The 'Chota Alu' Tussar Silk Scarf
Beyond fair wages, 10% of our profits are re-invested in positively impacting the livelihoods of artisans that made your product.
The model is wearing a Tussar Peace silk scarf.
This piece is for those who believe in the beauty of handmade and the power of cloth to tell stories. In this age of fast fashion, watching the slow process of making fabric by hand is almost meditative. There is an entire army of rural artisans behind creating this work of art, which is the consequence of hundreds of hours of intensive craftsmanship. Each is one of a kind, ethical and produced in a small batch; truly a fabric with a soul!
TEXTILE STORY: I am never tired of repeating the story about how we carved our first block from a potato in my Mom-in-law’s kitchen. We took the largest one and cut a simple leaf out of it. We named it the 'Alu' (potato) block. It was a minimalist repeat pattern with one humble leaf. Little did we know that it would go on to become one of our Best Sellers, being housed in one of the World’s leading Museum of Art and Design, 'The Victoria & Albert Museum, London'!
Meet 'Chota Alu' (Small Potato)! Yes, we like to keep reinventing using our old blocks, and name them like they really exist! Each one has a unique name just like us. Some are named after celebrities or buyers who bought those patterns, others from a memory that we associate them with, like 'The Alu' here! It’s my reminiscence of our early days with just one artisan, one table in our backyard and no blocks; of course with my Mom-in-law peeking from the kitchen window to see what we were doing with all her potatoes! Catch a glimpse of Bachchu printing using a potato in the visuals.
DIMENSIONS: Natural selvedge on the long sides, Handmade tassels on both ends
Eri Peace silk scarf:
L 180 - 185 cm W 53 - 56 cm
Tussar Peace silk scarf:
L 210 - 220 cm W 67 - 70 cm
Tussar Peace silk Large Blanket scarf:
L 225 - 250 cm W 90 - 92 cm
BLANKET SCARF: This is a giant version of a regular scarf. It's an extremely versatile piece of clothing, that can be draped in multiple ways to create fascinating looks. It can be worn belted under a coat, as a cover up on the beach or simply morphed as an infinity scarf. Crafted and finished by hand, it can easily double as makeshift ponchos, capes or asymmetrical wraps.
WEIGHT:
Eri Peace silk scarf - 80 grams
Tussar Peace silk scarf - 100 grams
Tussar Peace silk Large Shawl / Dupatta - 150 grams
COLOUR: Burgundy and Rich Natural Gold of Tussar
Variation in printing & colour are hallmarks of hand block printing and dyeing in small batches. Here’s to celebrating blemishes, flaws, faulty and irregular.
DYES: Azo-free non toxic dyes
SHIPPING: Dispatched in 21 - 30 business days
At aeshaane, we invite everyone to slow down and cherish garments that are made slowly and deliberately by artisans. After all, 'Things of beauty have no fear of time'! Free Worldwide shipping on all orders.
RETURNS & EXCHANGES:
Made to order fashion - Each piece is specially handcrafted for you, thereby reducing waste, since items are not produced in advance. Please check Return/Exchanges policy.
ERI SILK:
Our Eri silk cloth is a completely handmade artisan product, crafted by Kaushik, a third generation of rearers, who hails from the tribal 'Borah' community, nurturing his small dreams in a remote village called 'Phalpur' in Assam. Twenty women from a self-help group gather around post noon, to do the 'Chunai', or sorting of these empty cocoons. The methods used by the locals are environment friendly and sustainable. The indigenous women in the Assamese household are willing to invest their time in making these ageless beauties, as a way to embrace their culture, to follow the pace of life and to pass on the craft to the younger generation. Each piece has taken at least a week to produce, excluding the harvesting and printing by our artists Ali bhai, Deepak and Bachchu.
