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It's all about the pillows...


I love pillows…

I love their coziness, their luxurious voluptuousness and the possibilities of beauty and comfort they provide. It may have to do with the word “pillow” itself…what do you think of when you hear it? Big, soft, fluffy pillows piled on top of your bed; piles of gorgeous pillows in fabulous colours and textures on a deep-seated sofa…perfect for reading or napping on a cold, rainy day. Or perhaps it is the pillowy hug from the woman you love or the mother who held you when you were tired or sad.

Wherever you find the word “pillow” it is usually associated with comfort. I have always carried my pillow (or “pullump”, as the five-year-old Aussie kid in me says) on any trip, be it a short road trip or a fifteen hour flight across the Pacific Ocean.

As a little girl, when my dad would come home from work he would call out “get your pullump Christine, we’re going to Queensland!” Oh the heaven of it! A huge pile of pillows and blankets in the back of the van and a thousand mile drive ahead of us. Too bad I had to share it with my two little brothers - but that’s another story.

Then there was the bliss of being wrapped in the loving, pillowy bosom of my nanna when we finally arrived in Queensland and climbing into a bed that was encircled by a "romantic” mosquito net and made up in clean, white, cotton sheets and pillows. One of my daughter’s few memories of my dad includes bringing her pullump into bed with him and nanna for a morning snuggle.

I have this huge collection of of gorgeous fabric and vintage blankets that just keeps expanding; spilling off the shelves, into drawers, out of drawers; piling up in corners…

So when I asked myself the question “what do I want to do?” I thought…”I want to make pillows.” I will make beautiful pillows to make people happy.

Monday 4 March 2013

Beautiful stories and beautiful pictures.


Sometimes I can be drawn into a story by just one image, or sometimes it is even a word. This week is was the word Aalamwaar and the story is Aalamwaar Textiles. I am going to quote from the website here as they can explain their work better than I can.



"AALAMWAAR TEXTILES is a social enterprise that specializes in handmade clothing and home furnishings. Aalamwaar's priority is to preserve, document, sustain and promote traditional textile-making techniques in India. By employing grass-roots artisans, Aalamwaar aims to create livelihood for indigenous craftspeople and their families as well as to preserve hand-dyeing, hand-block printing, hand weaving and fabric-painting arts in India. Aalamwaar uses only natural fabrics, which are carefully sourced from NGOs and small producers throughout India. Empowering women by teaching them skills is one of our objectives" 

This beautiful word Aalamwaar has it's origins in the indigenous language of south India and has been synonymous with social enerprise in this family for many generations.Viji Reddy and her sister Archita Reddy are carrying the family tradition forward with the creation of Aalamwaar Textiles where their gorgeous textiles and accessories are made.  If you go to their beautiful website http://www.aalamwaar.com you can see for yourself what I am talking about.  

 I found this website through a wonderful blog called An Indian Summer"  http://anindiansummer-design.blogspot.ca and all the images shown here are theirs.

 

It seems such an obvious thing that we support businesses like this where so much is gained  by empowering people to not only use their expertise to support themselves and their family, but to share with us the riches of their traditions and their beautiful work.  Enjoy and pass along...

 Christine

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2 comments:

  1. Tami Rebekah5 March 2013 at 06:41

    love love love!! Those patterns would be just perfect in my home! Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. LLD8 March 2013 at 07:27

    The owners of Aalamwaar are as lovely as their product.
    They care about beauty, function and the world around them.
    Their goods are even more beautiful in person.
    You can't go wrong with these ladies.
    Leah Day

    ReplyDelete

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