Kaitag

i'm falling in love with textiles from Central Asia. images above are Kaitag Embroideries from the remote mountainous region of Daghestan. image on the cover of Hali magazine, 2007, is Silk on Cotton, 18th Century.

via stylecourt

KAITAG ART
Situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, Daghestan is an inaccessible and mountainous part of the Caucasus, an autonomous region first of the Soviet Union and now of Russia, flanked by the mighty Russian and Persian empires. Kaitag art, from a small region in the south of Daghestan, is the creation of a multi-ethnic people, incorporating Zoroastrian, Muslim, Christian, Jewish and pagan symbolism. This remarkably vibrant and beautiful tradition is found mostly in the rectangular panels embroidered with vividly coloured silks that are the subject of this book. Examples are attributed to the 16th through to the 19th centuries. The geography of the region and the self-contained and inward-looking pattern of living of the Kaitag people were major factors in the confinement of such a distinct art to such a small group of villages.
THE DESIGNS
The vast repertoire of designs is the legacy of the society that produced them. Byzantine, Fatimid, Mongolian, Timurid, Mamluk, Chinese, Ottoman and Celtic forms, combined with local animist art in a glorious diversity: hieroglyphic motifs, sun signs, birds signs, sun bursts, octagons, cosmic columns, horns, crosses, fantastic crab-like beasts, elk, reindeer, fat swordfish, dragons, amoebae-like shapes, masks and even foetuses can be identified. Many ancient talismanic symbols occur, for these panels were used in rituals associated with birth, marriage and death - to wrap cradles or as dowry covers, for example.

text via textileart.com

war and peace

i've had this in my typo folder since ages and its strange how i've never posted this here. i love this poster and remember sharing it with a friend of mine many months ago! when i have my own house i'm going to have this kind of iconic art all over my place:)!

achha now coming back to the point of this poster..

a few days back i had a mail drop in my mailbox from Andy of A+R Store. i don't know how or why it landed there but i ignored it. today i clicked on the weblink and to my surprise find the same poster selling at their store! its a total eye tonic! please click on the link above (title) to check out and feast your eyes on some great product design!

enjoy!

P.S: they even have T shirts of this poster!!!

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and i just love blogging...i love it more when people leave comments on my blog. so if you are reading this please don't hesitate to tell me what u think! and if you have been reading my blog thanks for visiting!
love, kanika :)
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Turkish Delight

can you believe your eyes?? i'm drooling over these pieces i found randomly seeking Turkish Design . click on the link above to go to the website that sells these pieces along with textiles rugs and a lot from Turkey!

i want i want i want....i wish i could just throw a tantrum and somebody would buy them for me!

i have grown into colour

after publishing my last post when i looked at my blog i had a revelation about myself . i have grown to like colour!
OK let me start from the beginning.
i grew up associating whites/ecru/beiges/taupes/greys with affluence and elegance. the slightly better off amongst my extended family were more often than not seen carrying this neutral colour palette with elan. that's probably how i became so stubborn about my choice of colours.
over the years i heard my girl friends asking me to experiment with colour but i never gave in. i stuck to whites and greys..i knew i could never go wrong with them. maybe that is another reason why i stuck to those colours. with limited means i could not afford to go wrong with colourful buys. these were the safe colours! when i joined design school i heard the word BAUHAUS for the very first time. there was no choice, i was surrounded by iconic imagery of "Form Follows Function" even though i was introduced to Memphis in the same classes. i took up textile design in my graduation. i trained my eye to look at white on white details, Kora silks and natural fibers..colour for me was unknown territory. at this time i was secretly jealous of this popular batch mate of mine who lived/ate/slept/wore/talked colour.
then i joined my first job.
it is here that i gradually started working with colour but i was still scared and very unsure every time i opened the thread shade card. i was working in close quarters with a french designer here. he is a sweetheart and i learn a lot from him including so much about using different colours together. my first job for me was like post graduate school. i was still learning new skills.
in my second job, i am a designer.
i can now work with colour effectively (i'm still scared but shh its a secret). whats more..i can finally talk colour. i now look for colour when ever i am travelling/shopping. i still haven't let go of the neutral palette that i grew up with, but what has emerged is a happy balance of the two. i love the whites but now i throw in dashes of colour to "perk it up", "make it fun", "lets make it young and happy"..aah the language of colour!

