MAKING OF - THE SPRING TEXTILE COLLECTION

April 22, 2019

MAKING OF - THE SPRING TEXTILE COLLECTION

We can never get enough of light and airy cotton textiles! Where we lived in India, summers would get really hot and cotton would always come to the rescue. From bed linen and window drapes to our daily wear – everything would be refreshed with the arrival of Spring (which is more like summer in India. But, our love affair with cotton was anything but seasonal.

Our search for the best hand-woven cotton took us to a quaint riverside town in the very heart of India. It should be no surprise that the best cotton comes from this landlocked region that is also the worst impacted by heat. We’d heard that shops would bring down their shutters in the afternoon when the sun was most punishing and wondered - how bad can it be? It didn’t take very long for us to find out why, when we arrived there one August afternoon.

From the minute we stepped into this little town we knew we had come somewhere very special. On one side the muted sounds of the tide along the banks of the River Narmada mingled with the clickety-clack of the weavers’ looms on the other side, echoing its very heartbeat. The traditional wooden loom was in every home, and every home housed a warm and welcoming artisan family that had been weaving for generations.

This is where we met Girija. The master weaver sat at her loom, surrounded by colorful threads. We watched in awe as her hands moved so quickly making the complex technique seem almost effortless. With a quick glace and a warm smile, she invited us to sit beside her and try our hand at the loom. She shared stories of her life, her happiness in being able to send her daughter to school, and her love for the craft that she hopes to see live on through her daughter.

She showed us how the locally harvested cotton is hand-spun into threads. The threads are then wound onto the loom and woven into the finest fabric. Unlike other parts of India where woven motifs are dominant, the weavers of this region specialize in geometric and linear patterns. We can’t be more excited to share this collection of incredibly soft cotton textiles with you. For they not only weave into our modern homes and lives the wonderful stories of the artisan families but also helps support them somewhere in a remote corner of India.

The Spring Textiles are available here !

The village square surrounded by little homes and workshops where the textile is woven, by Ginger Sparrow, a modern handcrafted home decor brand. The Neighborhood where the Textiles are woven.

The motifs with chalk paint on the walls on the artisan homes. The motifs on the walls of the village homes, painted in chalk and a considered a good omen.

the threads that were used to study the color palette for Ginger Sparrow's, Spring Textile Collection. Ginger Sparrow is a modern handcrafted home decor brand. Experimenting with the color palette for the Spring Textile Collection.

Bundles of cotton threads drying in the shade after they have been dyed into the colors for the Spring Textile Collection, by Ginger Sparrow, a modern handcrafted home decor brand. The thread bundles drying in the shade after they have been dyed into the colors for the collection.

The design draft for the warp of the Spring Textiles by Ginger Sparrow, a modern handcrafted home decor brand. The weaving design drafted out to prepare the loom for weaving.

Girija the master weaver, weaving the Spring Textile Collection by Ginger Sparrow, a modern handcrafted home decor brand. Girija, the master weaver at her loom, giving us a smile as she weaves the Spring Collection.

The workshop in the neighborhood where the textile is finished and gets ready to ship the Ginger Sparrow warehouse. Ginger Sparrow is a modern handcrafted home decor brand. The courtyard at the workshop where the textile is given its final finishing touches before heading out on its journey to our homes.