Loving....

I'm constantly inspired by the world around me. Anyone who hires me knows that I'm continually trying to think out of the box and bring my designs to the next level. Each month (would love it to be week) I like to set aside some time to draw inspiration from blogs, magazines and websites. This a.m. I came across the work of designers Parker-Kennedy. I love their punchy style and the blended old and new aesthetic. It is a style I often include in my work. Here's a sampling of their projects. Enjoy!

Yesterday Once More

And now, even better!

Presenting

Chandan Dubey and her treasures!

Chandan is one of my earliest blogger pals, and her home, her aesthetics, eye for color, design taste and her photography has always inspired me. She has an unique take on the mundane and also the exquisite, and it's always refreshing to read her perspective and experience her visualization. So, today, I am not only happy, but also proud to announce the launch of her project, where she is attempts to, and succeeds so beautifully, in combining her different skills sets and interests. As I put the post together, it was so hard for me to decide what to leave and what to showcase - I wish I could have shared her entire portfolio of products with you here :)

In Chandan's own words:

"This select range of fine art photographs, hand crafted objects and graphic prints are a coming together of my skills as a photographer, artist and collector. The range of art work comprises up-cycled objects such as old boxes, small cabinets and platters. The idea was to restore and reinvent old objects by lending a fresh layer of interest to them with the use of equally old material, both collected and found. This includes vintage photography, film posters, postcards, old books, art and fashion catalogs, hand writtern letters, coins, stamps interspersed with hand painted detail and graphics."

Chandan is displaying and retailing her exquisite products soon. Mark your calendar for:

 AWC Annual Fair

Date: Nov 30th, 2013

Where: Trident, Bandra Kurla

Bombay

And, for the rest of us, not in Bombay

We can connect to her via her facebook page, and demand request her make this gorgeousness available to us too :)

Read Chandan's engaging story behind the project right here on her blog.

Don't forget to look at her other work

And the entire portfolio of these products on facebook, in the days to come

[All images: Chandan Dubey. Creative Storyboarding: An Indian Summer]

When Fishes Fly

They are called Flying Fish!

Excuse the inane joke, but it's friday today!

And I am not only Friday evening happy

But also glitter and all-things-shiny happy

Gorgeous jewels

From Nitika Bose

And

One lovely pair of earrings to giveaway!

Flying Fish is Nitika Bose's world of whimsical and exquisite jewels, designed for the contemporary woman, and handcrafted by skilled craftsmen. I love the attention to detail in each of her beautifully designed unique pieces. Crafted in sterling silver and gold plated with 18k or 24k gold, I can see myself wearing these jewels with both traditional Indian dresses and western outfit. It's just a question of how to pick and choose from among the many many lovely designs!

~ The GiveAway ~

Nitika would love to giveaway this exquisite pair of silver earrings to one lucky An Indian Summer reader, from anywhere in the world! That's right - all readers of An Indian Summer are invited to participate!

All you need to do to enter:

1. Click right here, and leave a comment. In the comment, use the words Flying and Fish. Tell us a story around the words, or a song, or a poem, a haiku, a joke - anything! Make sure you are logged into facebook to leave the comment.

2. To double your chances, you can leave another comment on the post on Flying Fish's facebook page too!

3. And, if you are feeling specially creative, leave a third comment on this post

4. That's it. Winner will be announced next friday -  Nov 22nd, on facebook.

What a happy Friday!

Right? :)

[All Images: Flying Fish. Creative Storyboarding: An Indian Summer]

The Secret Ink Give Away

Purveyors of luxuries and curiosities, is how Adil Bhatia, Yasmin Kaura and Ambika Kaul identify themselves. The three friends, passionate about design, have brought their varied skills and the love for well crafted products together, to launch The Secret Ink.

The Secret Ink is a personalized luxury stationery brand. Encouraging the practice and the grace of handwritten correspondence, The Secret Ink uses age old manual skills such as embossing, hand-foiling and letter pressing, to design and create unique personalized stationery for its clients. Apart from some beautiful designs created by the team, The Secret Ink also customizes it's stationery to reflect the timeless, the modern, the quirky, the elegant, the whimsical and everything in between!

~ The Give Away ~

The joy of receiving a personalized card, the crisp feel of textured paper with a beautiful personal message - these simple things infuse the mundane with poetry and make life more joyful. The Secret Ink would like to share this joy of giving by offering a generous giveaway, especially for An Indian Summer readers, worldwide! Yes, everyone is free to participate!

There are two very generous hampers to be won:

One lucky winner shall get:

 ~ A box of either letter pressed or hand stamped foil (personalized from inside) cards
 ~ A Little Drawer (set of 50, personalized from inside) cards

And,

The second winner shall get:

 ~ A Little Drawer (set of 20; choose from Plume, Rangoli or Dragon design)

How to enter this fabulous giveaway? Simply:

- Browse through the elegant designs on offer at The Secret Ink. Pick your absolute favorite, and leave the name/link as a comment on facebook. Make sure you are logged into facebook to be able to leave the comment.

- Leave the comment on this post too, to double your chances

- The winner will be announced here, on Monday (Sept 30th), evening India time

[All images: The Secret Ink; Creative Storyboarding: An Indian Summer]

Things that make you go

Aah!

~ Pradeep Pillai ~

Pradeep Pillai graduated from NIFT in 1999, and since then has been associated with the hand-spun, hand-woven and hand-crafted sectors. Pradeep believes in creating pieces that are timeless classics, by experimenting with traditional textile techniques and contemporary designs. He is fully committed to support the indigenous craft sector, and is currently working with artisan clusters specializing in different forms of supplementary weft weaving techniques, in tussar silk from Nalanda and fine cotton and silks from Venkatagiri and Chanderi.

See more of Pradeep's beautiful textiles right here.

~ Purple Patch ~

Tejashree Joshi was inspired to start her cozy little store called Purple Patch in Pune, India, when she decided to make quilts for her young son. Purple Patch, a small and exclusive brand, specializes in hand made patch work designs for adults and kids. She works with marginalized women with basic sewing skills and up-skills them to create high quality hand made products.

You can find Purple Patch on etsy, craftsvilla and on facebook.

~  Example Clothing ~

Example, a collaborative design-led clothing brand was conceptualized by Moutushi and her business partner in 2012. With the backbone of Indian textile tradition, Example's clothes aim to showcase this craft heritage and strive to use natural components and materials, keeping machine usage to a minimum. Moutushi has been associated with international brands like Anthropologie among many others, and has dabbled in photography, film making, graphic design, craft research - all leading to a well rounded approach to design. The products are aimed at the quintessential girl in every woman; the spirit being lighthearted, aware, curious and forever young at heart.

Find more of Example Clothing here.

~ Nomad ~

Harshita Gautam's Nomad is a riot of colors and celebrates the spirit of being a woman. Inspired by the nomadic tribes of India, Nomad's skirts (known as ghagra) don't follow the fashion trend of the season, but are cult attire in themselves. The fabrics used are the fabrics that are worn by these tribes, and are perfect for the woman who is a gypsy at heart!

Many more gorgeous ghagras by Nomad right here.  

~ Wildflower ~

Rinkal Bagadia's Wildflower creates handcrafted home decor and lifestyle products in wood and fabric. Working with artisans and crafts like blue pottery, rabari applique, kutchi leather craft, mata ni pachedi to name a few, Wildflower is gradually building up it's repository of beautiful handmade products. 

See the range of wildflower's products here.

[All images: Respective designers. Creative story boarding: An Indian Summer]