EthnicShack: Patachitra Collection

Loveknits collaborated with an amazing brand. We loved their simplicity and the idea. Loveknits is proud to be a part of their journey…

Check out products by Ethnic Shack on out site loveknits.org

What do they do?

At Ethnic Shack, we design eco-friendly, quirky and healthy fashion and lifestyle products inspired by traditional arts and crafts. Our mission is to bring back traditional arts and crafts products to the mainstream Fashion and Lifestyle. We want to tell the world that arts and crafts based products are not boring, they could be equally interesting, convenient, cool and economical. We believe in creating a perfect balance between the Traditional and Modern ways. As they say, Balance is the key to Life. At EthnicShack, the best of the Indian crafts are put together with contemporary silhouettes with the best of fabrics and original styles to create something unique and fresh each time.

How do they do it?

It is all about blending Quirky with Crafts. Each collection starts with a deep thought process and research. The challenge is always to blend the authentic crafts with quirky and fun designs, prints, cuts etc. and present the same in a ‘Never Seen Before’ manner. A heart to heart conversation with the artisans, and attempt to understand their capabilities and skills is something that we focus on initially. The next steps are to make use of their skills, without affecting their originality, and add the right touches of fresh elements. Also, the themes and the kind of prints, fabrics, patterns etc. are something that varies from collection to collection, very much depending on the trends, demands and functional aspects of the products.

Why Patachitra as an art form?

We stumbled upon this art form, on our quest to find something that needed attention. Something that is unique and untouched. And we started talking to the Chitrakars to understand their art better. During this process we discovered that though the artisans knew the art really well they were not aware of the present market needs. They were also not very flexible to change their canvas and color sensibilities. This seemed to be a challenge that we were ready to take on. For our Patachitra Collection, we worked with the master artisans very closely to understand the USP’s of the art. We understood the roots of the art form, how it evolved and where is it right now. We also researched the current market needs and trends. Based on all of these we came up with a blueprint of what we wanted to develop, on what colors and what motifs. We put together a few elements that fit in the market needs & trends and at the same time had strong flavor of Patachitra. Creating an amalgam of a few key components, which are really important in the Art form, but can look contemporary at the same time. We broke down the entire story into smaller components that could be embedded into the product line. For example; we just picked the feather of Garura bird (Famous in Ramayana), to portray jacket look in a 100% Cotton T-shirt. We picked Tribal musical Instruments to paint them on Dupattas. Or, using just one Motif of fish, worked on a 3D looking Saree.

This whole idea behind what they do is exactly what we want to bring into your life. Handcrafted products have a certain life in them, these are creations an expression of an artisan. It is more than just a painting. The intricacy, the colors, forms and designs make it something that everybody would want to celebrate.

Hope you like it!

Fish Tree of Life