Rashmi Singh doesn’t think of herself as a designer. She would much rather be known as someone who finds sustainable, problem-solving solutions to help the Indian craft sector. “Artisans have perfected their traditional techniques, but they don’t pay attention to the finesse of a product — to meet today’s exacting standards,” rues the Bengaluru-based NID graduate. In late 2014, she decided to tackle this with her initiative, Studio Moya. But as the 38-year-old admits, it took her almost two years to train the artisans and set things rolling. With products currently available on her online store, she is working towards creating a lifestyle around crafts.
“The idea is to cross-pollinate techniques, and combine them with modern inspirations and ways of manufacturing,” says Singh, explaining that a recent successful experiment involved creating wooden blocks with motifs taken from Madhubani paintings and hand-blocking on denim. “It was a new interpretation that used familiar crafts but resulted in a unique product for the consumer,” she adds.
Backing the bag
Having grown up in a middle-class family in Bihar, Singh reveals she had gone the corporate route initially (working with menswear brands like Louis Philippe). But five years in, she decided to quit and follow her passion: working with crafts. A project with an NGO in Hyderabad brought her in contact with the 200-year-old artform of shadow puppetry, Tholu Bommalata. “The artists had already diversified into making lamps, but I saw the potential to refine the process and expand into bags, shoes and more. However, I soon realised the leather was a challenge — the goat skin is hand-treated, so it is stiff enough to draw on. But that meant it tore when stitched with a machine and got dirty really fast,” she recalls. She spent months reading up, researching and experimenting to create a lacquer to treat the leather with and a machine that could work the skin efficiently into the various shapes she wanted — from clutches and totes to lamp shades and jewellery.
Of course, the products come with a twist, too. “I’ve taken the fine lines and detailed artwork of Madhubani and combined them with Tholu’s goddess themes, and flora and fauna. The final pieces are then painted by Tholu artists (as Brahmin Madhubani painters refuse to touch leather), making it one of its kind,” she explains. Another experiment is her Laal Paad saris woven in Kolkata, which combine two different weaving techniques to create cotton saris with silk borders, a velvety finish and a more concentrated colour.
Playing with the template
However, Singh confesses that her innovations often meet road blocks. Like convincing the artisans to try something new. “With the current ‘craft buzz’, they are getting a lot of work in what they already do. So getting them to experiment is very challenging,” she shares. But the designer isn’t letting that stop her from merging more techniques. She is presently working with Channapatna and Tholu artists to create a new home décor collection. Also in the pipeline is a block-printed, fabric-based line of lamps shades, for people who are anti-leather. Speaking about her long-term plans, she confesses her dream is to design something like Ikea’s signature furniture. “I want to create pieces using craft techniques, but that come in parts, so you can assemble them at home,” she concludes.
A festive collection of bags, jewellery and accessories is out now, starting from ₹500 onwards, on studiomoya.in