TUSSAR SILK:
The network of silk farming is made up of mothers, grandmothers and sons, therefore making cocoon farming a family affair! Our Tussar silk cloth is a completely handmade artisan product, made by Ravi and his family, who've been weaving silk for the last three generations. They nurture their small dreams in a remote village called 'Bhagaiya'. His mother, 'Shivrani Devi' wakes up in the wee hours of the morning, to remove the fibres from empty cocoons. Soon 'Dadi' (grandmother) takes over by gathering the yarns, and then 'Shanikumar' his brother, spins them by hand using the time-honoured 'Charkha' or the spinning wheel. Finally, to the most treasured part, where Ravi's father 'Shivshankar Ram' breathes life into the Ahimsa using the ancient heritage wooden loom.
Besides earning a fair income from their work, all our artisans have a sense of belonging, a place they can call their own, that gives them a life filled with love, pride and dignity, where they can benefit from being together as a community. Meet the makers here.
At aeshaane, our artisans have
- A safe and flexible working environment
- Encouragement to use their own creativity
- Ability to work remotely or from home
- Integration into an uplifting community
- Dignified work place where their voices are heard
- Options to participate in workshops and other training programs
WORKSHOP: Each scarf is handmade at aeshaane's in-house workshop in a small village in Bengal, where our artisans share our values and produce in a fair way. We celebrate all that is slow, ethical and does not harm the people, animals or the planet. To learn more, click on Behind the scenes.
100% NATURAL ERI PEACE SILK
HAND-FEEL: Light-weight, airy, incredibly smooth and soft; When draped, its fluidity is unmatched!
PROPERTIES: Eri silk is strong, dense and highly durable wild silk. The silk from this natural fibre is readily biodegradable after serving its full lifecycle, and thus has low environmental impact. Besides being 100% hypo-allergic and antibacterial, due to its thermal properties, Eri silk is cool in summer and warm in winter.
ORIGIN: North east India, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Karnataka and some parts of China and Japan
100% NATURAL TUSSAR PEACE SILK
HAND-FEEL: Light-mid weight, crisp, porous and rich texture, beautifully slubbed. Deep Natural Gold sheen that lends a lot of character, the more you wear and own them, the softer and more endearing they become.
PROPERTIES: Tussar silk is cooler than the other varieties of silk, as it is a lot more porous, therefore, breathable. It is light, airy and comfortable. The silk from this natural fibre is readily biodegradable after serving its full lifecycle, and thus has low environmental impact.
ORIGIN: Much of it is produced in Bhagalpur (where it is called Bhagalouri silk), Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and in recent years, Tussar silk production has become an economic lifeline for villagers in Jharkhand. The Kharsawa district of Jharkhand is considered to be the epicentre, that accounts for more than 40% of total Tussar Silk production in India.
IS IT NON-VIOLENT? Often, the word Ahimsa (Non-violence) is synonymously used with Eri silk. The name 'Eri' is derived from the word 'era', which means 'castor', since the Eri silkworms feed on castor leaves. Tussar, on the other hand, also known as 'Kosa silk' in Sanskrit, is produced from larvae of several species of silkworms belonging to the moth genus Antheraea. These worms live in wild forests and breed on local trees like Sal, Arjun and Saja. It comes in varieties of Kattia and Gicha.
Part of the process to rear silk conventionally, involves the cocoons being hurled into hot water to preserve the integrity of the long silk filament fibres. This method clearly kills the silkworm, breaking the chain of ethical processing. However, at aeshaane, we believe in slow silk farming, where the fibre gets extracted from empty cocoons, only after the metamorphosis of the moth is complete and they leave their habitat, thereby completing the chain of circular farming. Thus, Eri and Tussar Silks reared by this method are known as Peace or Vegan silks. For more information click on Our silks.
We help you take good care of your purchase. With a little love and care, your handmade silk scarf will last you for years. We celebrate re-use, swapping and encourage you to repair whenever possible.
- Dry cleaning is the safest option
- Gentle steam iron on the reverse side
- Do not wrap in plastic, as silk needs to breathe
- Each purchase comes in a recycled bag for storage
Click on Care and repair to know more.
