Sew Gorgeous: Kala Koyree

Note: Blogger has had a multitude of problems this week. I had written this post earlier this week and it inexplicably vanished into cyberspace. Blogger reports that posts that vanished have been restored, complete with comments. But alas, this post appeared half-edited in my drafts, and the comments seem to be lost forever. But here it is, reposted the best I could manage. I am sad that of all posts, the one where I was talking about my sister's work had to be to one that ran into snags. I want to thank everyone who left encouraging comments. There were some comments which contained questions, and those are gone. But please contact my sister or me via e-mail if you have any questions. 

This post has no recipe but plenty of eye candy. Since Kashmira, my sister, has arrived, the dining table has been converted into an impromptu craft studio and the sewing machine has been humming overtime.

Until a few months ago, my sister was a finance analyst, working long stressful hours in a corporate environment for several years in Bangalore and London. While she enjoyed her job and was very good at it, she is a crafter at heart, and she yearned for more color, texture and creativity in life. She took a bold decision, to quit her job and start her own sewing business, designing and creating bags, garments and accessories.

Kashmira calls her fledgeling venture Kala Koyree. Kala is the word for art and koyree is the beloved paisley motif evoking the shape of the mango. Today, Kashmira has the joy of working with textiles and designs and colors all day long.

Our baby cousin Sanjyot (well, she's not such a baby any more, I suppose) used her graphics arts skills to help design a logo for the new business.

Here are some pictures of bags she has made. This one makes me smile every time I look at it, with its sunny hues.

Kashmira does beautiful patchwork (applique), using gorgeous Indian textiles. This bag features one of my favorite motifs, the mango. I love her eye for detail, like the deep green handles and the pretty lining. 

Kashmira made an array of kid-friendly totes, compact bags with enough space for all the little things that a child needs- books and a small toy, pencils, crayons, snacks.

This is another one of my favorites, a bag embellished with a set of colorful pencils.

Kashmira has an eye for making the best of her materials and minimizing waste. This is a good example where she used pieces of zippers left over from other projects.

After a few months of selling her crafts, Kashmira's problem (it is a good problem to have) is that she has more orders than she can sew and fulfill working on her own. Her dream is to be an entrepreneur and provide employment to other women with fair wages and safe working conditions. After all, a job and financial independence is the way to empowerment and a path out of poverty. 

Please support crafters like Kashmira who offer products that are alternatives to cheap mass-manufactured goods, that support traditional crafts with a contemporary look and where there is a potential for job formation with fair wages as the business grows. 

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If you like what you see, there are several ways to connect with Kala Koyree

Latest creations, updates and announcements

Kala Koyree's Facebook Page

Buy online

Kala Koyree's Etsy Store

Custom orders, questions, feedback and comments

Kala DOT Koyree AT gmail DOT com

Of course, you can always contact me at onehotstove AT gmail DOT com with any questions or comments.

In the next post, we will be back to regular programming involving food and recipe (and gratuitous dog pictures). But I sure hope you enjoyed this crafty foray into my sister's world.