Coimbatore: He is presently in the city participating in the Craft Council of Tamil Nadu's 'Crafts Bazaar' 2019 at Suguna Kalyana Mandapam to highlight the exquisite embroidery of his products.
Coimbatore: He is presently in the city participating in the Craft Council of Tamil Nadu's 'Crafts Bazaar' 2019 at Suguna Kalyana Mandapam to highlight the exquisite embroidery of his products.
With uncertainty looming large back home in Kashmir after Article 370 was scrapped, artisans from Kashmir are a worried community, today. Yet, 29-year old Jahangir Ahmed Bhatt doggedly labours to showcase his various craft techniques such as weaving and hand embroidery, a business that his whole family is involved in. He is presently in the city participating in the Craft Council of Tamil Nadu's 'Crafts Bazaar' 2019 to highlight the exquisite embroidery of his products.
Jahangir himself is an artisan and graduated from the Craft Development Institute. Four years ago, Jahangir started his own enterprise, ‘The Crewel’ which involved the crewel and chain stitch craft with a group of 20 girls, in Anantnag district of South Kashmir.
The Crewel is a startup in Vasaknag, a far-flung area perched deep in the Pir Panchal Mountains and attempting to provide a livelihood for many through traditional crafts. The Crewel is actually a group of 20 girls working with crewel and chain stitch craft. The artisans are provided with raw materials for production and are paid directly on the completion of their work. The work of artisans in their villages is regularly monitored by a local master artisan who works as production coordinator at the village level. Some basic organizational and business skills have also been created from within the group. They are delegated responsibility for overseeing production at the village level.
The Crewel’s main office is in Srinagar and overlooks all activities except embroidery which is done at the village level. The embroidery is done in Vasaknag with a production centre and production coordinator.
Dyeing of yarn and tracing on fabric is done at the Srinagar office. “We use pantone shades or neelam shade card for dyeing. The Crewel carries raw material to the production centre at the village level, every week, and collection of products is also done at the same time. They are washed, with further tailoring and storage done in Srinagar. Being a start-up, we are focusing on the current market requirements and product development is done accordingly. We produce material by ourselves, which makes us more competitive on price with faster delivery. We have great experience on providing high quality service to retailers and wholesalers. Our production lead time is 25-30 days after receiving 30 percent deposit,” says Jahangir.
The Crewel has a wide range of exquisite products to choose from which includes cushion covers, rugs, curtains, table mats, table runners and wall art, with accessories like bags, clutches and pouches also on display.
Revel in the exquisite embroidery being showcased by ‘The Crewel’ at a stall in the Craft Council of Tamil Nadu's 'Crafts Bazaar' 2019 being held at Suguna Kalyana Mandapam.