Vanity Updates

It really does not make much of a difference, but even a little amount of appreciation goes a long way in keeping our spirits and enthusiasm on a high. I am talking about the recent article that was in the press about us.

It was indeed a pleasure being appreciated by the local and respected DD news. It is a full page article on our business. The link is attached, do have a look.

Credits to Bhagyajit Bhuyan for covering the story. Thanks it means a lot to us.

http://www.ddinews.gov.in/Social/Aditi-+Handmadeselling.htm

Estonian Connection

The only time I had heard about Estonia was when I was working for my last employer. Estonia forms one of the 3 parts of the Baltic, which has Lithuania and Latvia as well. It was a research project on the Pet food category for the exclusive Baltic region.The second instance was when I was reading the uber-hero novel by Karan Bajaj - "Johny Gone Down". The central character in the novel had an acquaintance from Estonia. I recall there was also a sarcasm mentioned in the novel relating tot he small size and the disconnect of this country with the rest of the World. And now finally, it was our very first customer - Vilve Molder, who acquainted me to her very own Estonian world.

Estonia restored its independence from the Russian Federation in 1991; and since then it is enjoying its independent status in the Northern Europe region. Today, Estonia has the highest GDP per person of any country that used to be part of the Soviet Union. It is listed as a High-Income economy by the World Bank. But the characteristic of Estonia that has helped us the most is that Estonia has the highest level of Internet freedom in the World. It probably could be the reason for getting our very first Seller from Estonia, Vilve Molder.

Vilve as she describes to us, is passionate about handmade crafts. Well, that does not come as a surprise considering Estonia boasts of some rich craft and culture that includes native blacksmith, native textile design and traditional handicraft. The craft that Vilve involves is more on the home decor subjects. She crafts trays and artifacts out of Juniper bark. Juniper is a coniferous tree, much like the tropical pines. In Estonian/European culture, it is known for its exorcism properties, hence used to ward off the evil spirits. The dishes/trays made out of Juniper bark are in beautiful shapes and small to big sizes with medium in between. They can be used as a home decor product to beautify the living rooms. An interesting anecdote of these Juniper dishes is that they spell out an aroma when a hot dish is put on them !!

Click on the link below to check out Vilve's Profile on our site, and also her exquisite collection.
http://www.handmadeselling.com/home_treasure

The Handmade Handkerchief

The good old "Handkerchief" is what I miss many a times. I am sure making of kerchiefs must have been a very lucrative business some ages ago. Today I cannot even recall a single "handkerchief" maker. I have memories of my mother stacking unopened boxes of colourful sets of handkerchiefs in her wardrobe. The boxes used to have a transparent sheet as a cover displaying the bouquet of aligned kerchiefs in beautiful vivid colours. She used to match her outfits with a befitting colour from among the many coloured ones she had. Me and my younger sister used to entertain ourselves sensing the neatly stacked, crisp coloured set of feminine napkins. And today it is a thing of surprise to to find anyone with a "good old" handkerchief in their pockets purses. I fear how many of us could even spell the word HANDKERCHIEF correctly. It seems much like the physical handkerchief, its literal identity has also dwindled. It turned to "kerchief" and now just a small "hanky" replaces it all. The super-soft white coloured fragile paper tissue has replaced the entire era of cloth tissues. The major issue to reckon is that the paper tissues are so popular in the today's time of "Forest Conservation" and "Green Movements". Such irony you see.

Hope to see someone doing some really nice Vintage Art on handmade Handkerchiefs some day.
Please get in touch, we would love to showcase your art on our site.

Handicrafts, the way they have been

       

Over the last decade or so, handicraft pursuits have enjoyed an enormous upsurge in popularity. Traditional handicrafts, such as patchwork and quilting, tie-dying and batik, bead work and embroidery of all sorts - the origins and history of which in many cases, are lost in antiquity - have shot back into fashion, whilst new 'handicrafts' have emerged to meet the demands of contemporary living. All have been greatly enriched by the introduction of modern fabrics, colours and designs, which have done much to make handicrafts more exciting. Economy has doubtless had much to do with the current popularity. Clothes, gifts and all manner of household items, nursery and garden accessories - many examples of which will be found all around us can be made at home at a fraction of the cost of an  equivalent shop-bought item. They have the advantage that they may be made in the sort of materials wanted to achieve a chosen effect. The traditional handicrafts are present till today with some exciting and unusual ways of using them, and recently popularized rafts, such as candle and collage making, and constructing mobiles and wall hangings - now have become so much part of the usual home decor. There have come up some enchanting patterns for making economical toys and some bright knitting, crochet and rugs, to name just a few. The materials available today are also in abundance, paper of different sorts; leather, suede and felt. In terms of techniques, applique work, smocking, various embroidery stitches, paper patterns, transferring of designs to fabrics, proves the enrichment of handicrafts making. Happily, the days are gone when handicraft pursuits were pastimes only for those people who were especially talented or had lots of spare times. Nowadays, anybody can try their hand at any number of different crafts, and we are sure we will be of help at all the stages of your handicraft making pursuits. Happy Handcrafting !!