged here. Majority of the fixtures were imported from China and other countries. This remarkable observation inspired me to produce something in the country which tells about the country. Thus, I decided to design a desk lamp using the handicrafts. The decision for designing a penstand came with a reason as simple as the form I have developed. The intention was to produce a design that simple which can be easily manufactured by any cluster and flood the market. Something which does not require extreme technical supervision. The reason for including the bookshelf in the set was to complete it. Nonetheless, to fulfill the requirements of a stidy experience, it is essential to provide a unit which stores the study material.

Target Audience The design targets the following audiences: 1) parents of children ageing from 8 years to 17 years.

2) Adults who are looking for a study or writing desk for their bedrroms, study rooms or living rooms. 3) Primary schools

137

138

Design

I Study Table

Inspiration The inspiration for the design of the study table came from my aspiration of producing something which is contemporary yet talks about the culture with which it is associated with. In accordance

to its attributes, I was inspired to produce something simple which incorporates the basic function and form.

Ergonomic Research

Studying various angles for reading and writing in a study table

Recommendated desk heights:

o Optimal: 35” - 47”

Height for Sitting Adjustable Work Surfaces

Height for Sit-to-stand Adjustable Work Surfaces o Minimum: 26” - 40” o Optimal: 22” - 47”

o Minimum: 25” - 30” o Optimal: 22” - 33” Height for Standing Adjustable Work Surfaces o Minimum: 38” - 42”

139

Conceptual Sketches

Experimenting with various shapes

140

Experimenting with various shapes

141

Developing the first design with adjustable top

142

Developing Details of the adjustable table top

143

Leg Profiles

144

Sketches of the Final Outcome

Conceptual sketches of the final Outcome

145

Determining the Dimensions

Leg Profile

Detail for fixing the top to the legs using Split Rings

146

Technical Drawings PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT Technical Drawing of the Study Table

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Working Drawings

147

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Lac-turnery Pieces required for the legs - 4 Numbers Each

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Mild Steel Pieces required for the table top frame an dcross members- 3 Numbers Each

148

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Mild Steel Pieces required for the legs - 4 Numbers Each

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Material Exploration and First Phase of Prototyping a) Hollow pieces of wood are used at cluster to turn them easily and making them light weight so that they can be centered perfectly. b) The longer parts of the tableâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legs were formed in two parts. REASON: Limitation of the craft. Longer lengths

of wood (upto 450MM depending on the space available in between two power lathe machines) can be produced in lac-turnery craft only upto a definite diameter (50MM) which depends on the log of wood available. The diameter of the table was 70MM with 450MM height. This is impossible to produce at any lac-turnery craft cluster.

First Prototype Development

149

Top part of the Table Leg

Hardware Used

Adjustable Rubber Busher used in the bottom of the leg

T-nut, used for the rubber busher

D-nut, used in lac-turned wooden pieces to fix them throught set screw

150

Allen csk screw, used to fix the top to the legs

Set Screw, used in between two leg pieces to fix the metal piece in between

First Prototype of the Study Table

Assembling the Prototype

151

Problems associated with the First Prototype a) The legs of the table do not look aesthetically pleasing. SOLUTION: The bottom part of the table legs need to be turned out of a single piece of wood which will require decreasing the diameter of the leg by 20MM, rendering it 50MM. b) The brass cross members make the structure appear weak. SOLUTION: The thickness of the brass cross members will be increased to 12MM from 9MM. c) The table top looks unfinished. SOLUTION: The edges of the table top will be filleted and duco polished. The wood used in the table top will be either teak wood or any other hardwood where the stool seat and the table top have a similar look.

d) The table top was bending. SOLUTION: A minimum thickness of 18MM will be used for the table top. e) A solution for fixing the table top with the brass frame needs to be figured out. SOLUTION: The frame supporting the table top will be made such that all the cross members are screwed in the vertical members. The frame thus formed will be fixed to the lac-turned legs using set screws. f) The structure was wobbly. SOLUTION: Every joint need to be glued and fixed to determine the stability of the structure. If required, leg cross members will need to be added.

