Handmade In India

The Indian way of life celebrates products made with the help of simple, indigenous tools by craftspeople with a strong fabric of tradition, aesthetic and artistry. The range of Indian handicrafts is as rich and varied as the country's cultural diversity.

The Indian way of life is replete with products made with the help of simple, indigenous tools by craftspeople who belong within a strong fabric of tradition, aesthetic and artistry. The range of Indian handicrafts is as diverse as the country`s cultural diversity. A source book of handicrafts, handmade in India is a unique compendium of Indian crafts. It is a resource of the craft repertoire that reflects the diversity of the country, its cultural milieu and the relationships that nurture creativity and ingenuity. This encyclopaedic publication maps the crafts of the country, and captures the traditions that have enriched the day-to-day lives of India people while being a source of livelihood for generations of creaftspeople. Handmade in India probes into all aspects of handicrafts -historical, social and cultural influences on crafts, design and craft processes, traditional and new markets, products and tools -unravelling a wealth of knowledge. Handmade in India is based on extensive field work and research, and maps out the regional craft clusters identified across the country on the basis of prevailing craft-work patterns. It is closely woven with images to reveal the array of crafts in India. Some of these are renowned, closely woven with images to reveal the array of crafts in India. Some of these are renowned, like the pinjrakari and khatumband wood work of Kashmir, blue pottery of jaipur, chikankari embroidery of lucknow, the kannadi or metak mirrors from Aranmula, chappals or footwear from Kolhapur, and the bamboo craft of Assam. Other, lesser known, crafts like the paabu or stitched boots from ladakh, jadupatua painitings from Jharkhand, the making of Kathakali and Theyyam headgear, khadi or tinsel printing in Ahmedabad have also been described in striking detail. The close study of various crafts makes it possible to discern subtle, sometimes unusual, differences in the same craft practiced by distinct regions or communities -like tie-resist-dyeing which is called bandhani in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, and bandhej in Rajasthan. The first of its kind ever attempted, this publication with stunning photographs will be a tremendous resource for product and textile designers, artists, architects, interior designers, collectors, development professionals and connoisseurs alike. It will be of immense value for facilitating worldwide participation in the planning and development of the handicraft sector in India. It will also be a useful reference for libraries interested in India crafts and culture, and organizations and agencies that work for and with the crafts sector in India.

This is a book and art collector's dream, comprising 32 prints from India's most exciting tribal and folk artists.

A visual ode to trees rendered by tribal artists from India, in a handsome handcrafted edition.

Handmade paper adds a special, luxurious touch to personal stationery and can also be used as decoration, wrapping and as a gift, but it is expensive to buy. Making paper is a rewarding art which is easy to learn and gives glorious results in a short time.

This book presents a comprehensive history of handloom weaving industry in India to challenge and revise the view that competition from machine-produced textiles destroyed the country’s handicrafts as claimed by historians until recently. It shows that skill-intensive handmade textiles survived the competition on a large scale, and that handmade goods and high-quality manual labour played a positive role in the making of modern India. Rich in archival material, The Crafts and Capitalism explores themes such as the historiography of craft technologies; statistical work on nineteenth-century cotton cloth production trends; narratives of merchants, the social leaders, the factory-owners; tools and techniques; and, shift from handloom to power loom. The book argues that changes in the handloom industry were central to the consolidation of new forms of capitalism in India. An important intervention in Indian economic history, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers of Indian history, economic history, colonial history, modern history, political history, labour history and political economy. It will also interest nongovernmental organizations, textile historians, and design specialists.