Working with Master weavers

In today’s world of mass production and faceless, impersonal technology, it is only once in a very long while that you come across true works of art created by exceptionally skilled hands and a deep sense of professional pride.

I have been remarkably fortunate in having the benefit of working with a few traditional weavers of eri silk whose commitment and willingness to experiment matches their extraordinary mastery over their craft.

I owe all I have learnt about working with this beautiful, but very challenging, fabric to the handful of master weavers who have patiently mentored me on what is possible, and what is not. But in my enthusiasm and my love for this fabric, I do get carried away when I design, and then graph those designs and colours onto paper.
The new generation of weavers have time and again declared my designs impossible to weave. And time and again this handful of senior weavers have risen magnificently to the challenge, and put in long hours of back breaking work, intense concentration and a fast-disappearing level of mastery over their craft to bring these designs to vivid life.

The beautiful sarees, shawls, throws and pillows, you see here took physical form under their gifted hands, because of their intimate knowledge of their craft. (Sometimes, I see sweat marks on my zari borders that look like dark patches and put them aside. If only you knew the hours of toil that lay behind that sweat, you would treasure them all the more instead of allowing them to be rejected.)

This collection is my salute to my weavers, the homage I want to pay their deep commitment and their heard-earned skill.
Theirs is a level of craftsmanship that is disappearing from every aspect of modern life. I certainly feel very privileged to have had the opportunity of working with them on this collection of limited edition Ereena sarees.

I hope they give you as much pride and joy in our heritage of craft as they have given me.