Creativity like a river cannot be chained but will find its own path.  Across the city of Kolkata there are many women and some men who work from their homes, creating beautiful products or offering unique services that are niche, exclusive, one of a kind. Due to lack of funds, these people hardly advertise except for word of mouth and deal with customers only on a referral basis. As this a home-based industry, in the non-formal sector, mass-production is not possible, so output is often limited, but very individualized. Some of these Home Stores harness artisans and crafts-persons from suburban Bengal, helping to increase their output while giving employment to others, and some Home Stores are a single force.

WOT brings to you a host of such people from the city of Kolkata who work out of their homes. Purchasing from them will ensure one-of-a-kind products and will no doubt enhance your Kolkata shopping experience.

Wearable Art - Shohini Gupta

Shohini Gupta hails from a family of artists, and studied print-making from Kalabhavan, Santiniketan. After graduation she dabbled in a host of creative pursuits until she found a liking for jewelry designing; giving into every woman’s fascination for adornment while working fulltime at a travel and hospitality firm.

She creates one-of-a-kind studio jewelry in ceramic, fabric, metal, wood, glass, mother of pearl, cowry and thread, embellished with contrasting material. Each piece is individually handcrafted; ceramic beads and forms are shaped and glazed in a friends’ kiln in Howrah, while she cuts and shapes metal bits and cloth pieces at her studio. Shohini says her pieces grow as she makes them and have their own story; so there’s the Coronation Garland and the Sun Moon Chocker. Preferring never to repeat herself, she crochet’s, cuts metal bits, reshapes pieces of wood, twists and bends creating art pieces which she then strings together into jewelry. Her bold fabric jewelry is a fashion statement and a sure head-turner. Made using long-hand stitched fabric cord, utilizing Chinese Silk Weaving, (a complicated system of tightly wrapping silk thread around the cord without a knot) she twists them into beautiful and eye-catching geometric shapes.

She retails under her brand SHOHINI from her home-cum-studio on Sarat Bose Road, by appointment only. Price ranges around Rs. 1,000.

SHOHINI

Ph: 9830360050. www.shohini.biz

Rajeshwari – Linen - Sujata Khaitan

There was a time when a young bride’s trousseau wouldn’t be complete without a collection of bed linen from Rajeshwari. This little boutique has been in business for 45 years now and can still give avant-garde designers a run for their money!

Rajeshwari specializes in bedcovers, sheets, towels, cushion covers and quilts. In its early years the store concentrated on the famous but typical Bengal Embroidery and patchwork, since then the mantle has passed from Beena Khaitan to her daughter-in-law Sujata who brought in new blood and a fresher perspective and energy into the business, embracing a larger gamut of products and versatile finish apart from the Bengal embroidery, which had been their hallmark. Sujata introduced a range in joinery fabric in contrasting colors and textures, solids against print, larger choice of cushions ranging from small 12” by 12” to floor cushions of 2ft by 2ft in a choice of fabrics, embellished with traditional ari embroidery as well as with smart modern motifs in cross stitch, machine and hand embroidery, lace, crochet and beadwork. She also has a range of children’s bed-linen in organic cotton in child-pleasing motifs.

Rajeshwari retails from her outlet in Alipur and participates in select exhibitions across the city. The Store continues to take special orders for weddings and trousseaus, keeping alive the boutiques earlier image of being THE place for wedding linen.

Double bedspreads around Rs4000/- and cushions around Rs400/- approx.

Rajeshwari

5B Ground floor, Pen Court, Pen Rd, Alipur, m: 9830248117 - by appointment only

The Maya of Kantha - Mahamaya Shikhdar

There is kantha and there’s Mahamaya’s kantha. A Presidential Award Winning artisan, Mahamaya learnt kantha from her mother, who learnt from her mother in the only way kantha making was always taught down the generations, the finished pieces becoming family heirlooms. Mahamaya has a ‘back to the future’ attitude about her kantha. She remains true to the original technique but incorporates contemporary motifs, documenting her own surrounding, as Kantha is meant to be. She studied archival pieces mainly at the Gurusaday Craft Museum, Kolkata, reinterpreting them with modern motifs and textured embroideries. She has about 300 women from the suburbs of Kolkata working under her, subsequently creating employment for them. Her girls are taught personally by her and create exquisite pieces, rarely seen elsewhere.

