Area of Practice

Weaving, Design thinking and application within a social framework, Transdisciplinary research.

Education

UG Diploma, Textile design with specialization in weaving, Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai.

M.Des, Industrial Design with specialisation in Textile Design, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.

PhD (pursuing), Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru.

Work Experience

• Assistant designer, Himatsingka Seide Ltd, Bengaluru a high end automated textile mill manufacturing silk furnishing fabrics for export.
• Assistant designer, Ritu Kumar design studio, Kolkata & New Delhi working collaboratively with weaving communities in Bengal to develop handwoven fabric collections for garments.
• Lead designer for the Home furnishings division, Bombay Store, Mumbai. Design, manufacture and merchandising of home furnishing collections.
• Design consultant, Market Place, Mumbai, a social enterprise working with artisans in Kutch and slums of Bombay to develop collections of block prints and embroideries for garments.
• Guest Faculty NIFT, Bengaluru.
• Independent design projects with Craft clusters all over India, commissioned by Development Commissioner Handicrafts and Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.
• Senior Faculty and Course Coordinator, Srishti School of Art design and Technology, Bengaluru.
• Founder, Textile designer, Tuni Handcrafted Textiles, Bengaluru developing independent collections of sarees, stoles, shawls and commissioned textiles.
• Academic Dean, Postgraduate Diploma Program, Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru.
• Co Dean, Industrial Arts and Design practices, Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, MAHE Bengaluru.

Interest Areas

Hand weaving, Indigenous craft cultures and practices, Colour and Culture; Co-design/Participatory design, Nature, environment and ecology.

Current Practice at Srishti

Designing and facilitating studio units for UG and PG in Basic and advanced weave; Colour, Sustainable design practices, Participatory workshops with craft communities, Transdisciplinary projects focusing on social values of environment and ecology, craft making and culture, marginalised communities and livelihoods.

Creative Practice and Outreach

• Artist residency awarded by ReSide residency, Scotland to work on Wool weaving Stories in the Scottish Borders and Kachchh, Gujarat, 2012-13.
• Collaborated with Nature India a subsidiary of Wild Life Trust of India (WIT) to work with Bodo women weavers living on the fringes of the wild life sanctuary to create alternative livelihood options, 2014.
• Facilitated and curated a student exhibition Encoded Textures – Voices, Narratives and Patterns, Bengaluru, 2014.
• Invited to present at the Sustainable Fashion conference in Stockholm, Sweden, 2016.
•  “Saree as canvas” selected for the exhibition at the International Shibori Symposium at Oaxaca, Mexico, 2018.
• Invited as external reviewer by National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad to review Textile Design curriculum for BDes and MDes programs, 2018.
• Invited to do a four day co-design workshop between twenty artisans and twenty design students in Kachchh, Gujarat, 2018.
• Co-facilitated the International Sustainable Summer School at University of Ljubljana, a collaboration between University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, Republic of Slovenia, Sanda University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China and Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru, India, 2018.
• Design entry “Colour Play – Inspired by Rothko” a collection of sarees and stoles shortlisted for the Lexus design awards 2019.
• Group exhibition of Women artists at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishad, 2019.
• Principal facilitator of the International Sustainable Summer School hosted at Srishti a collaboration between University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, Republic of Slovenia, Sanda University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China and Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru, India, 2020.
• Collaborated with Heriot Watt University, Scotland and National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad as a faculty representative of Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology on a short term funded project called CLICC - Covid 19 lock down impact on craft capacity, 2020.
• Collaborated with CARE India and Samuhika Shakti on a student project to look at livelihood enhancement initiatives for the waste picker communities in Bengaluru, 2022.