Metro Plus
Chennai
Hyderabad
Creating an ethnic statement
|
Using hand spun yarn and natural dyes, Bina and K.S. Rao have created handlooms and handcrafted fabrics through their design studio Creative Bee.
|
Photos: Mohd Yousuf
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT: The Raos have worked extensively on this.
CREATIVE BEE is a design studio with a difference where hand-woven and handcrafted fabrics are created. Located in a rather non-descript place, this studio is a hotspot for couturiers and celebs like Tarun Tahiliani, Anuradha Vakil, Gitanjali Kashyap, Payal Singhal, Shabana Azmi, Tabu and Mira Nair to name a few. The ikkat and silk furnishing fabrics of Creative Bee have graced the White House in Washington D.C.
The enterprise was established almost a decade ago by the Rao couple Bina and K.S. Rao as a textile studio catering to wholesale merchandise. It is only recently that a `retail outlet' has been opened in 109 Kochar Apartments, Begumpet (tel: 7762857).
Enter the apartment and you will find rooms with handlooms, tussars and blended fabrics, saris, dupattas, bed linen, durries and even furnishing fabrics - all in cotton and cotton blended with other fabrics. No synthetic figures in the blends. The volume of ethnic fabrics is amazing natural colours (on account of natural dyes) and play of textures, ethnic block prints and kalamkari remind you of the rich handloom tradition of the country. Bina and K.S. Rao are steeped in textiles - designing, dyeing and constantly involved in research. It has taken them almost a decade to reach the spot they are in today.Armed with a post graduation in Fine Arts from M.S. University of Baroda and a diploma in textiles from National Institute of Design (N.I.D.), Bina married K.S. Rao (from Andhra Pradesh), also a student at N.I.D. They settled down in Hyderabad in 1988 and set up Creative Bee. K. S. Rao is an expert in dyes and has upgraded the skill of natural dyeing. Since texture and colour was their forte, they started with a few looms on a small scale.
Having a N.I.D. qualification helped Bina to be on the advisory panel of the State Government and Government of India for handlooms. She was also instrumental in the handloom development of Kalanjali and APCO. Research projects for the government helped in their sustenance and slowly through the money generated, they expanded the business. Once orders started pouring in there was no looking back. The business grew from strength to strength and the Rao's started supplying to upmarket stores in the country besides designers.
TRADITIONALLY HAUTE: Hand-woven weaves and blockprints of natural dyes are worth a look.
Their unit at Ghatkesar is involved in production and dyeing. Training programmes are conducted periodically for the weavers. Besides the weavers here, Creative Bee works with weavers from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.
"Utility value and design development are necessary for the survival of any craft," believes Bina.The secret of her fabrics lies in the yarn and colour - both of good quality. With variations in the usage of yarn, she plays over the textures. Given today's emphasis on environment-friendly materials, the Rao's use eco-friendly dyes - azo-free ones and natural dyes for printing.
The computer has helped the Rao's immensely in textile designing. Using various software, they have been able to produce the designs. Their expertise in indigo dyeing is strong. Kalamkari block prints have been used in a large way in saris - cotton, cotton-tissue blend, crepe, jamdani-Uppada, filichar (a fabric developed by them) and in dupattas. Some yarn changes have been made in the Chettinad saris and even ikkat. The Uppada-jamdani weaving was in a way rediscovered by Bina and worked upon by her. The end result - beautiful saris and dupattas. Old Kalamkari wall panels depicting the `tree of life' have been revitalised. The Rao's have been pretty anonymous - letting their work speak for them. The fabrics are great favourites with the designers because "of the yarn," according to Bina. Working in tribal areas and closely with weavers put Bina on to handmade yarn and this is what is used to produce her select pieces. There is no mass production.
COOL AND ETHNIC: Sport this waistcoat.
The Raos have experienced the pull between professionalism and commercialism and have chosen the former over the latter. "There is more joy in creating than merchandising," she says. As she has become popular in the circuit, her fabrics, durries, home linen, scarves and stoles figure in the exports.
Bina Rao turns designer when she is invited for fashion shows abroad. In the recently held `Colour Congress 2002' in the U.S., Bina showcased a line of garments based on natural dyes. Since her husband is an authority on indigo, she showed casual and evening Western silhouettes in indigo.
Starting from scratch, the Raos have worked their way up in design, manufacture, consultancy and merchandise. "I could prove that handlooms can be made qualitative and an influencing factor in fashion," she says. Her modesty is reflected in the fact that she still feels she has not achieved full success and wants Creative Bee to grow further.
RADHIKA RAJAMANI
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Chennai
Hyderabad
|
