December 2011 Over view

This month has been awesome so far... and it can only get better with the New Year's Eve round the corner!!!

This month saw us participating in an event called Volume Kam Kar with our the most favourite retailer, friend and support - BLISS (https://www.facebook.com/Xperience.BLISS).

It is always good to be in the company of the Great. In their courtyard for those two days, 23rd and 24th December, we got the oppurtunity to meet many other young minds and bright entrepreneurs.

In spite of that, we didnt fail to make our mark! And that's only because of the uniquely handcrafted products that we proudly promote.

Leaving behind some picture and cherished memories.... Cya..

Chamkari Leather Hangings from Andhra pradesh hangs there with quite some elan`.

The Dokra Judda Pins have always been our best selling item. And will always remain to be so, owing to it's colourful beads and the fusion of utility and aesthetics.

It's been really long... no posts and no updates!!! But that doesnt mean we have been lazying around. Diwali and Christmas have kept us so busy exhibiting at various places that it simply left us with no time. But that's definitely no reason to not update the blog... Sincere apologies!!!

But have you noticed? We celebrated our anniversary this month.... Woohoo... It's been a year, and we have indeed come a long way!!

If not much, let me give you a sneak preview of our latest arrival - Wooden Chests with Ceramic Drawers. This has been their season 2 of sorts actually.

To pick one of these now, visit http://shopo.in/shop/fusionroots and pick the colour you love the most. HURRY!!!!!!

FuSION ROOtS launches it's online shop today. 

A Sneak Preview into all our available products....

Doesn't it look exciting? Then, what are you waiting for?

Quickly go to the following link - http://shopo.in/shop/fusionroots .... Gift art this festive season!!! Enjoy!!!

New Home Decor Range

Sneak Preview into our latest range of home decor stuff to be displayed at the Fashionistore, 2011.

Venue : ISTA HOTEL, Yerwada, Pune
Dates : 9th and 10th September, 2011
Timings : 10 am to 6.30 pm

Lambani Jewelry

Lambani Jewelry has been a part of Fusion Roots accessories collection for a while now. Since the day one of displaying it, it has often captured everyone's attention and especially been the favorite among women. 

Discovering DOKHRA JEWELRY

 

Little did we know while walking into the Nehru Exhibition Centre that day, that we were going to find our bestseller today. We were at that Jute Exhibition only to pick more of those beautifully handcrafted Jute Lamps(will discuss more about it in my future blogs), but what caught my attention was the uniquely hand crafted neck pieces.In spite of not being a jute product, they were a part of the exhibition because they were from West Bengal.

That was the day when we first met Mr. Ratan Shan, who has now become a part of my speed dial list. When I went to his stall, I instantly fell in love with the jewelry that he was selling. It was the most unique jewelry I had ever seen. Didn't bother much about asking him on the details of the art, but just quickly picked up 25 pieces of every product he had. On a very bad day at an exhibition, he was ecstatic to have found us. But it was only later that we realized that it was we who were lucky to have found him. We always have an order for him, and he never fails to please us with new designs or color combinations. 

But what is this jewelry ? And why is it named Dokhra? 

The Dokhra system of metal casting is one of the oldest form of metal casting and is technically known as ‘cire perdue’ or lost wax process.  The nomadic tribes which have now settled in Burdwan, Bankura, Birbhum and Midnapore districts of West Bengal use this system to make tribal jewelry and provide a living for themselves. Under the guidance of Ratan Shah – a local artist himself, we have a group of displaced tribal women working for us. It is he who has gathered these women, trained them (though most of them inherit the skill from their mothers) and marketed them and this form of art.

As he often tells me, each of these women have some or the other problem in their personal lives. And the fighters that they are, they manage their households as well as earn a living for their families with always a smile on their face. Women in the rural India go through a lot more than us and are way more capable of dealing with such crises. Though we often say women are becoming equal to men.. But if we were to just peep into their lives once, we would never deny that they aren't becoming equal but are obviously superior.

Just to help you with the list of products and their rates :

Earrings : Rs. 100 a pair

Judda pins : Rs. 100 each

Threaded neck pieces : Rs. 250 onward

Chunkier Necklaces : Rs. 350 onward

Our search for new products has begun

The first six months transformed us completely - From a new brand trying to promote Indian cotton bags and Khurja pottery, we became a proper parallel brand with the bigger mission of promoting handicrafts.

