Bags designed from tailoring waste, clay jewellery, antiques and collectibles, cakes and savouries, pop art home decor from recycled wood, organic wear, homemade oil, and designer clothing. All handmade, all crafted by talented artistes. Leela Bazaar, an exhibition, which begins today, brings these talented artistes under one roof. “It is a forum to promote any form of art and craft. Those who are putting up their stalls don’t run a huge enterprise and do their business either online or by word-of-mouth publicity. Leela Bazaar gives them an opportunity to sell their products and take home the profit. It will be a fair deal, both for the seller and the buyer,” says Latha Kurien Rajeev, who has curated the event. Latha is also showcasing her designer wear collection Labour of Love at the fair. MetroPlus catches up with a few participants of the event. The fair is at Women’s Club, Kowdiar till November 22. Time: 10.30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Rags to designs
Tailoring waste that Radha Gomaty collects from various boutiques gets a makeover to become stylish bags. A visual artist and poet, Radha runs Sangmitra from a non-descript house off Cherthala. In Radha’s words, “We are a small upbeat all-women ‘upcycling’ initiative. I do the rag picking and designing and there are two tailors and one cutter.” A blend of fashion and recycling takes place at Sangmitra with the waste going through multiple levels of sorting, based on the quality, functionality, and colour. Radha is bringing her collection of fancy bags, jholas, travel bags, Asian tote, mini purses, mobile pouches, large pleated bags, fish purses and the like, some of which are gift options as well to the fair. Custom-made bags that bear the name of the designer is an attraction. For example, there is a ‘Sreejith messenger bag’ and a ‘Sameera bag’, named after two of her students who suggested the designs. The bags cost between Rs. 69 and Rs. 330.
Date with the past
“I strongly believe that by procuring an antique product I am preserving it for posterity,” says Jose, who is looking forward to the first ever exhibition of his Pauranic Antiques. He has been collecting antiques for the last 20 years. “I don’t claim to own an expensive antique or curio. I don’t have a shop and Pauranic Antiques is just a brand name that I use. What primarily attracts me to a product is the purpose it served, so that I can share that information with a new generation. There are a lot of antique collectors in the city and I am hoping to form an antique auction club that will be a common platform for the collectors,” says Jose, who is a mechanic as well. He plans to exhibit brass ware and porcelain designer plates, cut glass bottles and cameras. “There is a huge vessel made of bell metal that weighs 35 kg. I also have a vessel made of zinc and lead in 10:1 ratio in which rasam was prepared in ancient times. It is believed that the curry would remain fresh for many days in that vessel,” he says.
Quirky collection
Indu Sathyendran’s eclectic collection includes decopage coasters, trays and boxes made of recycled wood, under the name Quirkyi. She calls her collection purely personal. “It started as a hobby and has elements that I love, such as the flower from my garden, the elephant we have, and a lot of aspects of Thiruvananthapuram, a city that I love,” says Indu, a conservation architect and photographer. The products are made of waste teak wood that is recycled and hand painted with lots of colour, for she “is a colour fanatic”. She calls the designs Malayali or Kerala kitsch. For example, instead of a Rajinikanth or an Amitabh Bachchan, she has opted for Suresh Gopi in one of the products, for “he lives in Thiruvananthapuram and is a great sport. Then there are Malayali typos such as ‘Chaaya kadi’.”
For the foodies
For Sara Eapen and daughter Divya Eapen, baking has never been a commercial venture. They made cakes on order for their friends and relatives. “So, we are looking forward to our first ever exhibition,” says Divya, who runs a BPO. While carrot cake is a speciality of Sammara, they also make savouries, sandwiches and brownies. At the fair, you can buy brownies, cupcakes, sandwiches, and much more. “Depending on the crowd, we will be keeping tarts, both fudge and cheese-corn based,” Divya says.
Terracotta fare
Manjusha, a homemaker from Palakkad, fell for terracotta some seven years ago. Today, she runs Jewels of Clay, an online venture that stands out for its exquisite terracotta jewellery. “I want people to know what is real terracotta. Much of what is being sold as terracotta is actually air dried clay or polymer clay, which is quite easy to make whereas we go through the laborious process of collecting the clay from paddy field, sieving it, and blending it to a fine paste before it is put in the kiln,” she says. She employs three women belonging to the Kumbharan community who are traditionally into pottery making. Manjusha will showcase natural and coloured terracotta jewellery, which cost between Rs. 100 and Rs. 800.
