CraftWorks, an artisanal bazaar was hosted at Maquinez Palace from August 23-25 aimed at promoting handmade products and empowering women to get creative
CraftWorks, an artisanal bazaar is a craft fair curated by Aira Mirchandani and Monica Dalvi. Starting with this initiative in 2018, Aira and Monica intended to bring together women and artisans across all age groups and from different walks of life, with one thing in common – a passion for art, love for handmade and skills in creativity. This is a platform for women to showcase their talent and all the hard work that they have put in to create these products.
In November of 2018, CraftsWork was initiated was an exhibition dedicated especially to handicrafts, but their most recent one held in August was especially for hand-made accessories.
The exhibition featured around 15 different artists from in and around Goa. These artisans are talented, creative and driven, with a few non-profit organisations also participating in the venture, each with a signature style of creating and a variety of unique mediums.
Monica Dalvi makes several items in fabric, here one can also find crochet jewellery with intricate work, besides, bookmarks and coasters. Items made from fabric like bibs, booties and soft toys, wine bottle gift bags, etc can also be found.
Aira works with a number of different materials including felt, leather and hemp. Her work is partly made from old scraps of fabric and leather or tailor-made with new materials. From ornaments, keychains, bracelets and earrings to bags and purses, Aira does it all, using some various interesting techniques like ribbon embroidery and even Japanese Kumihimo.
Saee Tushar under her brand Heartfelt makes the most delightful miniature ornaments and jewellery all using polymer clay and hand moulded while Savitri Shirodkar makes some of the most dainty earrings using paper coated with varnish.
Olinda Santos sows some handy vanity pouches, hand-bags and mobile cases out of her sheer passion for the craft and markets them when she has an opportunity. Often accompanied by Olinda is her friend Emy Fernandes, a craftswoman specializing in handmade wedding floral arrangements, who interestingly works with fish scales to create hairpins and ornaments in a manner that takes a lot of time and needs skill and patience.
Some interesting additions this time around were artist Meghan Salgankar based in Sawantwadi, well-versed in the art of enamelling with some stunning jewellery in silver, copper and other metals; and Lavita Nazare a Goan decor artist whose expertise lies in sculpting and muralling, showcasing some of her incredibly detailed work through her jewellery pieces.
The exhibition also featured products made by members of the National Association for the Blind; Josephine, Tessy and Joseph from the visually impaired community. The products showcased were crocheted and knitted scarves and beanies and handmade paper bags.
At a time where environmental consciousness is of utmost importance, upcycling is one of the best and most innovative approaches to reusing old resources. The exhibition had several artists who displayed 100% upcycled or recycled products and worked with environmentally friendly materials. “The ‘best out of waste’ model is only effective when people make products worth buying that will truly make their way up the cycle instead of going down the drain. The aim is to make wealth out of waste and not produce more waste in the bargain,” Aira believes. Most of the work is of great quality, economically priced and make ideal gifting options too.
Starting with this initiative in 2018, Aira and Monica intended to bring together women and artisans across all age groups and from different walks of life, with one thing in common – a passion for art, love for handmade and skills in creativity
Two artisans who especially embodied this mission were Joscia Coutinho, working predominantly with old donated or thrifted denim scraps and selling a range of products like bags, jackets and t-shirts under her brand Ecosia and Kamakshi Shenoy creating upcycled earrings and necklaces made from plastic and paper waste including old soapboxes and water bottles.
CraftWorks is definitely an initiative to look out for any arts and crafts enthusiasts out there or simply those looking for custom hand-made jewellery or handicraft pieces that are captivating, affordable and eco-friendly