Work done at the Cluster - Channapatna All the leg parts and table top have been produced at Channapatna. The metal parts alone have been arranged from Bangalore. However, I have realised that when using integrated materials, it is very important to make sure that a single cluster is able to produce the product so that material outsourcing is not a problem. As in the case of the study table, the prototype incorporated brass metal which seems difficult to procure at Channapatna. Thus, in the second

152

prototype, I have replaced brass metal with powder coated mild steel rods. The shade can be chosen suiting the colors of the furniture piece. Moreover, the cost of the product can be significantly reduced with the use of inexpensive material.

Second Prototype

Table Prototype

153

Study Table and Chair

154

Cost of Prototyping I) First Prototype: 1. Lac-turning Cost: INR 2,550 2. Table Top: INR: 1,200 3. Brass Metal Frame and Plate: INR: 3,007 Brass Frame Making Labor: INR 1,900 4. Hardware (Dnuts, Screws, Rubber Bushers): INR 500 Total Cost of First Prototype: INR 9,157 II) Second Prototype: 1. Lac-turning Cost: INR 2,550 2. Table Top: INR 1,200 3. M.S. Metal Frame and Plate: INR 572 Labor cost for frame making: INR 1,400 4. Powder Coating cost of M.S.: INR 500 5. Hardware (Dnuts, Screws, Rubber bushers): INR 500 Total Cost of Second Prototype: INR 6,722

155

156

II Study Chair Inspiration Although the study stool is designed keeping in mind that it compliments the design on the study table and forms a set, the inspiration for the same also came from my aspiration of producing something which is contemporary yet talks

about the culture with which it is associated with. In accordance to its attributes, I was inspired to produce something simple which incorporates the basic function and form.

Understanding Ergonomics of Sitting and Chair Design I research about the ergonomics of the chair and discovered the following points. My Study stool is accustomed to the ergonomics that are required to support the low lumbar region while reading or writing. 1. Introduction - An estimated 50% of people in the industrialized world suffer some form of back complaint and many of these are related to poor seat design. How we sit and what we sit on affects the health of the spine. The lumbar region is the most frequently damaged (L4 and L5). The vertebrae in the lumbar region are the largest in the spine. - Definition - Sitting is a body position in which the weight of the body is transferred to a supporting area mainly by the ischial tuberosities of the pelvis and their surrounding soft tissue. - Purpose - to remove weight from the feet and maintain a stable posture so muscles not directly involved with the work can relax. - Ideal - There is no single ideal sitting posture. Illustrated 90-degree person sitting posture is for anthropometric reference only. Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t design a chair for the best single way to sit. We need a variety of chairs that allow different users to each

sit in a variety of postures. 2. Posture - the relative orientation of parts of the body in space. - Best Posture - imposes the least postural stress. Muscles must do work to counteract the effects of gravity and other forces as the body stands or moves through space. - Postural Strain - adverse consequences of more than a few minutes of postural stress. - Fidgeting - is the bodies defense against postural stress of which discomfort is a sign. o Rate of Fidgeting - can be used as an index of chair discomfort. Higher fidgeting rates correspond to higher discomfort rates. o Crossing and Uncrossing the legs - is a characteristic way of re-distributing pressure on the buttocks and also helps to pump blood through these tissues. - Postural Comfort - is defined as the absence of postural discomfort, it is therefore a neutral state that we cannot sense.

157

3. Biomechanics of Sitting - depending on chair and posture, some proportion of total body weight is transferred to the floor via the seat pan and feet, armrests, and backrests. - Lumbar Region - is normally lordotic (concave, toward the stomach). This reduces the pressure between the vertebrae. The region is normally lordotic for two reasons: o Thickness - Vertebrae and discs are thicker anteriorly than posteriorly. o Sacrum - Upper surface of sacrum is at an angle to the horizontal plane. - Pelvis - The sacrum is fixed to the pelvis, so rotational movement of the pelvis affects lumbar vertebrae. o Forward rotation - of the pelvis leads to increased lordosis of the lumbar spine, helping to maintain an upright trunk position. o Backward tilt - of the pelvis leads to increased flattening of the lumbar spine and eventually increases kyphosis.

