Trunk name: From gray to Gond

One in all A Hundred Palms Re-Trunk tasks
| Picture Credit score: Particular Association

Virtually each Indian family has trunks stowed underneath beds or stashed away within the attic or dumped in a storage. In a fundamental, boring shade of gray, these (principally) Military-issue foot lockers are useful and much outlive their authentic goal, finally winding up in an out-of-sight nook of the house.

Now, because of a makeover by A Hundred Palms, a non-profit belief in Bengaluru, these trunks are actually having fun with a second lease of life within the limelight as centrepieces in lots of a house.

In keeping with Mala Dhawan, co-founder of the Belief together with her sister Sonia Dhawan, they’d been mulling over the concept for some time now since they hail from an Military background.

“We had been additionally methods we may assist conventional artisans visualise choices to monetise their artwork. We felt this was an concept that will assist them suppose exterior the field,” says Mala.

In addition to this, Mala says, “We had been methods to provide conventional artwork a useful goal moreover being purely aesthetic the place they hold on a wall or take up house on a shelf.”

The undertaking gained momentum a number of months in the past when A Hundred Palms remodeled a wall on the Central Military Command in Lucknow with Gond artwork. “Whereas there, we requested a number of individuals in the event that they’d wish to get their trunks re-done and the response was large,” says Mala.

“In Military houses these trunks weren’t solely used for transport but additionally served diversified functions. 4 of them put collectively would make do for a mattress, whereas two may make a diwan. All of it depended in your creativity. There’s plenty of emotional attachment to those trunks,” she says.

“We widened the scope of this initiative to incorporate wood trunks in addition to new chests and hope to increase this concept to different artwork varieties as nicely.“

For this undertaking, Gond artists had been introduced down from their hometown in Madhya Pradesh. Gond is the tribal artwork practised by members of the Gond neighborhood; they’re additionally present in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

Mala says once they took on the undertaking, they’d no concept it could contain an excessive amount of work. “There’s an entire course of to the refurbishing of those trunks. They must be sanded, smoothened, tinkered with in case of dents and have a number of coats of paint utilized; it takes about three to 4 weeks to finish one piece.”

The trunks are fully customised with purchasers in a position to decide on the bottom color in addition to the design. Gond artwork utilises shiny tones and nature motifs and tales involving birds, animals and flowers. Nevertheless, elephants had been the most well-liked alternative, says Mala.

Other than boosting the idea of upcycling and serving to craftsmen with a unique perspective of their expertise, Mala says the initiative revived lovely reminiscences. “These trunks have saved wedding ceremony trousseaus and silverware in addition to month-to-month provisions and residential linen,” she says, including a shopper mentioned it was “a bit of their childhood.”

“Whereas it preserves a bit of your previous, it offers conventional artists an opportunity to earn as a lot as up to date ones. We’ve expanded our repertoire to incorporate mirror frames in Gond and people artwork too.”

Priced upwards of ₹12,500, the Belief requires a minimal of 15-20 orders for the undertaking to be viable in every metropolis. For extra particulars mail [email protected] or whatsapp 98450 08482.