In an attempt to revive old hand embroidery, Purvi Patel will hold an exhibition, Vastra, where embroideries of rural Gujarat will be showcased on April 15 and 16 at Vermillion House, 3/12, Cleveland road cross, Frazer Town from 10.30 am to 6 pm.
"Vastra is an attempt to revive the tribal and folk embroideries of rural Gujurat on various attires such as saris, cholis, salwars and stoles. The collection will be a tribute to different forms of handicraft work native to Gujarat such as Aari, rabari, soonf, kutchi, sadoo taako, kantha and sikkal which are some of the stitches used on fabrics like khadi, gajji, old temple saris, handwoven paatan, patolas and kalamkari," said Purvi.
Originally from Ahmedabad, Purvi has taken the onus of bringing back old forms of embroidery and presenting it in a new way to Bangaloreans.
What started in 1984 with just `2000 investment has now turned into a full fledged business .
"At that time, it was big money. I started bringing in kurtas from Ahmedabad and went from door to door visiting every boutique on Commercial street. Two years later I set up a small shop called Traditions. I started with just one tailor who wanted to do more than just cutting and stitching. Those days mirror- work was in fashion so I got some ethnic mirror and patch works from Kutch, which became a big hit in the city," she said. Soon, Purvi went neck deep into supervision administration and operations.
"I continued to provide them rare pieces, which was a sell out here and this went on for almost 14 years," she added. Over the past 10 years, Purvi's passion has taken her on a journey to every learning centre including Calico museum of textiles. After rigorous documentation and collecting at least 20 books on silk brocades, books from the 18th to mid 20th century, Purvi has now emerged as a successful entrepreneur.
She has also travelled extensively to learn more about museums, libraries and karigars. "I pursued royalties, curators, weavers and artisans across the country in search of authenticity and to revive the old tradition of embroidery making," said Purvi who further added, "Today, I have a team of 30 people out of which 15 men work in Bangalore while 15 women work in Gujarat."