Looking Around

today looking around me i found two colour stories i thought might make interesting pictures

:)

El Condor Pasa

I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail.

Yes I would.If I could,I surely would.

I'd rather be a hammer than a nail.

Yes I would.If I only could,I surely would.

Away, I'd rather sail away

Like a swan that's here and gone

A man gets tied up to the ground

He gives the world

Its saddest sound,Its saddest sound.

I'd rather be a forest than a street.

Yes I would.If I could,I surely would.

I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet,

Yes I would.If I only could,I surely would.

i love this song...i love simon and garfunkel fullstop

this one esp is lovely to sing along...brings me a lot of peace...ahh good day!

I Like Design

MODERN ART: i love these candles

Found this image via I Like Design

Check out the blog for mast design. be it interiors or product you'll find it all here.

its bittersweet

and then i wonder

but most of all i just really

..miss you..

lovely letterpress cards from paper stories.

the link above takes you to the etsy shop

:)

only after confusion arrives clarity

i have been hanging around with Confusion these last few weeks. Confusion has been an associate for a long time now but i want to be better friends with Clarity. trouble is that confusion and clarity never travel together. clarity is always late (and unfashionably so)!
so why i met with confusion recently is that i have been offered a new job,at a time when i wasn't even looking for one. this new job promises more money(very attractive), more or less a similar job profile and maybe more exposure with the retail and export markets, trends etc. i have worked with two companies before(second being my present job), both for a period of a year and half. the new job, since i can only speculate, might not offer me a work life balance, work independence, good looking office space such as i have now (i shared some pics with you recently). i use the word might, because that's what my gut tells me, which may or may not be true. maybe its not my guts but the butterflies in my stomach! My question to my dear friend Clarity (who i pray is reading this blog post) is 'should one change one's job for more money?' or 'what should ones' reasons be for a change of job?'. 'what are the questions that i should be asking myself or the new company?' 'am i scared of the change and hence am not taking this up?'
i am better at taking decisions based on things i know i don't want as opposed to what i want; but this trick doesn't seem to be working anymore and Clarity is nowhere to be found!
so please you kind souls help find clarity!
oh suresh where are you?

Kelly Neidig

Today i stumbled upon these wonderful landscape paintings of artist Kelly Neidig of Portland. Her landscapes are so fun and clever..perfect to add that dash of colour to any space!

Here is what the artist has to say about her art.."I focus more on color and less on shapes presenting little information to the viewer. This allows the viewer to call on their memories of place and connect with the painting based on their experiences. Ideally my paintings will remind the viewer of a place they have been."

For more of her works click on the link above (via housemartin).

KIlims

been looking at the beautiful Kilim Rugs from Central Asia for the longest time now but haven't so far used these wonderful colours and patterns in my designs.

hippie/ bohemian trend (alas in a grown up more sophisticated avtar) promises to continue this season as well and so me thinks i should definitely incorporate some of these elements this time round what say?

i'll post some pictures of the finished products when i do :)

Folding Beauty

OH MY GOD! i can't stop gushing over this clever design! no words...absolutely none.
Curtain design by Hannah Allijn. click on the link above to go to the website:)

oh and i found it via designspongeonline. its a bad habit to not acknowledge the source, i must improve!

My Work Station

today i am posting a few pics of my workstation! yayee!! this little queen's guard comes from the V&A Shop in London..isn't he real cute?? if u turn the key it marches all over my desk:)

my mouse pad is from Paperchase again in London. its a fantastic stationary store and is full of inspiring prints!

Hokusai+Hiroshige

i have this one:) someone really special got this postcard from tokyo!

i have had this collection of images with me since a long time...there is a uniqueness about them that i am still to understand and therefore articulate. prints by Master Artists HIROSHIGE and HOKUSAI of Japan

i don't know which is which so please feel free to help out..

enjoy:)

p.s: i also have the last print (a postcard)...japan is on my list of must see places in this lifetime..maybe i should write down this list of places...matter for another post!