At Kalaa Collective, we believe that the hands doing the work, should be the same hands receiving the reward. Let’s face it, decor, interiors designing, fashion and associated industries it is rarely the case.
What factories could never make
We have been sold plastic made to look like stone, and sometimes wood. There an emptiness in our homes when nothing in it has been touched by a person who cared how it turned out. Somewhere along the way, absence got sold to us as minimalism.
India was never minimalist. Our inheritance is the maximalist beauty of Rajasthani motif, the kolam of Tamil Nadu, the flower carpets of Kerala, the ikat weaving of Odisha and cane craft from Assam .For generations we made what we used with our own hands. We had the material, the craft, and the taste to turn almost anything into something worth keeping.
We lit brass dia at dusk, cooked in brass, ate off kansa, stitched what we wore. The world studies and admires these Indian practices. We would like them to stay alive at home too.
We are working towards promoting made to order as a way of living for our community. Nothing is meant to sit in a warehouse, and nothing is made to be thrown away. We are mindful of the planet the way our grandmothers were, without ever needing a word for it: buy less, keep longer, repair before you replace.
In this modern world where everything feels modern, and shiny, we wish to bring to you pieces which will remind you of your roots, while they blend in with the life you have built today.
Made to be touched, made to be passed on
We want you to experience the touch of hand painted garment which took ten days to paint and four pairs of hands to make. We help you gift your loved ones gifts that carry the time someone gave it. It is the only kind of thing that becomes more valuable the longer it is used.
We are a small team, and every order still passes through our own hands: checked, wrapped, and sent with a note. We would like to keep it that way. What we are building is smaller and rarer than a big brand. It is a community. People who choose carefully, who know who made their things, and who look after each other a little in a world that mostly moves too fast to notice.
If that sounds like you, welcome home.