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.

WOOD CRAFT AND CARPENTRY

Mohammad Kamil is a young, extremely skilled carpenter who works in wood. Through this work he has now also been introduced to some bamboo work, which he has taken to quite naturally. Kamil comes from a long lineage of wood artisans. His grandfather Yakub Khan made shisham raths and wood jalis for the rajwadas or princely households of Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, which is his native village.

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.