This treasured heirloom is a double sided shawl.

The vibrancy radiated through a clever use of asymmetrical patchwork is to communicate that nothing shines better than nature! Stripes, boxes, rectangles of Eri Silk dyed with tea leaves, cow dung, turmeric & walnut with pashmina fit into each other like each other’s missing pieces! Many textures reveal through each different interaction with natural dye source. How soft or how coarse the texture appears is directly proportional to its hand spinning skill as well as relationship with nature’s alchemy!

Hundreds of tiny strips and boxes align themselves to be called out. An animation begins in the recesses of my head. I see each of these pieces meticulously fit themselves into each other. In a stop motion, they move in perfect unison segregating themselves. No calculation, no real maths, no perfect alignments, shapes and sizes. Before they begin to be stitched together, they have already joined themselves in my mind. I see the patchwork clear in my head so many times before it appears in tactile form.

Gurmel, our tailor stitches each patch with keen precision.

The other side is hand spun, beautifully textured Muga ghicha woven on throw shuttle loom. Muga ghicha is the name of a precious yarn made from the hand-reeling residues of a rare wild silk of Assam called Muga. The slubby nature of this yarn gives an opportunity to create diversity of textures highlighting the imperfections of a hand spun ghicha yarn. When woven on throw shuttle loom, the texture achieved is regal, timeless and earthy.

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Tesoro is one of a kind textile designed to highlight a unique coming together of various techniques and creativity of handcraft. This design will not be recreated.