Do you get high on words like ‘Cool Banaras Cottons’, ‘Handblock Printed Anarkali’, ‘Semi Stitched Suits in Handwoven Chanderi with delicate embroideries and Lace Finishing’, Banarasi Munga Silk Kurtas with Kadhwa Meenakari Bootis and Chanderi Silk Dupattas’, ‘Innovative Banarasi Bandhej Dupatta’, ‘Meenakari Kadhwa Banarasi Saree with a rich Kadhiyal Border and Pallu’? Then you definitely will love to check out some of the rich handlooms fare that makes up the summer collection at WeaversStory.com, an online venture by Nishant Mehlohtra.
Nishant was working in the corporate sector but chose to give it up to revive the dying art of weaving and help weavers in his hometown of Benares improve their earnings without quitting their age-old skills. He realised that though many women were looking for authentic handlooms with a contemporary spin on social media, there was not much available that appealed to modern tastes. And so he says, “I felt there is a possible mismatch of demand and supply, and decided to help weavers reach out directly to buyers with newer colour schemes, curated designs and better priced yet high fashion weaves so that both could benefit from the association. Which culminated to the birth of WeaverStory.com, as an attempt to bring the best-handcrafted products to end users directly from the chosen craftsmen of India.”
Some of the most popular summer hand woven and handcrafted textiles are…
Chanderi is a traditional ethnic fabric characterized by its lightweight, sheer texture and fine luxurious feel. Chanderi fabric is produced by weaving in silk and golden zari in the traditional cotton yarn which results in the creation of the shimmering texture.
Banarasi Khadi Georgette is globally acclaimed for its rich use of zari and beautiful dyes. The saree comes with traditional creeper design zari border and simple pallu.
Bandhej Saree is especially found in Rajasthan and Gujrat. The name Bandhani means tying up, as it is taken by Hindu pronoun Bandhan. The fine varieties of these sarees are created in Mandavi, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Ajmer, Bikaner etc
Weaver Story has been focusing on a variety of weaves, and reviving designs from museums and private heritage pieces and working with weavers themselves. They have also been developing new & old motifs, patterns to suit the contemporary audiences so as to encourage them to wear saris daily. By directly working with weavers and their cooperatives in various states and shortening the sales cycle, they help weavers get more and instant value for their produce. A softer side to its approach is that it works with families of its weavers and helps them with skill education through workshops like saree finishing, tassels making, to help them become financially secure. Our idea is to make the handloom more accessible through online and offline and bring in economies of scale so that more and more people have access to the art form, informs Nishant.
