Traditional craftsmanship

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Beautiful Pakistani handmade artisan products launched in UK

LONDON: Pakistani businesswoman and philanthropist Fatima Leghari has launched a lifestyle brand called Ishq in UK that brings beautiful handmade artisan products from Pakistan to the UK.

Fatima Leghari, the former President of South Punjab Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, exhibited her homeware and clothing collection at a central London location which was well received as a large number of people turned up to support the venture.

Handmade pottery, embroidered cushions, throws, tea boxes and apparel were showcased as part of the collection.

Speaking to this reporter, Fatima Leghari explained that her brand Ishq is working in collaboration with designers, brands and artisans from Pakistan such as Kayal, Hipflask, CraftGalleria, TheCraftCompany, Clayworks, Ilona’s Atelier, Shazia Inayat and Sadia Anwar.

Hailing from the city of Multan, Fatima has always been fascinated by the rich heritage and the mysticism that surrounds it. She is extremely passionate about saving the indigenous crafts of Pakistan. Apart from setting up a craft company called CraftGalleria, she has worked with Tevta Pakistan to revive the craft of blue pottery (Kashi-gari) and has also held the post of an Advisor at BZU and Multan College of Arts.

She said she has launched her brand in London to connect the intrinsic beauty of cultures, bringing the East to the West. “ISHQ signifies love, passion and madness. I have created this for people who share a passion and appreciation for crafts. We are bringing a fusion to centuries old craft techniques by merging western design elements with the philosophy of wabi-sabi. Wabi-sabi is the appreciation of imperfection that stems from Buddhist and Japanese cultures.”

She feels that it is important to encourage others to rediscover tradition and to seek out products that reveal a story which connect to our soul and mysticism. “Each of our bespoke items reveal a unique story.”

Fatima Leghari explained that there are very few products from Pakistan available in the UK market that offer the same level of quality and design. It has always been her mission to ensure that all her products are conscientiously crafted, responsibly sourced, sustainable and ethical without the need to compensate on style.

Leghari said feedback of her exhibition and the launch of homeware and clothing collection has been great.

She explained: “We had a really good feedback, most people were impressed by the craftsmanship and found the concept behind the products intriguing. The hand-embroidered cushions and throws were especially popular and people were amazed that our products are made in Pakistan because they have not seen something like this before.”

Fatima Leghari said that she plans to establish as a genuine brand that works with local communities and give a platform to small independent designers, curating an eclectic mix of inspired designs that are unique, handmade and quirky. We also want to promote Pakistani heritage and art to boost economic stability and increase our exports, she said.

 

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Multan, Punjab

Hala, Sindh

Astonishing Pakistan Pottery: Centuries old craftsmanship still going on strong!


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Beautiful Pakistani 100% handmade Pottery from Multan


Pottery is perhaps the most primitive type of human invention. Artifacts related to pottery provide us a glimpse into our pre-historic past. Majority of archeologist and anthropologists believe that examining pottery from different ages is the easiest way to estimate the progress of human mind evolution. The usage of pottery helps them understand us how and when humans started a separate evolution path from other living beings on the earth. There is a direct correlation to support this notion that the art of making pottery also got mature and sophisticated along with the intellectual development of human mind.

Pottery is also considered as one of the oldest medium for decorative purposes. Different types of clay are heated in oven on different temperatures to make different sort of pottery. Clay has a natural tendency to filter germs and other impurities. Clay also maintains certain temperature. The use of clay pottery is widespread from cooking and storing food to decorative purposes. The quality of clay, proper alloying, baking temperature and decorative styles make a common piece of pottery uncommon.





Painting on Pottery items

Luckily, Pakistani pottery does posses all these qualities.

Ancient crafts throughout Pakistan are part of daily life especially rural areas where electricity is still considered as a luxury. Traditional artisans of three major provinces of Pakistan (Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan) have been pursuing their skills of producing quality pottery for generations. Pottery manufacturing is a thriving cottage industry in Pakistan, as Pottery is considered more like a necessity than a decorative piece.

Pottery is a long standing tradition in the clay rich Punjab in particular. From simple non-decorative mud color utensils to the famous blue pottery of Multan, Punjab stunning pottery stands apart from the rest due to its superior craftsmanship and delicacies in designs. In the nearby city of Bahawalpur, artisans produce delicate latticed pots and jugs while other enhances their work with glittering mirrors.

Pottery is relatively less expensive than rest of the handicrafts in Pakistan because over there the price is not assessed in terms of labor and craftsmanship but more in terms of material price. The basic ingredient of pottery is clay so it is “dirt” cheap. The expensive pottery is the one which has more embellishment like mica and glass pieces. But overall, pottery handicrafts are most economical to purchase.

 

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THE HISTORY AND CRAFT OF CAMEL SKIN LAMPS IN PAKISTAN

by Syed Owais Ali Zaidy





Crafting of Camel Skin Lamps in Pakistan

The making of Camel Skin Lamps is a handiwork that has been practiced in Multan for almost a millennium! There are families in the city who have been into this business for centuries and continue to this day.