6. Preferred Sitting Angle - Sitting leads to 40 - 90% more stress on the back (disc pressure) than standing posture. - Studies - From a study of college students the preferred seat back angle for comfort is 15-degrees. This is in keeping with other studies by Etienne Grandjean where VDT operators have preferred 13-15-degree backward incline. At this angle the pressure on the intervertebral discs is minimal. - “Keegan’s normal posture” - X-ray studies on 5 people lying on their sides (1955, 1960) show that stresses on the spine are most evenly distributed when legs are at 135-degrees from torso, i.e. 135-degrees hip angle and 45-degrees knee angle. 7. Seat Design Criteria - Seat Height - Optimum seat height is controversial.

4. Sitting Postures - Sitting with the knees and hips flexed, pelvis rotated backward leads to minimize lordosis, flat, or even kyphotic lumbar spine. Three types of sitting postures normally distinguished:

o Traditional Criterion - Seat height should be adjusted to support a knee angle of 90-degrees to prevent leg swelling. However 75% of leg swelling may be due to low leg muscle activity rather than chair.

- Anterior (forward leaning) - center of mass in front of the ischial tuberosities. Floor supports more than 25% of body weight. Common posture for desk work.

o Minimum Height - should be 15” (38cm) which designs to the 5th percentile of women with 1” heels. The seat should adjust 9” (23cm).

- Middle (relaxed, unsupported) - center of mass directly above ischial tuberosities. Floor supports 25% of body weight. Straight or slightly kyphotic lumbar spine.

o Fixed Height - should be about 17” (43cm). This is a compromise. A chair that is too high leads to increased pressure at the popliteal fold (underside of knees), decreasing blood circulation and increasing pressure on the nerve. A chair that is too low increases weight on the ischial tuberosities.

- Posterior (backward leaning) - center of mass behind ischial tuberosities. Floor supports less than 25% of body weight. Common for chairs with large, inclined, backrests. Preferred for resting. 5. Factors Influencing Posture - Hamstring muscles - also influence sitting posture and configuration of the lumbar spine. These muscles cross from lower leg to pelvis, crossing the hip and knee joints. - Location and slope of work area - have a major influence on postures of neck, shoulders,

158

and upper extremities and therefore also must be considered along with the design of the seat, and the sitting habits of the person.

- Seat Pan o Seat Depth - recommended is 16.5” for fixed seats and 14-18.5” for adjustable seats. If the seat depth is greater than the buttock-popliteal length (fifth percentile woman is at 17”) then the user won’t be able to use the backrest. o Seat Pan Contours - Half body weight is supported by an 8% area under the “seat bones” (ischial tuberosities). If the seat is hard and flat the

pressures can be 85-100 p.s.i. Seat contouring and cushioning can be used to distribute pressure over a larger area and rotate the pelvis forward the promote better posture. o Seat Cushioning - recommended thickness at 1.5-2”. Cushion should be firmer in back and thicker while less firm and thinner at front. Too much cushioning can cause the body to sink into a chair constraining movement. A soft chair may be comfortable at first, but as the body sinks blood circulation lowers, skin temperature rises in affected areas, and compression under thighs increases. These factors combine to increase discomfort. - Cushion Compressibility - Compressibility is termed indentation load deflection (ILD) or in dentation force deflections (IFD). An ideal combination is a soft top layer (25% ILD) over a firm bottom layer (65% ILD). Increased ratios between the two, greater than 2.6, leads to better quality support. o Seat Width - around 20 - 22” to accommodate clothed persons. If seat has armrests then elbow to elbow breadth may be more relevant. o Seat Angle - Positive seat angle helps user to maintain good contact with backrest. For most purposes a 5 - 10 angle is recommended. - Armrests - give additional postural support and aid in standing up and sitting down. Arm-

