Collection 1: Mother's Love

After a long hiatus touching base again. We have been busy at Whitewater Designs putting together our first collection of socially and environmentally conscious textile and craft products for children. 

Whitewater is an initiative to introduce a new born baby to the world of storytelling through organic textiles. Most of us, who have grown up in cities, have read and heard western stories in our growing up years and are not familiar with the rich treasure of Indian folklore. At Whitewater, we aim to change that. The stories narrated through Whitewater products are part of a rich culture we are gradually forgetting. Inspiration is also drawn from everyday observations and personal experiences, not dominated by seasonal trends. These flashes of ideas are penned down as poems to be read aloud to children, and also form the inspiration board for developing the signature prints and appliques.

Our first collection "Mother's Love" was officially launched last year. The poem, inspired by my nephew's visit to the zoo for his birthday was translated into playful block prints and hand appliques. Bright polkas and chevron patterns with subtle hand needlework added colour to the muted block prints in natural natural indigo and madder. Together, they provided the starting point for a range of bedding, decor and clothing for infants and toddlers.

Block printed fabric drying in the sun before they are coloured in a village in Kutch, Gujarat

Women artisans creating the textiles in my studio in Ahmedabad

All the textile products are made with 100% organic cotton sourced from GOTS certified manufacturers in India. We are also using khadi woven by local cooperatives here in Gujarat. The dyeing process incorporates eco-friendly principles; products are AZO-free and have not come into contact with any heavy metal dyes.

Special attention was paid to the branding to try and develop tags that can be recycled. Below is an example of the poem that can be used by children to personalise and pin on their soft boards.

The inspiration behind the collection was part of each product.

Since the past 4 months, we have been promoting the cause and the collection through various channels. Some examples are as follows:

Part of The Colours of Nature, symposium on natural dyes, Kolkata

Chor Bazaar, Kolkata

Pappadum, Chennai. Photo credit: Pappadum

Jaypore - an online store retailing curated hand crafted products. Photo credit: Jaypore

 

Green Fest, Juhu, Mumbai

This is our endeavor at Whitewater - to create awareness that small actions can have a big impact on our environment, health and society. A change in the thinking process has to begin somewhere!

The Organic Cotton Tote

When I started Whitewater, I wanted to use only organic fabrics to create bags as I truly believed in the goodness of the organic cotton chain. However, the Indian consumer at that point, was not ready to embrace organic cotton. There were few brands using this for garments and almost none who were using it to make bags. At a personal level, I also started questioning use of this fabrics for a product that stays away from the body unlike garments which are like second skin.With this ORGANIC COTTON TOTE BAG, I go back to where it all began. 

The organic cotton used for this bag is locally called kala cotton and is cultivated without modifying the genes of the cotton plant. It is one of the most water efficient varieties of cotton in the world and has almost no carbon impact therefore making is energy efficient also. (referred from 'Kachchh Organic Cotton Story' at khamir.org on 5.6.2012. More more details please visit khamir.org). I was convinced to buy this fabric by Pareshbhai at an exhibition in Ahmedabad and I am told by them that this bag is the first bag to be made out of kala cotton. 

Soon to hit the stores in India, this bag will also be available online on clusiv.in. For all international queries, please get in touch on whitewaterdesigns@gmail.com.

My first few bags (2008) inspired by the pleating technique, which adds volume and at the same time helps to manipulate the form of the bag.