What prettiness!

Happy I am :-).... And that, too, on a Monday! The whole week lies ahead of me and today has been a good start to it. Home and hearth are two of my favourite words from a list of favourites. Anything to do about home,of decor ideas and tips, of colours, motivate me; make me feel so happy. A month ago I had visited an exhibition by the Hundred Hands. Amongst many lovely decorative items, I came across this unassuming stall belonging to a man from Saharanpur. I got talking to him as his stall was almost empty at that time. Seeing me examine the intricately carved wooden combs, he started talking about them. He pulled out a piece from among the heap and showed me how the two sides of the comb had two different patterns on the same panel! This was rather interesting! I would have loved to show you what he meant,but, unfortunately, I have framed it and hence, the other side cannot be viewed.Probably I should have bought two of this type! He rattled off stories about the queens of those days; with their long hair flowing down their back! Such stories always intrigue me. Rapunzel and her lovely lock! Stories from our history, the queens, their thick black mass of curly hair and what not! He must have known that! Well, I am joking! :-D..In between, a customer came in to his stall, a foreigner, who seemed to be a regular with his wares. The man was reluctant to let go of me so he asked me to wait for a while as he dealt with this lady. I kept toying around with the stunningly pretty combs. My intention initially was to buy a wooden comb for my son. He has been after me to buy him one or at least give him the one that I have been using for a couple of years now. He has quite a 'hair' story that literally drives us up the wall! And I mean it! So, this was my intention to buy my son a wooden comb. The man,once again, turned his attention towards me.He took a lot of interest in pulling out piece after piece from the chestnut coloured pile. Pretty, each of them was, for sure! First I chose one and then good sense prevailed over me. I decided to pick up two instead...one for the boy and the other for myself.I can tell you that the husband would have been aghast at my decision!Most often,he is! (Thank God! He wasn't there with me.) Selecting the two pieces was quite a task. Each one vied for attention but finally I decided on the two.
The two beauties came home with me that day. They remained lying for some time. I found it too difficult to part with either of them. So the son could not get his. I refused to use these as hair brush. They were, too, too, lovely to be used for the mortals' hair! And then I remembered my blogger friend Padmamanasa's post....  http://fortheloveofsunshinecorners.blogspot.in/2014/08/life-is-what-you-make-it.html....... A borrowed idea, no doubt, but the out come has been superb! Choosing the frame, the background,etc,etc, was fun and exciting. The frame shop has done a very good job with my two pretties! Would you want to see them ? I am sure you'll like them in their new avatar :-)...
The curtain is raised now and here you go! Do share your thoughts on them here on the blog. I would love to hear from you :-).....

The 'comb' story.....

I find it pretty!

A pair of them here... :-)

in all it's glory........

Such intricately done!

love,love,love.......

Gorgeous,aren't they?

Kale Nele.....where creativity and prettiness meet each other

It's been a while now  and I have been busy with new projects at the home front and travelling. This has been keeping me so occupied that even though I thought about this post, I could not make time to put it together. A few months ago,I visited a pretty place. Well, I would like to call it pretty as it was truly a pretty picture that was etched in my mind. A little workshop in the by lanes of our big city; but had creativity in abundance. The owner and the brain behind it, Jahnavi, is a warm person whom I met for the first time.

Colourfully beautiful and artistic is what I would call the place and its wares. And that is Kale Nele, a house of arts dealing with lifestyle products made out of traditional fabrics of namma Karnataka. It was here that I got to know the name of the fabric that is a speciality of the Hubli-Dharwad region. Khunn, as it is called by the locals, is so pretty and vibrant in both colour and texture. I remember during my early days in Mysore, when we had just moved into this peaceful and green city, I would often be invited by neighbours and local friends for pujas at their places. They would call these 'haldi-kumkum' and would present us with savouries, sweets, betel nuts, coconuts and a pretty choli piece. And this would be of the local fabric,Khunn. I loved these! They were embroidered in traditional stitches called 'kasuti'. I wasn't aware of these bits of information those days. But they came in pretty colours. Janhavi obliged readily when I wanted some information on 'khunn' and her brand. Gorgeous panels of 'kasuti' are utilized in creating lovely pieces at her workshop. These intricately embroidered pieces are made into table and bed runners, cushion covers,stoles, totes, table mats and coasters and napkins and many more! The list goes on and as I rummaged through her collections, I was transported into a happy world that had colours and more of colours! And who would not be! Each piece of creation looked better than the other. I found it so difficult to choose from the wide array of these stunningly beautiful things! Well, did I mention the torans and the mobiles with pretty cowbells and the Christmas decorations? Even the little kitchenette was stocked with mason jars full of colourful beads and buttons and laces. It was delightful to see the colourful glass bottles that looked so much like the ones full of candies! The child in me wanted to carry these home,too. A few of the colour laden intricately embroidered cushions on the sofa and behold! The entire look of the room gets an instant uplift ! What I loved best was the tiny 'gubbi' cushion. Gubbi is a Kannada word and means sparrows. Earlier, these gubbis were made out of fabric. They were then hung up in the cribs of babies. The colours and tinkling of the tiny bells attached to the gubbis would keep the babies entertained while the mothers completed their work. Fascinating, isn't it? I loved listening to these anecdotes with a cup of green tea prepared by Janhavi. Well, she is a superb host,too! Each creation came along with some interesting information or a lovable anecdote. Rolls of 'khunn' fabric in the prettiest of colours, racks full of cushion covers, table mat sets complete with runners and napkins, tissue box covers, bed spreads, stoles, bags to list a few, filled the place with so much colour; and Janhavi's stories about this dying form of art along with the wares. Together, they made the place so full of creativity. I am so happy to have found Nele Kale :-).... 

Here are a few images from Kale Nele and my home with a few of the things I have bought from them. This place now has become my one stop destination for gifts to family and friends. With such pretty things around, I could not help writing this post and sharing Kale Nele with all of you..... :-D.....Hope you enjoy looking at the pretty things as much as I did! I would love to hear your thought about these . Kale Nele has a Facebook page. So check it out right here.....https://www.facebook.com/KaleNele
Well, while I end this colourful post, I must not forget to mention The East Coast Desi, another wonderful blog. It was through this blog that I got to know about Kale Nele and after seeing the gorgeous cushion covers there, I made an instant dash to this beautiful place. Here is the link to The East Coast Desi's post....http://theeastcoastdesi.blogspot.in/2014/10/revival-of-fading-handloom-tradition.html

There goes the tissue box cover. A plain paper box ,too, can look so pretty!

And I am totally bowled over by these runners!

gorgeous colours and intricately embroidered cushion covers......

This is my favourite photograph!

I could not take my eyes off this bed runner set!

And these are for chai lovers like us!! Coasters on the roll!

'kasuti'......What intricacy!

I love these! Beads and buttons stored like candies and toffees!

Some more of beads and bells and accessories!

Brocades, Chanderis, Khunn....they all go hand in hand......

What prettiness!

Kale Nele with us now.... :-)

some for our home...........

from our home again.........

There comes my little 'gubbi' cushion! A gift from Janhavi :-)