rests should be padded and engage the fleshy part of the forearm. They should not engage the bony parts of the elbow where sensitive ulnar nerve is close to the surface so a gap of approximately 4” between the armrest and seat back is recommended. Cantilevered elbow rests should be 8-10” above the seat surface height. Armrests should be at least 17.2” apart to exceed thigh breadth of 95th percentile females. Finally, armrests shouldn’t limit chair access if it is to be used at a table. - Backrests o Height - Higher backrests give better trunk weight support. Three categories: - Low-level backrest - supports the lumbar region only. Depth of the lumbar curve of the backrest should be 0.6 - 2.0”. Backrest heights of 5, 7, and 9” seem equally effective. - Medium-level backrest - gives full shoulder support (e.g. car seat, office chair) and may need to be about 26” high to accommodate the 95th percentile man. - High-level backrest - full support of head and neck (e.g. plane seat) and may need to be about 36” for a 95th percentile man. - Angle - Optimal angle seems to be between 100-110-degrees.

Writing Desk Ergonomics

159

Conceptual Sketches

Sketch of a Study Stool

Sketch of the chair with the backrest

Chair Design I designed a study chair with a backrest and integrated metal with lac-turnery craft. The chair was modular and could be easy to transfer anywhere. After a lot of research and discussions with the artisans at the cluster and my project mentors, I realised that if I have to mass produce anything which needs to be made by the artisans at their clusters, the form cannot be complex. The curves in the chair backrest were difficult to produce keeping in mind the critical joinery and angles. For that matter, it was difficult for any craft cluster to produc a chair with perfect joinery due to its extreme technicalities. Thus, I decided to make a low backrest which could support the lumbar region. In addition to this, to design a chair which is structurally strong, it was important to make it out of a single material and avoid extra or unwanted joineries. Therefore, I had to come up with a different design.

160

First Design of the study chahir

Working Drawings of the First Design

161

Technical Drawings of the final design PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Design of the design stool

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

162

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Working Drawings

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Backrest Vertical Members - 2 Numbers Each

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Backrest Cross Members - 2 Numbers Each PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Leg Cross Members - 4 Numbers Each PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Chair Legs - 4 Numbers Each

163

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Joinery Exploration To figure out the joinery to be used in the chair, I experimented in the college wooden workshop with the pieces of pine wood. It was an intrigu-

ing experience to turn the wooden pieces on the lathe.

Pine Wood

Turning the Pieces on Lathe

Wooden Pieces turned on Lathe

The Joinery

164

Joint to be used in lac turnery craft

Material Exploration and First Phase of Prototyping a) This factory at Channapatna can produce maximum length of 450MM without having any joint. There is a separate part of the lathe machine which is attached from the other end to the main lathe. This additional piece of lathe sup-

ports the longer piece from the other end and allows lac-turnery. Thus, continuous single pieces of wood were produced for the legs of the chairs, the cross members and the back rest members.

Turning the wood piece Long Round Hale Tree Branch used to turn on the lathe machine

Turning the wood piece Turning the wood piece

Applying lacquer

Drilling the leg member at the cluster for the joinery

165

Hardware Used

D-nut, used in the front legs to attach the seat

First Prototype of the Study Chair

First Prototype

First Set of Prototypes

166

Problems associated with the First Prototype a) The holes drilled in the legs were not at right angles which in turn caused a huge problem of joining the cross members rendering low strength. SOLUTION: A measure needs to be worked on to mark the drill points at exact right angles. b) The stool seat looks cheap and unfinished with the other parts and accessories of the furniture. SOLUTION: The finishing of the seat is either going to be in cushion or deco polish so that the luster suits the lac-turned parts. The edges of the seat will be finished by filleting. The corners of the seat will be curved to render it a finished look. c) The seat was bending the moment anyone sat on it.

SOLUTION: The thickness of the seat will be a minimum of 18MM thick. The wood used for the seat need to be replaced by either teakwood or any other hardwood instead of using rubber wood. The grains of rubber wood do not match the furniture. e) The low heighted backrest looks incomplete. SOLUTION: A second horizontal member will be added to the backrest. A third prototype with a regular backrest will be constructed. f) The lengths of the joinery part of the leg cross members were reduced to merely 12MM at the cluster. However the change from the drawings did not work and the structure seemed weak. SOLUTION: The lengths of the joinery portion will be kept such that they reach the center of the legs and will be placed at two levels such that the chair is structurally strong.

