Crafty Designs

Swosti rajbhandari

There are many a times when we are attracted to a particular product, be it for its design, utility or simply its look. We pause, take a closer look and try to rationalize its use if we buy it. Sometimes we do not even consider its utility; we quickly purchase it because it appeals to us! But how many times have we even spent a moment to think about the designer who conceptualized the product, the artisans and manufacturers who created the dummies, test tried them, corrected them and then launched the final product! Well, not many of us think about this process of the backstage when using any product. Talking about Nepali products, handicraft is one sector that contributes in a large way to our economy. These products are sold both in the country and exported worldwide and are quite popular internationally. Nepali handicraft produces not only traditional designs but also very contemporary designs using natural and organic materials, thus gaining popularity. However, most of the contemporary designs are designed by designers from abroad, companies send their design specifications and Nepal becomes only a manufacturer and fabricator. Nevertheless, Kathmandu University, Center for Art and Design together with the American Embassy, University of Notre Dame and HANDECEN (Handicraft Design and Development Center) Kathmandu has taken a step towards filling the void. A workshop “Introduction of Product Design” was conceptualized two years ago, and it finally took from on 22 July, 2013, at KU Center for Art and Design. Piloting this project was design Professor Ann Marie Conrado, College of Arts and Letters of Notre Dame, who came to Nepal fourteen years ago as a tourist. She returned the following years as a volunteer to teach in remote areas of Nepal. And after she started teaching industrial design at Notre Dame University, she came to Nepal again as a design volunteer to ACP(Association for Craft Producers) and brought along with her a group fo students annually. Conrado focuses on innovative design ideas and stresses on the fact that recycling designs, which was and is still practiced in Nepal will, only lead to a collapse of the industry. “All design ideas depend on the buyer, and demands change with time,” she quotes. Keeping this in mind, this year she conducted a two week program attended by 12 KU arts students and 12 representatives of different handicraft organizations. This workshop focused on giving design ideas to the entrepreneurs and giving manufacturing ideas to the design students. This marriage of the two very important sectors of innovative handicraft is the necessity of the time. Nepal needs to have its own designers who can better understand the work process and the materials available locally and hiring local designers is easier on the entrepreneurs’ pockets! Participating in the workshop were entrepreneurs form the paper, garment, natural fiver, wood and leather field. Shyam Badan Shrestha entrepreneur of Nepal Knotcraft Center, and pioneer in using natural fiber and the famous corn husk dolls we see in almost all the handicraft shops, opened her outlet in 2002 without prior knowledge of design concepts and training. Having attended this workshop she opines that basic knowledge of design concepts, national and international trends, color schemes and combination is a must for those attemptiong work in the handicraft sector. “This kins of workshop should have started 20 years ago!” We are rich in traditional designs and natural resources, but lack the knowledge of making our products utilitarian. This workshop has opened my mind and I am excited with the new range of products I have conceived after attending this workshop.” Sribhushan Tuladhar of Nepabhon specializes in making paper photo frames, mirrors and paper jeweler. This workshop helped him further explore the quilling technique to producing better products. Quilling is a craft technique inspired by filigree which involves the use of paper strips that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs. The paper jeweler he created for his project transcended the likes available in the market. Likewise, fashion designer Alpaja Rajbhandari who co-owns a retail outlet Ekadesma, of garments made from locally available natural fiber, is also bubbling with ideas after attending this workshop. She used a single motif of the stone for her project and presented it in various ways, extending the use of a single pattern to make a range of products. She understood that designing a garment or a product is a process that includes many factors like the season, social influence, them, trends and that he buyer is the most important at the end of the day! Amita Pradhan Silpakar has a fascination for traditional for traditional wood products since her childhood days. Later she got married into a family of traditional wood carvers and has been enjoying her journey ever since, She created a series of candle stands from designs of railings and decorative legs of chairs and tables. She herself is stunned by the variety of designs she can now conceptualize from a single theme. Design student Aayusha Shrestha expresses that this workshop has opened her eyes towards her responsibilities as a designer. “All that we learnt at class is made functional in this workshop,” she quotes. Design Students Anish Bajracharya and Ubahang Limbu also enjoyed exploring the natural materials available locally and Anish came up with exclusive line of jewelry with feather as the motif. Limbu expresses that our handicraft which is presently skill-based should move towards being based on designs. Added with this new experience another student Anita Shrestha is keenly looking forward to doing her internship, where she will not be raw at designing a handicraft product. The workshop culminated with an exclusive exhibit of the products designed by the participants. One can see the efforts put in the intensive 14 days of understanding design basics, conceptualization, factory visits and then the process of actually making the products taking form into innovative, beautiful, trendy, traditional, utilitarian, out of the world designs and products! ECS Friday