The indigenous Toda women from the Nilgiris are renowned for their distinctive, GI-tagged, black and red embroidery. Inspired by nature the pukhoor ( motif ) embroidery follows the warp and weft thread count of the base cloth. The artisans count the thread with their fingers by merely stretching the material as they work.
Over the past year or so, a team of us including two senior Toda artisans embarked on an ongoing journey to re-imagine this art form with a contemporary aesthetic on fine, sustainable fabrics and newer formats. A pronounced departure from working on the regular coarse cotton, this marks a renewed approach to the art form. After much trial and error, in close coordination with wonderful local weavers, we chose two types of beautiful fabrics conducive to the thread counting technique. Our vision was (and is) to present the exquisite beauty of this rare art form to a contemporary, aesthetic driven, appreciative world.
Ajesh Narayanan (verified owner) –
I am so proud to own a Toda-embroidered, handcrafted scarf from Coonoor & Co. The fabric is extremely soft and luxurious. Love the feel of it on the skin! The black and red designs are timeless and can be paired with anything. I can’t wait to see what more exciting stuff you are going to launch!
ramya (store manager) –
Thank you so much, AJ! So glad you like your scarf. And you style it so well!