Work done at the Cluster - Channaptna All the work for making the study chair was carried out at the toy factory at Channapatna includ-

ing the holes drilled in the chair legs and attaching the seat.

Second Prototype Assembly

Parts of the Chair

167

168

Leg Cross Members

Backrest Members

Leg Members

Chair Assembly

Second Prototype

Study Chair Second Ptotoypes

169

Cost of Prototyping I) First Prototype: 1. Lac-turning Cost: INR 2,600 2. Seat Rubber Wood: INR: 800 3. Hardware (Dnuts, Screws, Rubber Bushers): INR 300 Total Cost of First Prototype: INR 3,700 II) Second Prototype: 1. Lac-turning Cost: INR 2,600 2. Seat Rubber Wood: INR 800 3. Hardware (Dnuts, Screws, Rubber bushers): INR 300 4. Seat Cushion Fabric: INR 150 5. Labor Cost for Seat Cushioning: INR 400 Total Cost of Second Prototype: INR 4,250

170

III Study Lamp Inspiration The inspiration for the study lamp came from that of an open hippopotamusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mouth. I never thought watching discovery channel could actually lead to the design of a luminaire. Nonethe-

less, I was happy that I could instantly visualize the form inspired by nature and tried to incorporate it in the design.

Lighting Research for Illumination & Shape of luminaire I carried out secondary research from the book Time Saver Standards for Interior Design and Space Planning to know about the requirement of illuminance and connected load which are required for covering the given area of the study table. I also discovered that the material and shape of the luminaire also affects the reflection

of the light coming from the source. In addition to this, I signed up for a course at college called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Lighting Designâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to understand the basics of light and the terminology associated with it.

Research about Lighting

171

Conceptual Sketches

Inspiration

Visualizing form from inspiration

172

Conceptual Sketch

Conceptual Sketches

173

Conceptual Sketch

Technical Drawings PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Lamp Holder Assembly PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

174

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Technical Drawings

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Lampshade Base - 2 Numbers each

Lamp Holder - 1 Number to be divided in 2

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Lamp Holder Cap - 1 Number to be divided in 2

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Lamp Holder Base - 1 Number to be divided in 2

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

175

Material Exploration and First Phase of Prototyping

Lac-turned piece cut into halves

Stone Base for lampshade getting finished at the stoone cluster

Lac-turned edges getting finished

Cutting the Stainless Steel Metal Hose

176

Drilling holes at the college workshop

Hardware Used

Metal Hose

Pneumatic Fitting to connect the hose

Hose nipple for the metal hose

Metal Insert for the rubber busher

Rubber Busher

Intention to use Ball and Socket Joint

Finding the correct nipple or pneumatic fitting size for the metal hose is critical. I searched throughout the market for the correct size in accordance with the size of the hose diameter. For the first prototype I got the suitable hose nipple but for the second prototype, I was introduced to the pneumatic fitting of the correct size which

indeed is a modular solution for the study lamp. In addition to this, I was initially trying to use the ball and socket joinet fitting in place of the metal hose. But unfortunately, the ball and socket system was claimed to be an industrial product and was not available anywhere in the market.

First Prototype of the Study Lamp

177

First Prtototype of the Study Lamp

Problems associated with the First Prototype a) It was difficult to drill two holes in the luminaire to hold the lamp holder from one end and the metal hose from the other. Also, because the ivory wood pieces used are hollow, the inside looked shabby. SOLUTION: The lamp holding part will be formed in three parts â&#x20AC;&#x201C; cap, middle and lower so that the holes can be easily made in the small part. (for holding the bulb holder). b) The red wooden parts are too continuous (aesthetically). SOLUTION: Make slight grooves at the top and the bottom of the form. c) Metal hose is too thin to bear the load of the lamp top which in turn makes the structure feeble and wobbly. SOLUTION: Increase the diameter of the metal hose according to the load it has to bear.