Camel skin lamps Made in Multan are renowned world-wide for the intricate handwork done on them by skilled artisans. The art of decorating a camel’s skin is known as NAQASHI in the local language and is a very valuable skill.

The different paintings made on the camel skin that is fixed atop the lamps represent the local culture of Multan city. The pictures, the designs, the colors, all connect with the local customs in Multan.

Camel skin lamps made from Multan have been exported to different countries of the world and have therefore earned a lot of accolades and goodwill for the ancient city and the country.


Making of Camel Skin Lamps: Team Work of a Triad

It is said that the making of camel skin lamps is the joint effort of three different workers skilled in their individual expertise. One is the Clayman, the second is the Naqash and the third is the Dabgar. Each of the three work in unison to produce ornate camel skin lamps in Multan.


Cholistan Desert as the Supplier of Camel Skin Lamps

Camels can be found easily in areas near to Multan since Multan is located very close to the desert. The Cholistan desert of Punjab is very close to Multan where camels are used as a matter of routine by the local population for travelling. Therefore, the main raw material for this art, that is the camel skin, is available easily in Multan.

Since Cholistan is a very dry desert, so there is a frequency of camels dying from thirst. This is in spite of the fact that camels have a natural ability to store water for days in their bodies even in the hot summer season.

When a camel dies, it is still of value to the owner as he can sell its skin and make a good profit out of its sale. This is a bit similar to goatskin that is sold frequently in Pakistan at a good profit for the goat owners.



Processing the High Value Camel Skin for Lamps

1. The camel skin is first cleaned free of camel hair and then washed with a chemical. This is to ensure its cleanliness from all kinds of unwanted substances such as flesh particles.
2. Next, the camel skin is cleaned in a way that quite a few layers are removed from it so that the skin becomes translucent. This is because the camel skin is later to be used for a lamp and so it must allow light to pass through it to fit onto a lamp.
3. Finally, the camel skin is fixed on top of a base made of clay and then left to dry in the sun.
4. The next step in the process is for the artisans to use a die to decide the shape they intend to give to the skin.
5. After that, they paint the skin with traditional colors or pictures depicting the local culture. Painting of the camel skin is probably the most difficult step in the process, relatively speaking. This is because it is very intricate in its nature as the designs on the camel skin are all very minute. This means that extra care has to be taken in the designing and the panting of the camel skin lamps.

A lot of attention is required to ensure that mistakes do not occur in the designing of the camel skin or the painting over it. The eyes of the Naqash also take a toll as he performs his art on one lamp after the other.

In addition to the camel skin being used for making lamps, other small handicrafts such as camel skin vases and lamps also have a high appeal with buyers.

Durable and Long-Lasting Camel Skin Lamps

The camel skin lamps are very long-lasting, buyers can assure themselves that they can practically last for a lifetime. The camel skin lamps are said to be of service for between fifty to hundred years. The lamps would need varnishing at different points in time so as to maintain their beauty and shine however.


Exporting Local Souvenirs Overseas

However, the export of camel skin lamps made in Multan continues as they are admired and valued the world over, courtesy of their beauty and the hard work put into them. There is a huge demand for camel skin lamps made in Multan in the gulf countries as well as in Europe and America.

In the US, camel skin lamps are sold for as much as six hundred [600] USD. However, there are many different varieties and each lamp has a different price, some are available in much cheaper rates as well.


Shopping Online for Multan-Made Camel Skin Lamps

The camel skin lamps are also sold online worldwide such as on amazon.com and ebay.com amongst other websites to fans of this art.

In addition however, the camel skin lamps can also be bought online over OLX and other online shopping websites in the country such as pakistanhandicraft.com, tcsconnect.com, and others.

In Pakistan, these lamps are also sold in handicraft shops in different parts of the country.

For natives of Multan, the camel skin laps can be purchased at relatively cheap rates straight from the manufacturers of the lamps as the art is local to the city.


Vintage Camel Skin Lamps

An interesting fact about camel skin lamps is that many of the vintage lamps are in high demand in the market. Many admirers of the art are keen to purchase camel skin lamps made long time ago probably because of the skill of the workers that fascinates them. Those workers may have had expired as of today but their skill might as well serve to keep their hand-made camel skin lamps in high demand throughout the world.

 

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Unmatched traditional fabrics; Made in Pakistan.....................

 

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Multan

 

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Ajrak printing in Bhit Shah, Sindh Pakistan. Ajrak is unique form of block-printed shawls found in Sindh, Pakistan since centuries.

These shawls display special designs and patterns made using block printing by stamps with mostly blue, red, black, yellow and green.

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Local Artisans rural of Sindh The women carefully form patterns and symbols from cloth,some simple and some complex.

The women making the quilts Ralli Bad sheet on their own memories and the memories of their mothers and older women to teach them the patterns.

 

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Artisan of Sindh. Kashigar Hafiz Muhammad Sadique who is doing Kashi work since last 41 years in Nasarpur town of Sindh Pakistan. Remember Nasarpur was one of the oldest city-settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization which thrived in ancient times along the Indus River.