Hand Woven Garment fabrics - Kullu valley is popular for its repertoire of handloom weaves that the local weavers use on their shawls and pattus. After initially researching the existing weaves and then in an initiative to take the fine craftsmanship of the spinners and weavers forward a vast range of garment fabric has been developed. The studio boasts of over a hundred different qualities of fabrics in fine merino, blends of exquisite silks and wool, and linen cottons. The fabrics are used by high-end boutiques in Europe and Australia.
Exquisite Blankets, throws that are hand spun and hand woven blends of Merino, Angora and Silk are also developed for select boutique buyers
The Bag Story – Over the past few years Leela design studio has worked extensively with various artisans in the Kullu valley. In the process of exploring the skill sets of the local artisans a range of cotton, hand knitted and crocheted bags were designed and developed with Kullu Karishma in Himachal Pradesh.
Knitting and crochet are part of daily activities in the Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh. While working on a project with National Centre for Jute Diversification and later a weaving project for DC Handloom in Kullu Valley, it was felt that a new range of products could be developed for the summer months that would sustain the local women. Cotton yarn was procured from Delhi and after many rounds of sampling a vibrant range of knitted bags, caps were developed and then marketed through a popular retail store. There were large orders for these trendy bags.
The Bath Collection – A large retailer of Home linen and accessories required to diversify their existing range with coordinated bath linen with accessories. Bath as a separate market was soon understood by the customer and a spectacular range of coordinated Bath linen – hand woven, and hand crafted – carrying the eco friendly tag was developed. A comprehensive range of natural accessories were developed and sourced to enhance the range. The products were given an exclusive shelf space that soon upped the sales of bath than ever before.
New Retail Stores – A new venture to open craft store chain in India was planned and recently launched in 5 cities. The client required to make a careful selection of its suppliers who were genuine artisans. Once the supplier and his expertise was studied new collections were designed and developed for Home Linen range. An extensive research was done to understand colour trends, Indian sizes, varied traditional techniques and accordingly product selection was done. Production planning played a crucial role since new stores were being opened – the range was launched and very well received.
Panja Durry – The Panja durries, according to Kamladevi Chattopadhya were ‘abstract in an indigenous, therefore meaningful way, being direct impressions and interactions of their own environment.
The brief was to develop new designs for Punja durries for Suraj pur cluster, Greater Noida. They had been working on improvised vertical looms and required new designs. The durries developed during this project were very well received in the retail market and also were selected by AIACA. Catalogue.
Stone Washed Durries - Another client, a well known retail chain in India, wanted to revive its age old collection of Stone washed Punja durries. Durrie sales had reduced greatly as no new designs had been developed since over a decade. Durries were developed in Rajasthan and in weaving areas around Delhi. The unique quality of stone wash durries is the muted look that is achieved after rigorous stone washing. The colours were therefore carefully selected and the designs developed were contemporary and gave a fresh renewed look to the clients collection.