It makes me proud when I read out our long list of products and the artisans we cater to. And once again, I will grab this opportunity and paste our list here again!

Currently, we are promoting the following :

Papier Mache from Kashmir
Suede bags with hand embroidery from Kashmir
Khurja Pottery from Uttar Pradesh
Wooden chests with ceramic drawers from Sahranpur, UP
Kathputlis from Gujarat
Wall hangings and danglers from Gujarat
Blockprinted bags from Gujarat
Pattchitra from Orissa
Jute Lamps from West Bengal
Jute Bags from Bengal
Dokhra Jewelry from West Bengal
Terracotta jewelry from West Bengal
Leather puppets and hangings from Andhra Pradesh
Lambani Jewelry from Karnataka
Terracotta penstands and vases from Maharashtra
Handmade paper products from Maharashtra
Madhubani Paintings from Bihar

Yes, we actually have this fusion of products, for the sole reason that they are all handicrafts rooted in India. The idea is to not let these special skills die. These in a certain way, represent us, our culture, but unfortunately it is slowly dying. And, we at Fusion Roots believe in preserving these art forms and giving these artisans a platform to showcase their unique talent.

There are a lot of other things hidden in the rural India, and we want to get it all. Next on our wish list is either Bamboo or Cane products from North East India. Also, there are so many things we don't even know about. As we explore our rural areas further, I am hopeful we will find so much more that will be shocking as well as equally beautiful.

If there is any idea that anyone has, please share it with us. Also if there is any particular artist you know,  we will love to promote them as well.

Oberoi Mall... Here we come

Months have passed by, seasons have changed ... and so have the products at Fusion Roots...

As we had promised, we have brought together handicrafts from all across India and have been promoting them under our brand... But there was one thing we lacked so far.. proper visibility !!

Ofcourse we were retailing @ Bliss, Versova and that gave us a lot of boost, as also the jig at their Flea Market created a lot of awareness about our existence. But the time had come for us to grow, and grow to a level where  we cater to the crowds we had aimed for and actually be at an urban hub and promote our stuff.

And that's exactly the kind of platform we have @ the Oberoi Mall, Goregaon!!! Amidst all the brands and heavy retail chains, we, the team of Fusion Roots will have our little corner with our beautifully handcrafted products. Being under the same roof as the bigger players, will give us a fair chance to promote our mission and get our artists and craftsmen the promised recognition.

Really excited about the month long display @ the mall on the ground floor, outside CCD... Hope to see a lot of u there....

Fusion Roots' Development

Celebrating 3 months in the business, Fusion Roots has definitely come a long way.

As i look back, I still remember how unprepared I was for my first exhibition and yet the positive attitude helped us sail through. We started only with bags. I used to get fabric from Mangaldas market and get my designer bags stitched by our tailoring unit in Malad. Then, came Khurja pottery. How casually i had asked Kartikeya about his dinner plate. And then how it became our company product was so quick! The first consignment from Khurja  came in two days prior to the exhibition. One other product that was going to be displayed at the exhibition was paper earring. Me, my mom and my friends were all quilling paper and making colorful earrings out of them. The logo was finalized and the visiting cards were printed. We went and purchased paper and other stationary a day before the exhibition. We may not have had a huge capital or the best of resources but we definitely had our clarity of thought. We knew exactly what our company policy would be any where would we be few years from now. My sheer love for handicrafts had made me quit my job and start this company. But honestly wouldnt have come so far without my family and friends.

Since then, we have been adding products all the time. The idea was to go to remote places in India and getting unique handicrafts from all over India and showcase them in the urban landscape. And we are doing exactly that. In a span of three months, we have covered more than 10 states. And slowly wish to cover the whole of India. And as we are growing, meeting new people, knowing about their craft, appreciating their products; the more we are loving India for it's culture. India has so much instore, but it all gets lost int he population of the country. Especially in the urban areas, people are so busy and so highly influenced by westernization that there is no time and intention left to appreciate Indian art. This is the challenge we have to overcome.

Looking forward to promoting more products and sharing more experiences with you'll.