artnlight

 And here is Anais's Tia Pakhi and her famed line of butterflies, birds flowers and Love. All hand embroidered.

I love this picture of Chandan Dubey as much as I love her work. I got to see her gorgeous new line of work upclose & here are 2 of my favourite pieces among her collection. There is a full feature on her work coming up, but both of us need to take the time out for that and just make it happen.

 Nikheel Aphale's calligraphic work I have been seeing for years and it was my pleasure and privilege to see Leehkin up close and also see it translated into beautiful products. Nikheel is currently in Taipei as I make this post, representing Indian calligraphy at the One Asia Project which aims is to "present Asia’s cultural richness and profound spirituality to the world in order to create a new cultural milieu"

Sumiran Kabir Sharma of the Anaam 

QREOH was another collective that had a seriously talented line up of fashion brands that it was representing. From Anaam to The Pot Plant to Joy to Mae, they were each a treat to the discerning buyer. Unusual, simple, cutting edge and blessedly very wearable collections. Do check out the Qreoh Website to see what I'm talking about.

 Jayeta Rohilla and her brand Mae

Himanshu Verma of RedEarth was there with his supremely stunning collection of Sarees.
 Nigarish ~ Tree of Life showed their gorgeous skirts and Indian prints.

Kinche was there and their exquisite collection of Jackets. These pictures are not a patch on the real thing. You just HAVE to click on this link to see them in all their glory. 

 There are exhibitions and then there are exhibitions, and this one somehow refuses to be called one, simply owing to the ambience, the people, the music and the grace of the people who put this together and made this come alive. I came back very grateful to have made acquaintance of the talents I met and the conversations we exchanged.
Image Courtesy: Serendipity, An Indian Summer, Vaishnavi Varadarajan, Sumiran Kabir Sharma & Vineeta Nair

Late, but better than never. I talk of the exhibition which was so much more than that and true to its word, it was really a Celebration of Design, Art & Culture. When I look back at the 3 days in Delhi, I'm filled with wistfullness, because that time won't come again. Why do I miss it so much? The pure adrenalin, the rush, the anticipation of how well an event will go, the unpacking and setting up - which we could do at leaisure. How beautiful Serendipity looked. When I think back the one visual that is dear to me will be the continual sweeping of the floors with Khus scented water, to cool the place down. And Bhavna diligently dropping fragrance into the huge marigold decorated pots at Serendipity. It was another world, so different from Bombay, so differently paced. And yet once the exhibition began it was business as usual. I have been at exhibitions where business has been so slow that I have had enough and more time to shoot, to hang out and socialise with fellow exhibitors. I had prayed that this should not be such an exhibition - yes I had wished that I be so busy selling that there was no time to hang out and chill. And yet when my wish was granted, I found myself wishing for a few moments of rest when I could relax and catch a relaxed bite at the beautiful terrace at Serendipity which I only could discover at the very fag end of day 1 of the exhibition. Sharing a few pics from that day - when we shot before the people came in and work began.

Delhi was so much warmth, of people who came in - so many told me "we've been readers of your blog for so many years & finally you are here" Meeting one of my 1st few buyers Vani Kurup, hearing that she still uses my products & that they are going strong, were special moments.

 Leehkin and

Tejinder Singh

 Catch Thiru S's monumental work at his website

 Rugberry

Anais Basu of  Tia Pakhi and Thiru S in a relaxed moment - before the madness began :)

 If anything is as good looking as their work it is the power girls themselves. Flag bearers of the exceptional Ek Karkhana & Miraas Jewellery

All set for the fabulous Hindustani Music by Vidya Shah, who transported the listeners to another era. And what better setting than the beautiously lit  Serendipity.
Stay tuned for one more post where you get to see close ups at the Art&Light room and better dekkos at Tia Pakhi and Leekhin.
Image credits: Vineeta Nair, Serendipity, Anaam

Its the days before an exhibition, everything is hectic, the lists are endless till you reach a point of- 'beyond this whatever drops, drops'.  After my 1st exhibition in Ahmedabad, I unconsciously swore to myself, no out of Bombay exhibitions. It was crazy. Why would anyone do this? Pack all your stuff, which is humungous - Ok, a public confession - from the time I started shipping my stuff I became completely envious of fashion designers and people who design and deal in fabric. Its light, it folds, you can roll it - it wont break or chip if it falls, it is fairly unharmable in the face of merciless cargo dealers who think nothing of hurling cartons. So back to where I was - who would voluntarily take their stuff to another city? Figure out your accomodation, figure out your helper's/colleagues accomodation, book tickets, and the worst is the call you need to take on how much to carry. What will sell, what won't. Because you are interstate, you can't exactly run back to your studio and pick up extras that are selling well. And won't you look like a mammoth fool if you land up with too much stock? Or too less. And yet, here I am. Going through it all once again. I tell myself I would do this only for Delhi. I have heard so much about how much I 'should' go to Delhi, that its literally coming out of my ears :) So here I am. Packed, or over packed - depends on the way you look at it, ready to be headed out.

Happy to share with all of you the vintage part of the Artnlight Diwali Collection 2014. 

I have been wanting to try out this colour scheme for ages. This time it just came together.

Need to share a few more designs. I have designed cushion covers as well this time. But have not yet shot them. Soon, very soon they will be on the online shop. Stay tuned. And please don't go. There is much coming up. 

Meantime, all the people in Delhi who read this blog, do mark your calenders and come over to Serendipity, to shop this collection and much more. You will see all the popular artnlight designs out in FULL array. You will get to meet the dynamic Bhavna Bhatnagar whose An Indian Summer is organising the event. Plus you will get to meet a whole bunch of phenomenally talented designers & entrepreneurs. Chandan Dubey and her very exciting new line of Stools and tables and trunks will be on show. Looking forward to meeting you all, in person.

The days are once again ruled by the tyranny of endless to-do lists. As many as you cross off triumphantly, more crop up in gleeful defiance. It is an exhibition, that too in another city, logistics, deadlines, endless following up, haggling for time with everyone who works with you, the excitement of seeing your vision translate into reality, packaging, should I add tags? what about display? How much do I pack? Among all these concerns, the day you shoot your products, is a welcome respite. You let everything wait while you see what you've created through your camera - does it make the cut? Does it shoot well? For me - it is always a different experience seeing my products with my eyes & then seeing their images. Some products are more photogenic than others. This one needs more love - the colour needs to be brighter - maybe more saturated? And some surprise you - this works! Seeing a picture of something can give you perspectives your naked eye can't. Does it work that way for you as well?

Sharing a few 'teaser' pics of what will be Art&Light's New Diwali Collection 2014

Stay tuned, will share more pics and the new collection over the next few posts.
Meantime do check out AnIndianSummer for all the hot news and exciting designers lined up for the Exhibition that will happen at Serendipity, Delhi. The dates are 27th & 28th September. 

Have you signed up for the event yet?