Kantha uses several kinds of stitches but predominantly the ‘run’ which is the mainstay of Mahamaya’s work also, she uses this basic stitch type in the most creative way, minutely creating first a quilting effect as in traditional kantha – a near extinct practice as it is very time consuming and laborious – and then embellishes with further embroidery. Her main forte is her wall hangings, 2.5m and more, exquisitely detailed masterpieces with ‘all over work’ which take minimum one year to complete. To remain commercial and meet the demand for smaller affordable pieces, she has a range of wearables and linens, of course with the Mahamaya touch, making them not just another sari, dupatta, stole or scarf, but something extraordinarily special. Her prices range from about Rs. 5,000 for a stole, whereas sarees range above Rs15, 000 and wall hanging from Rs 25, 000 to over a lakh.

Mahamaya Shikdar – 9874056381 by appointment only

More than JUST BAGS

Just Bags is more than just bags, and ranges from casual evening clutches, sling bags, batuas, purses in various sizes, sachets, to ornate arm-candy for weddings and trousseaus and loads more. Run by the sister duo Savita Agarwal and Alka Keyal, Just Bags began as the two-women found themselves bored with their children grown-up and needing a platform for their creative energy. The force behind them was Kavita’s daughter Pallavi who is also the designer for these stylish accessories.

Being vegetarian in practice they prefer textile as their base material, to leather, and use a variety of silks, velvet, denim, and other rich fabrics. Very colorful and eye-catching, the bags are embellished with beads in different materials, rich embroidery in ari, zardos, gara and fine lace, while metallic accessories, crystals and Swarovski add to the bling factor. Completely hand-stitched by their karigars in their workshop; each product is individually checked by the duo before it is put out on the racks and that is evident when you notice how well the products are finished. Just Bags also has a nice choice of toilet cases, files and folders. The bags are very affordable and value for money. Nothing in their collection exceed Rs. 1,000 and you can even pick up a pretty batua for as little as Rs. 100.

Just Bags retails from Savita’s home on Camac Street. By appointment only.

Just Bags

Camac St, Flat # B1, Kolkata 17. Ph: 9330939475/9330060945

Mautushi Sur – Hand Painted Sarees

Hailing from a family of artists, Mautushi Sur was always inclined towards the art; her uncle happens to be artist Gostho Kumar. As a child she learned music, art and dancing, but it was art that lingered on into adulthood. It seemed only natural that she should decide to make a profession of what was once a hobby. Choosing textile as her medium she developed her own style of hand-painting and block-printing sarees to begin with more than a decade ago. Over time she extended her repertoire to include dupattas, stoles, shawls, salwar kameez material and even linen in the vein of bedspreads and tablecloth.

She also expanded from hand-painting and block-printing to appliqué and machine embroidery though the former has remained her forte even today. Using fabric colors, stenciling, wash-painting and block- printing, she expresses freely on textiles, creating attractive drapes few can resist! She has trained apprentices who work under her supervision while she conceptualizes and designs. Her bedspreads are bright and bold with matching cushion covers, while tablecloths come in joined contrasting textile and are further enhanced with appliqué and embroidery.  But what steals the show are her sarees; bamboo groves in wash technique, khari print on off white with dazzling woven border in gold, they are truly showstoppers.

Mautushi retails under her own name from her home-cum-studio in South Kolkata. Prices range between Rs. 850 for a kurta yardage, whilst sarees start from Rs. 1,000, and bedspreads and table cloths are around Rs. 2,000.

Mautushi Sur. Flat 102, 61, Kankulia Road, Kolkata 29. Timing: 10AM to 6 PM

Monday to Saturday

Creativity like a river cannot be chained but will find its own path.  Across the city of Kolkata there are many women and some men who work from their homes, creating beautiful products or offering unique services that are niche, exclusive, one of a kind. Due to lack of funds, these people hardly advertise except f