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Products That Sustain Society

The technological boom of the past two decades has led us into a feeling of hyper-connectedness with the outside world; yet, largely unacknowledged is the percentage of the world’s population who cannot be merely reached by the

simple click of a mouse. In an increasingly de-personalized world, House of Pennathur strives to reach these individuals and incorporate them into a larger global economy, to aid them and their families and truly sustain them by rekindling the passion for artisanal crafts in India.

Highly labor intensive these crafts are the life blood of the folks in India

For an example of the Gudri work featured at Nordstrom click here

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New Chikan Shirt at National Geographic

Chikan is the traditional white-on-white embroidery of Lucknow in northern India. Artists start by block-printing a design onto the fabric, which they trace using a variety of stitches to create a textured, lacy pattern. This semisheer, short-sleeve blouse features chikan work (chikankari, which literally means “embroidery” in the Urdu language) covering the front, along with a squared neckline and side vents.

Women’s sizes S (4–6), M (8–10), L (12–14), XL (16–18).

Get it here!

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Nizam Jewelry Collection

 

The Nizam of the Royal family of Hyderabad in India, was declared the “richest man in the world” by Time magazine in the 1940’s. His legendary jewels, one of the most famous in the world consisted of a fantastic collection of ornaments, loose precious stones, especially uncut diamonds, rubies and emeralds.

This jewelry collection, which formed a part of his enormous wealth and prestige of his royal estate and was built over the period that the Nizams ruled from 1792 to 1948. They follow a mixture of Muslim and Indian craftsmanship with a distinct leaning towards the Southern ‘Deccani’ workmanship acquired from the ‘Vijaynagar’ Kingdom.

The pieces were in gold and silver work embedded with uncut diamonds and edged with silver ‘kundan’ or just gold and silver work with diamonds and tear drop emeralds with enameled work on the back; intricate designs with a mixture of western influence and indigenous style.

The Jewels have inspired many famous creations by famous designers like Cartier. I too derived inspiration to create a line of diamond jewelry that reflects the rich cultural heritage of this era and are presented here.


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Spring Sundance Back Cover

Hand-hammered and beautifully inlaid wtih Sterling Silver on wood, these bangles are featured on the back cover of the latest Sundance catalog. The artistry is reminiscent of gold inlay work that Maharanis wore in India. They are at once classic and contemporary.

See these in the Spring 2010 catalog, as well as many other designs by Sudha.

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