Having an acquaintance with the Kalamkari form for over a decade, US-based photo stylist Mary Bergtold has introduced the beauty of this Indian art form to many countries across Europe, Australia and Africa. Her experiment on printing of traditional designs on white fabric has yielded results in capturing market for Kalamkari works.
“Renowned interior designers Tom Scherer, Nicky Kehoe, Ashley Whittker, Peter Marino and White House decorator M.S. Smith are very fond of Pedana style of Kalamkari products. The UK-based customers are connecting easily to the designs, given their historical link with India,” said Ms. Bergtold.
Speaking to The Hindu during her recent visit to Pedana, Ms. Bergtold opined that people who had an eye on the richness of the Indian textile designs would prefer Kalamkari products. Ms. Bergtold began her journey with Kalamkari art after she received huge response to a feature on the Indian textiles, feature in Victoria magazine in 2,000.
She was the photo stylist for the feature. “I have learnt about Kalamkari art through P. Srinivas, an artisan of Syamala Arts and Crafts (SAC), Pedana ,” she added. She runs a website https://lesindiennes.com, dedicated it to Kalamkari products which are in good demand in USA, UK, Italy, Australia and South Africa. Expressing concern on protection of Intellectual Property Rights, Ms. Bergtold complains that many designers are copying the Kalamkar designs, making the real artisans to loose market. “I visit Pedana every year and work with the rural artisans, whose work is really reaching beyond their imagination. Exploring the secrets of making of natural colours is an important task of my visit to Pedana,” added Ms. Bergtold.
She has plans to promote Pedana handloom fabric which was applied for Indian Handloom Brand by the SAC.
The UK-based customers are connecting easily to the designs, given their historical link with India
- Mary Bergtold,US-based photo stylist
