Our Story

I grew up in Bangalore, India.

When I was a teenager, a gentleman called Alwyn (I forget his last name) had a shop in Johnson Market filled with beautiful things made in India — antique furniture, textiles and objects with history and character.

I spent hours there. Alwyn was generous with his time, and I became fascinated by things made by hand — by the people, places and traditions behind them.

Years later, almost by accident, I came across a few hand-carved wooden printing blocks and tried selling them.

People loved them. And so I found some more.

That process has never really stopped. Over the years, I have travelled across India looking for blocks, fabrics, yarns, ribbons and other beautiful materials. Along the way, I built relationships with makers that have lasted decades.

What you will receive was made by someone. They used small tools and their hands to make it. In many cases, they learned their craft as children, from their parents, who learned it from their parents before them.

Whether some of these crafts will still be practised another generation from now is a real question. I hope, in my own small way, I can do something about that.

Today we have many thousands of pieces of craft, each made with extraordinary care and skill, but what I am looking for hasn't really changed since those afternoons in Alwyn's shop: beautiful things made in India, by people who know how to make them.

And now, one of those things could be on its way to you. If so, I wish you joy in using it to create something beautiful — and perfectly imperfect.