178

d) The granite base looks too blank and blunt. SOLUTION: The edges should be finished with fillet ends or a more rounded base can be used as the base. e) The cord for lighting the lamp looked shabby. SOLUTION: Manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cord should be used preferably with a connected bed switch. f) The wooden part not joined with the granite with a screw. It is only stuck with araldite. SOLUTION: D-nut will be used to fix the wooden part with the stone base in addition to araldite. g) The granite base thickness makes the design look too bulky. SOLUTION: Thickness of the base will be reduced.

Work done at the Clusters The main pieces of the study lamp were turned at the toy factory in Channapatna. The base for the study lamp was made at a stone cluster at Bangalore. The assembly of the lampshade in-

cluding the cutting of the bulb holder part into halves and the metal hose was carried out at the college workshop.

Second Prototype

Second Prtototype of the Study Lamp

Cost of Prototyping I) First Prototype:

II) Second Prototype:

1. Lac-turning Cost: INR 600 2. Stone Base: INR 200 3. Hardware (Dnuts, Screws, Metal Hose): INR 300 4. Bulb and Bulb Holder: INR 180

1. Lac-turning Cost: INR 550 2. Stone Base: INR 200 3. Hardware (Dnuts, Screws, Metal Hose): INR 300 4. Bulb and Bulb Holder: INR 180

Total Cost of First Prototype: INR 1,280

Total Cost of Second Prototype: INR 1,230

179

180

IV Pen Stand Inspiration The idea behind designing the pensatnd was to keep it simple yet elegant. The wanted to deliberately use integration of crafts in the pen stand to create an object that is easy to manufacture and mass produce without much supervision. In

addition to this, the form had to be simple. I had in mind to use the ready made terracotta pots with the lac-turnery craft to enhance the aesthetics of the terracotta product.

Conceptual Sketches

Conceptual Sketch of the Pen Stand

181

Technical Drawings PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Final Technical Drawings of the Penstand PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Lac-turnery Parts - 1 Pair of Pieces for each Pen Stand

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

182

Material Exploration and First Phase of Prototyping

Turning the Pen Stand Parts

Experimenting with Terracotta Pot

183

The size of the terracotta pot seemed humongous. In addition to that, the form seemed dull. Thus, i replaced the terracotaa pot with glass

First Prototype

First Prototypes of teh PenStand

184

which imparted an interesting element to the design.

Problems associated with the First Prototype a) The pen stand looks too bulky instead of sleek. SOLUTION: The thickness of the walls should be reduced.

Work done at the Cluster - Channapatna The wooden parts of pen stand are manufactured in Channapatna. The glass piece is bought

form a crockery store in city market at Bangalore

Second Prototype

Second Prototypes of the Pen Stand

185

Cost of Prototyping I) First Prototype: 1. Lac-turning Cost: INR 300 2. Glass Piece: INR 60 Total Cost of First Prototype: INR 360 II) Second Prototype: 1. Lac-turning Cost: INR 300 2. Glass Piece: INR 60 Total Cost of Second Prototype: INR 360

186

V Book Shelf Inspiration The inspiration for designing the book shelf was drawn from the clean lines developed in my other furniture pieces of this range. The idea was to

bring in the essence of the craft and the region without making the form too bulky or ornamental.

Research for Design I studied the major sizes of the books which are generally published so that the shelving unit can

easily accommodate maximum books.

Basic Sizes of Books

187

Conceptual Sketches

188

Conceptual Sketches

189

Form Explorations

190

Sketches of the Final Outcome

Conceptual Sketch

191

Technical Drawings

Technical Drawing of teh Book Shelf

Metal Parts - 12 Numbers Each

192

Working Drawings of the Book Shelf

Lac-turned part for Booksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Support - 3 Numbers Each

193

Lac-turned Piece for Vertical Support for books

Prototyping Phase

Turning of Vertical Support Members

194

Lac Application on teh Wooden Members

Hardware Used

D-nut, used in lac-turned wooden pieces to fix them throught set screw

Allen csk screw, used to fix the top to the legs

Set Screw, used in between two leg pieces to fix the metal piece in between

Assembling the Prototype

Assembling the Book Shelf

195

Prototype

Book Shelf First Prototype

196

Problems associated with the Prototype 1. The finishing of the MDF board is not upto the mark. SOLUTION: Spray finish needs to applied which renders the shelves a mirror look. 2. The holes drilled in the vertical posts for teh D-nuts were not straigh which resulted in inclined metal pieces. SOLUTION: The holes drilled should be exactly in the center of the lac-turned pieces. 3. Powder coating done on the metal pieces has ruined the threading of the metal piece which has inturn spoilt the tight fitting of the metal plate to the metal rod.

