Pabi is a Rabari artisan from Bhadroi, Kachchh and currently living in Anjar. Check her with the beautiful Pabi bag that she designed while working with Kala Raksha.
One of our last trip to Kachchh found us running to catch a bus and doing a double take when we saw two elderly Rabari men carrying huge original versions of this bag! It would be impossible to forget those handsome men.
Aziz Khatri lives in Badhli, Kachchh and is a part of our Bandhani- Khatri family. He is an artist with textiles and immediately recognizes the quality of a piece as soon the dye appears on the fabric. He loves listening to old Hindi tracks and always takes us on drives to get the best dabeli whenever we visit.
We’ve been collaborating with Aziz bhai on different designs and colours since our first collection and hope to continue creating with him throughout this journey.
Khalid is 18 years old and lives in Ajrakhpur, Kachchh. He’s a block printer, just like his father. Khalid is one of the most experimental artisans we’ve come across. He loves playing with traditional prints, exploring new ideas and creating contemporary pieces, like the super fun shirt he’s wearing!
In some of his prints, he creates narratives from the blocks he uses while in others he likes to create layers. He’s visited us in Bombay to see how we work and we’ve seen his amazing stuff while in Kachchh. We can’t wait to begin creating with him and see the exciting things that unfold!
Dadi Ma lives in Badhli, Kachchh and is the grand matriarch of a family of Bandhani artisans, having herself worked with the craft since she was a young girl . At 105 years old, she is sprightly, self-sufficient and full of stories that draw on her experiences from more than a century of life. It is a blessing to hear the truths she has to share.
Dadi Ma is always looking out for her family- asking all visitors to the artisans’ home to buy something and demanding ten rupees as entry fee with a mischievous glint in her eye. Even when we tell her ten rupees isn’t worth as much as it used to be! Whenever we visit, she inspects what we’re wearing and always offers to share her pyjamas and dupattas to match with our outfits!
Pretty Tina is from Badhli, Kachchh and is the mother of 2 year old Gayatri. She is one of the best Bandhani artisans from her family and always has the most beautiful smile on her face. She also has a sweet heart tattoo on her hand with a T for Tina!
Tina is wonderfully skilled in creating the razor blade pattern we loved and used extensively for the SS11 collection. The Gulabi Gayatri dress is named after her daughter. Gayatri insisted on changing into her best gulabi (pink) dress when she found out we were coming to meet her for the first time!
