Dastkar Nature Bazaar 2012

Dastkar had organized its annual Nature Bazaar in Bangalore in the first week of September. This was the first time I visited the famed handicrafts exhibition Dastkar. And I was able to because this time they had put it up almost across the road from my place. God bless them! Sharing my experience here...

I was so impressed with the stuff there that I ended up visiting the place three times and burning a not-too-tiny hole in the pocket.

Here're are some stuff I liked.

Bamboo Planters

Colorful Lanterns

Painted leather lampshades

 I used to love these lampshades and was planning to pick up one when it suddenly stuck me they are made of leather. I dropped the idea and am now planning to make one from either paper mache or other eco friendly options.

Terracotta Jewelry

Cute little fridge magnets

Colorful kites

                                      

Kites turned into elegant decor items

                                      
                                                          Pattachitra wooden birds

Kerala Murals

                                                 A contemporary design in Kerala mural style

A nice idea - kerala murals on pendents!

I'd discovered Kerala murals by chance on someone's blog and got really interested in them. I even looked for classes around my place. I finally decided to try one myself and made a sketch on a canvas. And then I saw this great stall in Dastkar. And the artist, Sujith mentioned he was planning to conduct workshops in Bangalore soon. I was excited. And guess what? I'm attending his next workshop in November. I'm looking forward to it.

                                                     Irresistible Blue Pottery of Jaipur

                                                          A puppet show for kids

All these years my job kept me busy and I never got time to visit these art and craft events. So Dastkar was a pleasant experience for me. There's another event going on in Bangalore at the moment - The Handmade Collective by A Hundred Hands. A visit is there on my list but it's only there till Nov 4th....so I'm hoping I'll be able to make it.