The MASALA CHAI Store

Greetings everybody :)

1st Nov 2010 will mark the 3rd anniversary of the MASALA CHAI blog . 3 years and almost 350 posts of featuring the best South Asian talent from around the world, I'm over joyed and excited to say that MASALA CHAI will be launching it's store in Chennai. We will be stocking and retailing the funkiest, most inventive , desi hip designers and independent brands from around the country. Stay tuned for daily sneak peaks of our awesome merchandise!

Poch & Rock

The streets of Mumbai and Delhi , a grimy albeit soulful showcase to the style deviations of artistic duo Poch & Rock.  The french graffiti artist & musician/dj duo also have a book out titled Teenage Kicks. Fresh.  More here & here . 

Amrish Kondurkar

"After passing out of the Art College, I’ve been in advertising for 7 years thinking and executing campaignable ideas to the specific needs of a brand. While working on designs that are comprehensible and communicate to a large audience I started getting drawn to the abstract thinking process too. I expressed this by experimenting with my photographic and drawing skills in my free time. I started enjoying the forms that travel and take their own shapes, which made me explore and experience further the new dimensions of the graphic language. In all of this i started blogging! which made me think everyday something quirky and break the rules which you yourself restrict by your own limited way of looking at certain things.....and yes still very much exploring :)"

http://meraapitara.blogspot.com/

Sachin George Sebastian

A quick recipe from Paper Engineer Sachin George Sebastian


Ingredients:-
1)paper                - 1 table full
2)glue                  - 1 bottle (500mg)
3)scissor              - few sharp cuts
4)paper cutter       - 1
5)blades               - 1 handful
6)cutting mat        - 1 table full
7)concepts           - few thoughtful
8)client brief          - if necessary
9)time                   - depends on 7 & 8
10)love&patience   - unlimited


Process:-

Step 01
-Get the concepts (client's brief) washed and cooked for few days/weeks just to make things clear in your head. Add a lot of love at intervals for better results.
 Step 02
-Once  the concept is ready, try out cutting few small paper with scissor to get a basic draft on what to make. This step doesn't need any detailed cuts, but all elements should be cut in place. You will end up in a white dummy.
Step 03
-Now that the white dummy is ready, mix the step 01 on to few big sheets placed over the cutting mat. Use a paper cutter with sharp blades to carve out the details. This process can go upto few weeks/months. so u need to keep the patience throughout this step.

Things to remember:-

-Never loose your patience.
-Keep referring back to the step 02 and feel free to add more details at any point of time.
-Don't forget to change the blades occasionally.
-Keep your hands washed and dry every 45 min.
-Cutting mat should have only the main artwork at any given time.
-Rest of the small paper chops to be dropped off the table (not in the bin for now ).
-You must be now finding yourself surrounded with paper chops all over the room.
-In the end, that cutting mat on the table, carrying your latest creation, will answer all the questions you had for your patience.
-Surprise yourself, keep smiling:)


The last instruction is the most important! More Sachin, here. 

Sanjay Patel

Sanjay Patel is back after his extremely successful Little Book of Deities with Ramayana : divine loophole. The cleverly titled book has been described as 'whimsically illustrated' and I agree. A mammoth labour of love , complete with sketches and drawings, this is definitely a collectors edition . Epic. More here.
Excellent review of the book by Avinash Rajagopal  here.

Madhavan Palanisamy

Madhavan Palanisamy spent over 10 years in advertising before finding his redemption inside the walls of the camera. Using a combination of editorial and fine art styles of photography, he interprets the strange beauty that surrounds him and creates a world where anything can happen. Madhav is a self taught photographer and draws his inspiration from cinematic imagery and graphic design.  His new series titled Chennai Remix is showing at Apparao Gallery, Chennai till the 30th of August.

Ankur Gupta

Ankur Gupta is a lover of stories. His frippery is heavily laden with sequins, crystals, dusted with glitter, and held together by embroidery. Fix your gaze anywhere on his garment, and a tale will gradually blossom, taking you through the textural treats of his homeland India. His kaleidoscopic mind’s eye is replete with imagery from his childhood, capturing wonder and naiveté. Ankur Gupta still embodies an innocence, that allows him to create without inhibition. His work is a sartorial piece of soul,  embellished with bursts of colour, creativity and compassion. His clothes fuse emblems from Hinduism, fables from jungles,  animal mandalas and chunks of nostalgia from his very own life to actualize detailed, fascinating articles of clothing .

Whats your favorite article of clothing?

Jackets, ties, dress shirts.Apparently silhouettes in my first collection " Ambiguous desires of a child" were highly inspired by jackets (though partly inspired by shapes of fishes, tortoise etc)  which can be worn as dresses and otherwise.But i can feel i am getting inclined to dresses

What sort of music do you like to listen to while creating/ideating?

I am highly driven by strong emotions of varied kind which actually goes in each time I design, think, draw, talk and everything I do.

So the music I like also is what I call "Power Music", it could be a background from a documentary or special voices and noises from different places, regions, dialects.

I like Grizzly bear, Klaus nomi ( imagine the artist in today's world with all that technology), Yann Tiersen- my favorite for long, such an amazing Talent, M.I.A, The Doors ,Beatles. I also love magical Gulzar and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia,.

I think I will invest in good recording equipment to record amazing noises in India like the way they juggle tea, vegetable vendor screams about his stock, chants in small temples and mosques near small villages around a river.For me Great Music is kind of Magical Voice not just a Noise.

What are your plans for the future?

From my earlier experiences while still a student I learned that Indian artists and craftsman come to cities to find work while being underpaid or are forced to work overtime without will. They either do not start families or even if they do they do not have personal life because of (not on records) slave work!

Most of the crafts are on verge of extinct just because second or third generation of these artisan do not want to continue the same trade. They end becoming peons at local markets or something of same sort where skill is lost.

It’s very unfortunate to cut costs or to earn more profits something of this sort is done to an artist, who is human indeed.

I do not recognize this as part of Fashion.

Thus one part of my bigger plan, i joined hands with Japanese American designer to form "Atelier AM" where we will give embroidery solutions with vision of ethical and fair trade.

I am already working on my SS11 and Apart from this i have been offered to creative direct collection for next season by an Italy based company.

Favourite designers, why?

 They all very strong personalities with a strong poetic vision who have delivered the very best again and again.John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld, Alber Elbaz, Alexander McQueen- his studio use to have crazy energy and i was in love with it, Dries van noten , Elisa palomino (i address her MAAJi- bcs of her strong oriental influences and of course because it means mother).

  

Comment on the Indian Fashion scene at home and abroad

At home I would say there has always been a penchant towards different forms of weaving, embroideries and printing from age of kings & queens to present day.

Which is The Great Indian couture and will always be.

At the same time there are designers, very well hooked and aware of trends and seasons in international fashion and thus creating and catering to markets of their respective choice and many have succeeded  to make their mark.

What sort of advice would u give to ppl with creative startups?

Be true to Yourself and your VISION.

You will be punched, kicked, laughed at and the same time overly appreciated, talked about but do not let anything affect you because everyone has a point of view.

Views with Visions survive.