About us

COMPANY OVERVIEW:

KALAMKAARI, an Indian Handloom Story- a brand started in 2010, with its base in

Dubai, caters to the textile connoisseurs and enthusiasts who are eager to know and

promote the rich textile crafts of India. Our store in Cochin, India, brings in the rarest of rare weaves to the region, exhibits National award-winning

Products, handcrafted jewellery, handicrafts and becomes an umbrella for brands to

bringing in their products and exhibit in the city, thereby promoting different crafts and techniques of each region.


Why Kalamkaari?

KALAMKAARI, being a Handloom Brand, running for the last 10 years, the trust and the

loyalty that we have gained remains the key factor. With a lot of market study and direct

involvement in the Handloom sector, we are the only Brand in the city who closely work

with the artisans, this enables clientele to keep watch of the sustainable weaves and products that they long for. In the past decade, we have been involved in 40+ clusters and 200+ artisans, which has been a life changing experience for both.

OUR VISION:

Kalamkaari believes to be the bridge between the artisan and the buyer in stream ling each craft, with slight design interventions, believes to bring work to the loom all year round. We believe a weaver artisan or craft maker is the ultimate designer, bringing slight design and business interventions we believe brings sustainability and promotions to different craft form. We believe in #knowyourpurchase. Each garment/ product narrates a story in itself, knowing or understanding each weave, garment or product helps treasuring the story behind and thereby owning it with pride. We envision craft to be appreciated with utmost love and sustainability being the fashion forward.

BRAND aesthetics

Kalamkaari, an Indian Handloom story, aims to bring in different hand made products and handlooms to the forefront and sustainability in everything we deal with. Slow fashion and understated elegance is our Brand aesthetics which are unique and artisanal. 

OUR COLLECTIONS

Working with different clusters and artisans at a time, we are not into bulk production. Each handmade product along with its charm comes with a lot of trial & error, depends on climatic conditions, availability of raw materials and so on. So as opposed to usual run-off the mill kind, we will not have more than 2-3 pieces of the same, color changes etc.

THE KERALA KAITHARI PROJECT

Among the many weaves and crafts that we work on, the one closest to our heart is the one from our native region- the Kaithari Kasavu sarees. Ever since we decided to work with the craftsmen in the grassroot level to know and nurture the craft, we have been part of one of the clusters in Kerala- the Kuthampully kaithari cluster. Kerala’ weaving tradition revolves around 3 main clusters- Balaramapuram kaithari, Kuthampully and Chendamangalam kaithari. There are few others in Northern Kerala but the main weaving happens in the above three clusters and are known for their ‘kasavu sarees’. 

Kuthampully a village in Thiruvilwamala of Thrissur district, which is around 50kms from town is known for their kasavu sarees, set-mund, mund-veshti, kaavi mund, thorthu and a lot more. The village welcomes you with the rhythmic musical sound of the working of the looms. Our association with the weavers of Kuthampully is more than 5 years old. 

The Kerala Kaithari Project aims to bring life and work to the loom all year around. As kasavu sales revolve around seasonal business of Onam, Vishu and festivals, the loom remains dead during the others and skilled craftsmen thus move to different genres of work. Inorder to bring work to the loom all year around, we introduced colors to kasavu, different new motifs, got inspiration from different other weaves of the country, coordinated masterweavers of different other weaves like Chanderi and such with the skills of Kuthampilly and introduced various new takes of kasavu on the loom. We can proudly say- kalli kasavu, tree of life, colors in kasavu, introduction of pastel shades, korvai technique, Pichwai painting on kasavu, lambani tribal embroidery on kasavu and such are a few to mention. 

The weavers of Kuthampully are hardworking and accept new interventions with open arms. Our association has brought in new generation to business rather than moving out to other sectors, who happily endorse and bring up their age-old weaving practices back. 

All they need is your support and cooperation in developing interest in our crafts and owning them.