Vicky and Jo's trip to India

How quickly a year has gone by – time again to make our annual trip to Rajasthan. It seemed strange leaving such hot weather behind us but glad that England was having a bit of an Indian summer at last. Arriving in Delhi brought the familiar sounds of horns beeping and humid heat to welcome us

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We had meetings with our jewellery suppliers Tara Project and had a fun day stringing beads along side the sample makers. It was great to have almost instant pieces made before our eyes – and to work on the new colour selection for next summer’s collection.

We met a social worker who works for the project who told us many stories about her work and commitment to improving the lives, particularly those of women and children. Also the micro financing which has helped many women start businesses without the high interest rates of black market money lenders. She spoke strongly about empowering women and the importance of the work she does towards gaining gender equality.

We were relieved to arrive in Jaipur...camels are still a form of transport here, along with bikes, scooters, motorbikes, rickshaws, cars, and buses...all crammed into the roads...like a crazy maze of driving that somehow seems to work!
Visiting our garment suppliers in a maze of samples and fabrics we met with our designer, Sue Curl…who is dedicated to promoting block print and tie dye in her designs. Block print and tie dye are having a revival which is all about handmade craft, which we think is key to the future of sustainable fashion. We can’t say too much about next summers styles here…but handloom is a key focus in the most stunning jackets and coats…along with a fabulous collection of dresses. So it’s going to be a jacket and dress season we feel for next summer. Trousers seem to be a big request by many of our customers…so Vicky and I endured to select a variety of styles touching on designs led by the east with cotton comfort in mind.

During our visit to our supplier’s workshops and factories we took time to inspect and meet with many of the craftspeople. It was good to see them looking so happy and to see all of our products being made in the flesh. One of our suppliers is currently building a hospital local to his factory which will service all his employees and the local community.

Vicky and I visited the work site to see how the construction is going. We hope that completion of the build should be finished by the end of this year. This area of Jaipur is in desperate need for medical facilities so it is going to be a great benefit to the community once the project is up and running.

Leaving Jaipur behind us we hit the road for our 4 hour trek to rural Pushkar where we always seem to have an attack of “India Eyes”. This term refers to the way that the initial impact of colour when arriving in India somehow becomes a little desensitized after being there for about a week!