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Vilakku

Luxury Stoles
Richly Embroidered Small Batch Shawls
Handcrafted Bags and Accessories X Rachana Reddy
Small Batch Scarves

Vilakku : Lamp in Tamizh

A wonderfully light creation in a specially woven blend of organic cotton and Merino wool. The smaller sibling of the stole, this garment has been created as a delicate wrap that sits softly around the neck or shoulder.  The pukhoor (motif) seen in this design represents represents the sacred oil lamp of the Toda diary temples.

Made by an indigenous woman-artisan, this diaphanous fabric, which is far more difficult  to work with than the regular cotton, takes four days to hand-embroider. Read our story below.

Packed with love in a locally-made reusable cotton handloom bag and recycled kraft box.

165 cm x 50 cm

 5,900.00

SOLD OUT

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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.

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Fabric composition is organic cotton and Merino wool. Threads used for embroidery are pure cotton.

Due to the fine weave of the fabric, and the nature of thread counting which forms the basis of the work, each stole takes an artisan four to six days to complete, depending on the design.

Minor variations and irregularities in the motifs are to be expected, and integral to handcrafted products, adding to their appeal.

Fabric care guide:

  • Handwash gently in cold water
  • Cool or low temperature iron only (smooth side)
  • Do not dry clean
  • Do not bleach
  • Do not tumble dry
  • Do not wring
  • Recommended flat dry after washing

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