SOLUTION: Threading should be done after mild steel pieces have been powder coated. 4. The bolts used to attach one shelf to the other are hald threaded which makes the attachment loose and not a tight fit. SOLUTION: Always make sure to use fully threaded bolts and nuts in furniture. No matter what they can be used anywhere in any way. 5. THe book shelf looks imbalanced due to the thinner lac-turned pieces. SOLUTION: The thickness of the lac-turned pieces need to increase by at lleast 20MM.

Work done at the Cluster - Channapatna All the work related to the lac-turnery was carried out at the toy factory at Channapatna. The MDF pieces were arranged and carpented at the clus-

ter itself. The metal pieces were arranged and powder coated from the city market, Bangalore.

Cost of Prototyping I) First Prototype: 1. Lac-turning Cost: INR 1,500 2. MDF Board Costing and Finishing: INR 4,700 3. Carpentry Work and Joinery: INR 800 3. Cost of Metal Pieces: INR 600 4. Cost of Threading and drilling in the Metal Pieces: INR 1,200 Total Cost of First Prototype: INR 8,800

197

Bibliography Books 1. Designers meet Artisans by Craft Revival Trust 2. Handicrafts of India by Kamladevi Chattopadhyay 3. National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museums by Jyotindra Jain and Aarti Aggarwala 4. Time Saver Standards for Interior Design & Space Planning by Joseph De Chiara, Julius Panero and Martin Zelnik 5. The Complete Color Harmony by Tina Suttan and Bride M. Whelan 6. Neufert Architectsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Data

Internet 1. www.dsource.in 2. www.craftrevival.org

Videos 1. 15 Days by Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology

198

Agencies Involved 1. Kushal Toys, Channapatna No 4352, 3rd Cross, 2nd Main, Vivekananda Nagar, Channapatna Kushal Toys is a toy making factory situated in Channapatna. They believe in producing qaulity work and use only natural pigments for coloring. The owner of the factory - Mr. Srinivas Seenu, is a very kind and softspoken person. His patience and responsible behavior leads to extraordinary finish of the products. Kushal Toys promotes women employment in the craft and it is the only other unit in Channapatna after Maya Organic, which trains and appoints female artisans. 2. SSV Tech Art, Bangalore #117 East Outer Ring Road, Kariyanna Layout, Hebbal, Bangalore - 560024 SSV TEch Art is a stone carving unit in Bnagalore which carves out stone sculptures and has kept the craft alive. 3. Metro Engineering Works, Bangalore #29/2, 1st Cross, N.R. Road, Mothi Nagar, Bangalore - 560002 Metro Engineering Works is a fabrication place which performs quality engineering works with the use of metal lathe machine, drilling and pressing machines. 4. Salehsons & Company, Bangalore 10/1, Sadar Patrappa Road, Bangalore - 560002 Salehsons and Company is a retail store of all the fasteners and other fittings used in construction. 5. Z.A. Upholestry Works, Bangalore #34, 2nd Floor, Krishna Lodge, Opp. Balaji Plywood, Infantry Road, Bangalore - 560001 Mob: 97391 88676 Z.A. Upholestry works provides cushioning and carpentry services. Quality work and fast service are the reasons for getting the work done here.

199

200

About Me

I am Surabhi Singhal, a resident of Indore, Madhya Pradesh. I have completed my undergraduation in Interior Design from SNDT Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s University, Mumbai. I am currently graduating from the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore as a post graduate art and design student. After coming to Srishti I found my niche in bringing the elements of India in any space. My goal is to bring back the identity of Indian design using various elements associated with it. With this project I have found the means to achieve my goal which is Indian handicrafts. Looking forward to a lot of incredible work involving travel, adventure and design.

201

203