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The craft shop lights
furniture table ware architecture &
interiors Design
studio for contemporary Indian design From
the old is born the new. `E’thaan’ is a Lotha Naga word for something`new’.
E’thaan as a brand stands for contemporary Indian design. Indian design like the
word Indian stands for many things. It is not typical or singular but diverse
in style and content as the many peoples and cultures it represents. We work with
the many exciting and varied Indian craft traditions from Nagaland to Kashmir
and seek to create an Indian design identity that we can call our own. A path
that leads away from the typical abstract style of the steel and glass western
contemporary. A path that belongs to today and still retains the quality of warmth
that comes from the embers of an old fire. Craft
was a part of daily life in all Indian tribal communities where every person was
an artisan of some kind. Traditionally, in other Indian communities, quality,
aesthetics and finish were highly revered and the artisan patronized by the moneyed
class or the royalty. Gradually, due to changes in lifestyle and social systems,
craft lost its patronage and status and as a result its quality. With these changes
also came the inevitable end of a livelihood in many cases. Our
work as showcased in our fair trade craft shop, hopes to be a small attempt to
change this scenario. An attempt to infuse new life into Indian craft and to build
on tradition and take it to new levels through design development. The artisan's
skill and the designer's creativity come together in design. In
this, E’thaan has two entities- the craft shop and a design studio for craft design
development and documentation. New creative designs evolved in a continuity with
the past is what best describes our work at E’thaan Design Studio. E’thaan designs
furniture, lights, table ware and interiors with craft inputs. The craft shop
showcases the work of architect and designer Ritu Varuni, based on the exploration
and development of different Indian craft techniques. Her partner in the shop,
Bharati Chadha heads the marketing and sales team for E’thaan. The
artisans who work with us are paid according to a certain standard, in recognition
of their hand skills. These skills can only be preserved if they get the respect
that is their due. We cannot and do not believe in competing with industry. We
believe craft has its own space and place. The potters wheel may be mechanized
but the pot can only be shaped by the hands. The
craft skills we work with………. SANJHI
/PAPER CUTWORK `Sanjhi’
is an ancient craft of cutting paper stencils which was practised by some
communities in Uttar Pradesh. These stencils were used to make rangoli patterns
on walls and floors and were traditionally based on the ras leela tradition and
comprised mainly Radha Krishna themes and motifs. They later broadened to include
a number of Mughal motifs -jali patterns and animals and flowers. It is an extremely
fine skill using only a pair of small scissors which this family of brothers-Ajay,
Vijay and Mohan continues to keep alive. The designs bring out the fineness and
beauty of this ancient skill which was otherwise invisible in their use as stencils.
The cutting of copper sheets for lighting design has been one of our innovations.
WOOD
BLOCK CARVING Abshar
Hussain Khalidi from Uttar Pradesh received the National award in 1987 and is
one of India's finest wood block carvers. He participated in the Golden Eye exhibition
in 1984 in New York where he gave practical demonstrations. The demand for finely
carved wood blocks which were used for printing textiles reduced drastically with
the development of screen printing in 1985 and the artisans were forced to make
other products of daily use. The geometric and ambi motif block carving as used
in the furniture and table ware designs highlight the intricacy of this age old
craft.
WOOD
CARVING AND BAMBOO CANE CRAFT Nungshi
Renba and Alem Longkumer are young skilled craftsmen from the Ao community of
Nagaland. Their best introduction is their tremendous effort to bring wood craft
out of its traditional mould and make it into a livelihood. Wood carving is an
old tradition in many tribal communities of Nagaland. Alem was given the National
Award in 2003, in recognition of his craft skills. The
product designs that have been developed with them, combine both wood carving
and bamboo-cane work in the same product and explore a combination of different
textures and finishes while retaining a distinctly Naga flavour.
BRANDING
Burning
motifs on bamboo and wood is a very commonly practiced decorative art all across
India. However, Delhi based Raghunath Prasad and his sons are new artisans, having
taken up this craft only 12 years ago and developed it on their own. What started
as a hobby developed as a full fledged craft profession under the patronage of
the Craft Council, Delhi. Some
of the product designs use these branding skills to enhance the look of daily
use utility items. These include bamboo and white wood home products like trays,
lamps, and kitchen accessories, besides name plates. There has been an attempt
to extend this craft skill to other materials like leather, denim and stiff paper. LOIN
LOOM WEAVING The
backstrap or loin loom is the traditional loom used to weave cloth by the women
of many tribal communities in eastern India. It is a portable loom that is simple
in its construction and unique in the quality and kind of weave it produces. The
cushion covers and runners are made by women belonging to the Adi Minyong community
of Pasighat area in the East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. The designs
are derivatives of traditional cloth patterns of the Apatani and Adi tribes of
the state.
COPPER
WARE CRAFT Copperware
craft is traditional to Kashmir and has a huge local market there, though it is
lesser known than other Kashmiri crafts outside of the state.The level of artistry
and craftsmanship in the making of copper vessels as well as in the naqqashi or
engraving/carving is very high. The entire work is done only by men. There is
speed and precision born of generations of hands which have passed on the traditions
continuously for hundreds of years. The
designs concentrate on the exploration of newer forms of tableware and the use
of wooden accessories like lids,handles,frames and knobs. The carving and engraving
is concentrated rather than all over so as to accentuate its fineness. The motifs
used are traditional though somewhat modified in form, as required by the design.
The attempt has been to revive the very intricate work and patterns of yesteryears,which
is now almost obsolete.
WALNUT
WOOD CARVING The
three dimensional wood carving of Kashmir in the famed walnut wood is well known
in the urban market and world. The lamps and small furniture designs make use
of the fine wood carving skills and emphasize them by using them minimally rather
than like in the usual heavily carved designs. This has been done without changing
their intrinsic character. Khalil Mohammad Kalwal, a national and state awardee;
and his two sons Fayaz and Zahoor are master craftsmen from Srinagar and have
a long lineage of craft in their blood.
LEATHER
CRAFT Rajasthan
has a long history of leather craft. Both men and women participate in this craft
in different ways. This community has been one of the more economically deprived
in the village and even traditionally have occupied a lower social status. The
men are traditionally juti/mojari or shoemakers, who rely largely on the
local market. The women contribute to the craft process by using their fine embroidery
skills on the leather. Some traditional leather artisans of Sikar district have
formed themselves into a registered society for promotion and development of their
craft. Based in Pachaaar village of Sikar district in Rajasthan this society is
called the Charmakar Vikas Samiti. The
shoe making skills of the artisans have been translated into the creation of modern
daily use accessories for the urban market. The designs retain the use of hand
stitching with goat leather strips and punched embellishment that is characteristic
of traditional shoe making. However some new stitches and decorative techniques
have been used to add interest to the product and give it an elegant look, according
to the product type. | 
