Saris, kurtas, bags, bed sheets, cushion covers, aprons…shoppers will be spoilt for choice at an exhibition-cum-sale at Women’s Club, Kowdiar. Christy Jobin, the woman behind the exhibition is all smiles. The products that are up for sale are all based on her designs.
A graduate in fashion from Mangalore University, Christy provides the group of women weavers she is working with the colour, weaves and designs to be used for each product. Christy runs Looms and Weaves, a designer store in the city. Although her focus was on home furnishings at the start of her venture, Christy has expanded her kitty to include saris, kurtas and dress materials.
Saris, she says, are the highlight of the exhibition at Women’s Club. She has handloom saris from across Kerala, especially from the Malabar region. “The exhibition is to promote and introduce the rich handloom heritage of Kerala to customers. We have designer saris from Payyannur, Kannur, Kozhikode, Kuthampully, Chendamangalam and Balaramapuram. Saris tend to vary from region to region. For instance, checks and stripes with small buttas are a trademark in Payyannur khadi saris, whereas stripes and small buttas are popular in Kannur’s range of handloom saris. Weavers in Kasaragod focus on the borders when designing their saris; the borders have buttas and checks,” says Christy.
Christy, who has worked with Hantex, has introduced slight variations to the traditional kasavu Kerala saris. “I have used coloured thread designs inside the kasavu borders, for instance.”
While the prices for Kerala kasavu saris start from Rs. 960, the saris from Kannur start from Rs. 1,040 and those from Payyannur at Rs. 1,495.
The sale also offers a range of bags, right from mobile pouches to conference bags and home linen, right from table clothes to bed sheets.
