Divya Prasanna Kamath showcased for the first time in Chennai with us in 2016; we are more than excited to see her back at this edition with a wider range of new products Let’s find out more about her works, inspirations, favorite picks and more. Her story …
About yourself.
An Architect with a decade long experience- a bibliophile & a history buff. Baking & travel are my favorite pastimes. Geometry is integral & fascinating to me. The flexibility that comes with orderliness & the pattern in the randomness of nature inspires me.
How did you begin handworkstudio and how has it evolved over the years?
handworkstudio began when I wanted to bring together the joy of making and infuse it with design. And a job break- helped handworkstudio come about to be a reality. In little over a year handworkstudio has evolved on many fronts. We constantly endeavor to showcase handmade efforts & elements to a greater extent in our products. We also ensure that we use as little plastic as possible in our designs. Customer feedback has also helped us along this journey. At the same time we have taken our design & sample testing a notch higher.
Our collections have now come to encompass more decor & lighting products with focus on design.
What is your personal favorite pick from your handworkstudio right now? And why?
Being a bibliophile my leanings are for ‘Squared table lamp cum bookends’. A table lamp by the side, that transform effortlessly into bookends. An additional plus is that the Edison bulbs in this table lamp are a work of art in themselves.
Soft warm light from a tungsten bulb reminiscent from the past yet energy efficient makes the experience the more endearing
What are you displaying at the By Hand, From The Heart.
We would be displaying our solid wood lighting collection, home accessories & collection of table décor at the By Hand From The Heart Sep Edition.
Your work space.
My workspace is ordered Chaos!! From various samples to different types of pens & coloring pads to a stack of sketches- all of these jostle around on the desk along with the laptop.
Your favorite tools.
Inking pens, pencil & lots of paper, top the list of my favorite tools.
A typical day at handworkstudio.
The day starts out early in the morning on most days & mostly starts out at the drawing board with sketches & drawings.
A quick review & follow-ups of the day or a session at the ongoing production activity centre helps in review of design & quality. Most samples are tested for ergonomics, finish & ease of handling during this time.
Afternoon sessions are mostly spent on research & catching up on the various other aspects of keeping handworkstudio going. A ‘to do’ list for the following day & we are ready to wrap up.
Any product story you would like to share.
The new collection of home & table décor is special to us on many accounts. While we normally strive to bring in a handmade element to our product- this collection is 100% handmade.
We started working on our concepts with a guideline to evoke new designs & explore new uses for handmade fabrics made in Karnataka. It is home to traditional designs and intricate weaving methods.
Janapada Seva Srust, Melukote practice traditional Khadi weaving methods even to this day. And this story just about began at BHFTH- because this is where we met them. And we set about to explore more uses for Khadi.
Another inspiring aspect has been the rich Western Ghats. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a bio- diversity hotspot of flora & fauna. It is home to at least 325 endangered species & a scenic get-away.
As we celebrate the spirit of the land, at the same time we would like to bring in awareness to be environmentally sensitive.
This inspiration is translated into sketches & then hand embroidered to be part of the Khadi table decor complimented with hand sketched ceramic plates..
One thing that surely caught our sight on this journey was the colorful Guledgudd Khana fabric. Weaving is supposed to have come to Ilkal around the 8th century AD with the Bahamanis & Chalukyas. Something so rich in texture & seeped in history inspired us to give it a new twang. Bright & colorful Cushion covers. We have mixed & matched Khadi with this traditional fabric to evolve into place-mats & table runners.
Handmade in India / Make in India – what does this mean to you?
Every region across the world has a specific craft, handed down for centuries. Now we are truly a global village and we move at jet speed. At this turning point if we tip the scale & speed away- centuries of traditional craft lineage will be lost, never to be found again.
We as a subcontinent are rich in every kind of resource including handmade traditions. While the pace of handmade can hardly match up with machine made- we can certainly bring in a new perspective to these handmade products which would encourage shoppers to prefer handmade.
A design to suit the modern palette, sensitivity towards new requirements & then hopefully these new translations will help sustain these handmade crafts lineage of our country.
By Hand From The Heart: MAKERS MARKET – 21st Edition
Date: Friday – Saturday, 8th – 9th September, 2017
Time: 10:00 a.m – 8:00 p.m
Venue: Crowne Plaza Chennai Adyar Park
Address: 132, T.T.K Road, Alwarpet, Chennai – 600018, Tamil Nadu. India
LINKS: Event Page | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Blog