When 26-year-old Aswitha P willingly models a pair of silver earrings for me, I give up all pretence of resisting and buy them for my daughter who is the same age. Aswitha and her husband Narendra M live in Madurai and they do not have a physical store. Most of their selling is done through pop ups such as this one and on Instagram and Facebook. “Our website is under construction,” she says.
From home and away
Narendra comes from a family of silver anklet makers and this is but an extension of his profession. “Jewellers from Rajasthan, Bengaluru and other places visit me and I pick and choose the ones I like. I also get pieces made from pictures of earrings or pendants,” says Aswitha. The necklaces, earrings, pendants and bangles are all pure silver, with some of them being gold plated. Aswitha also has a few pieces that are “Old, beautiful and one of their kind. I do not get them remade,” she says. The jewellery at her stall ranges between ₹3,000 and ₹30,000.
There is plenty of jewellery at the ‘Holiday Edit’ pop-up trunk show organised by Lime Soda. And it is nice to see friendly local faces holding their own with designers from bigger cities such as Mumbai or Delhi. Swarna Mitra is a young girl who has just chucked up her job at Amazon and decided to surround herself with pretty jewellery. She has a collection she calls Flaunt’em and the bangles especially are worth a second look, and a third. Swarna’s mom looks familiar and it turns out she is Jaya who does some great block printing from her home in RS Puram. Not to mention that the curator of the event is Coimbatorean Soundariya Anil now settled in Chennai.
Pure cotton and hand-woven fabrics including silks are designer-favourites for the season with Mayank Modi, Nandana of Linen Man, Sharad Sundar and more showing their range. Mention must be made of Amortela (it means threads of love, explains owner Tija). With gorgeous embroidery on cottons and interesting cuts, Amortela’s blouses/cropped tops and trousers are lovely. Tija’s clothes are all priced under ₹6, 000 she says. The silhouettes across the clothing stalls are flowy, non-fitted and comfortable looking. More and more people are looking at breathing fabrics that also look good, says Mayank, adding that convenience is another consideration. His outfits for women can effortlessly transition from being office wear to evening wear by just an addition of a shrug. His shirts for men are priced between ₹4,000 and ₹6, 000 and his women’s line between ₹5, 000 and ₹8, 000.
COIMBATORE, TAMIL NADU, 22/03/2019:(for MetroPlus) Holiday edit by Lime Soda Pop Up at Brookefields mall in Coimbatore on Friday March 22, 2019. Photo: M. Periasamy.
The clothes are beautiful and plentiful but thankfully few will fit me and I safely move on to a stack of pillow cases and cushion covers. I ooh and aah over the butterflies on the pillowcases and the flamingoes on the kitchen napkins. Anitha R, also from the city, she has a collection of readymades, but her bed and kitchen linen is grab-worthy and ridiculously affordable.
Something smells of summer and it happens to be Sharon’s scrubs, lotions, creams and cleansers... all made, she assures me, from “finest natural produce”. Her line of skincare products is called Astrea and it is very very difficult not to indulge in them.
- The pop up is on today from 11.00 a m to 8.00 pm
- At Brookefields Banquet Hall (Above Kailash Parbat)
- Entry is free and valet parking is available
- Contact 9884039303
There are 52 stalls in all, Soundariya informs me, so do go and check them out. Make sure you take a look at the collection of pottery that is contemporary, quaint and charming all at once. “Beautiful Imperfections” is the tagline for the plates, plant holders and salad bowls and they come in matte and glossy finishes. They customise pottery for corporates, individuals for special occasions and as wedding giveaways. ta da, that is what they are called.
And oh yes! On your way out say hello to Miniatures (at the entrance of the pop up on the ground floor). They have the cutest collection of gift tags and you can pick up six tags for ₹50! (Miniatures is also a Coimbatore affair).
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