What a day!

I have finally managed to figure out  a few materials I want to use going forward. I had a list made up of what I could or would like to use, but some of the things were not practical for a host of reasons and some were not available or the people selling them were not interested in selling Small quantities.

I have not got the list down to about 3-4 and have today finally managed to find out places or suppliers for everything, and who are willing to give me what I want. It seems so empowering to have achieved some part of my plan and I am certain I will achieve a lot more going forward and suddenly things have started falling into place or maybe it seems that a lot is being done much sooner now.

Everyone keep tuned I will shortly have news and pictures of some great materials that I want to recycle, just can not wait to share it with everyone :)

Sea of People

Last evening I went to the old part of Delhi with family and friends. I would normally not venture into that area unless I have some work, but yesterday being Sunday we had planned to visit a restaurant in the part of town for our dinner.

We took the the train and got down at a station close to where we wanted to go, as we got out of the station I saw the streets were almost deserted and cops had blocked the area off. I casually went up to an officer and asked him if everything was okay and if it was safe to walk around. He instantly told me that there is just no problem and they have cordoned off the area to all traffic because some VIP is visiting. I presumed some dignitary must be here to visit an old monument as there are so many of them around and we all started walking away from the station. After about 5 minutes I just saw hordes and hordes of people walking towards us, I thought it must be some religious procession and we will just stand on a side and let it pass.

In the next couple of minutes we had no place to even stand as thousands of people turned up, we were so packed that one could not even see his feet. I have never seen so many people at one place in my life and we were worried what if there is a stampede. We weathered the crowds for about 30 minutes and then walked into a residential part of the area. I still had no clue why all these people had collected together, on enquiring some on told us that the head priest from Mecca in Saudi Arabia was here and people had gathered to offer prayers with him at the Jama Masjid, had we known we would have NEVER even thought of venturing into the area.



Jama Masjid Delhi March 27, 2011

 Today I read that the courtyard of Jama Masjid can hold 85000 people and when the sides, steps and lawns are packed it can accommodate in excess of 150000 people and the newspapers today reported that there were in excess of 250000 people there last evening. We are lucky we got out of there after 1.5 hours unscathed.

Holi - Colors all around



Holi Colours Displayed at a Shop



You can find inspiration in a lot of things. The Indian festival of Holi is one festival that I believe will inspire anyone. It is a celebration of color, the seasons, the triumph of good over evil, love, and "the sweetness of relationships." Aside from the poetic cultural history of the event itself, its images provide a stunning and unparalleled display of color, as individuals literally paint the town red with colourful powders and paints.

Everyone in the community comes together

The main day, Holi, is celebrated by people throwing coloured powder and coloured water at each other. Holi is celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month (February/March), which usually falls in the later part of February or early March.

Holi at the Lord Krishna temple in Vrindavan

I’d rather not do much of the talking and let some pictures speak;

Glimpse of Summer

The temperatures have suddenly sored in the last couple of days and today was the first day this year that I had to turn on the fan at night. Summer out here is dreadful and the fan making this humming sound reminds you what is coming next.

In a couple of weeks temperatures would be touching 37-38C (100 F) and slowly rising from there, then you just pray that they stay in the low 40's and not 45+. No where will you find hundreds of millions of people living in such excruciating heat.The summer is such a humbling experience - it disrupts everything .  I just hope the summers are milder and not as severe as the winters this year.

So Much Input : So Little Output

I wish it was as simple as a sieve that whatever you put in either comes out on the other side or is simply left behind. It has been a very hectic past few days for me, but there is not much to show in terms of accomplishments or completed projects.

I have been running around trying to locate some materials that can be recycled and used in my products, but the going has been pretty tough. One big hurdle is that people are not willing to work with a small home based business and many just think that I am there to waste there time and excuse themselves from the conversation I am having.

It is really disheartening at times and one is forced to question his beliefs and dreams, or what one has set out to achieve. I am trying to positive with it all and whenever thoughts like this spring up I always visualize my business plan and think to myself  that I am not even 20% done with it as yet. There is still a long way to go and I have to keep on going till the time I have tried everything that I have written down and I should only measure the output at the end of it and not in the beginning or the middle.

Pattern from the Newspaper Bag

I was able to do a pattern from my cheap newspaper bag earlier today. I spent the last evening thinking if it needed any changes but there was nothing that I could figure out. So first thing in the morning I started out with was my new pattern, below are some pictures from the exercise.

Cheap Fix

Since I was not very pleased with the bag I constructed yesterday, I kept on measuring it and contemplating what needs to be changed. One thought kept on coming to mind what if the second one does not come out perfect either, thats a day or work and cost of materials.

So rather than making a full bag I decided to not waste any more money on materials but try to do a few different sizes in paper and see. I used an old newspaper and some cello tape and was able to get the desired shape on my second try in about two hours time.

Newspaper bag - just about the right size

With a little tape - perfect shape and size

First Design Idea

I constructed my first design idea based on my grandmas plastic tote. I used a fairly heavy weight canvas fabric along with leather for the trim.

First Prototype

During construction the bag was looking just fine and I found the shape was coming out just the way I had envisioned. But after it was fully done I was not very pleased with the size and shape as it was not what I had pictured in my mind.

I believe since I am using just 2d sketches to finalize my designs and sizes I may miss out on a few specs on the first samples and will have to do adjustments to the pattern and try it out all over again.

Design Inspiration - Grandma

I have very fond memories of my grandmother as I used to see her more than my mother as a child. Since my mother was a working women my grandma was the one who was around for all the kids in the family. I distinctly remember her plastic tote basket she used to call "Tokri", as she used to tote around with it all day.

Tote very similar to my Grandmas

She never left the house without it and she always had her wallet, glasses, umbrella, yarn and knitting needles in it. Anytime she used to return from the market I used to know where the goodies were. When ever I required some money to buy tuck, I knew  I had to go and fetch her Tokri as that was the place she had her wallet in.

One of the first designs I am creating for my new line I am basing it on my grandmothers tote and all those old memories.