Kanthaa brings the finest in Indian quilt making to a wider audience and to insure a reliable livelihood for traditional artisans in the villages.
Kanthaa.com was founded in 2013 with two goals – to bring the finest in Indian quilt making to a wider audience and to insure a reliable livelihood for traditional artisans in the villages. From it’s inception, Kanthaa.com has been guided by principles of sustainability, fair trade, and respect for traditional cultures. When you buy a Kanthaa product, you bring a piece of a living art into your home.
Other companies use machines to make quilts, resulting in uniform, sterile blankets that have ...
Kanthaa.com was founded in 2013 with two goals – to bring the finest in Indian quilt making to a wider audience and to insure a reliable livelihood for traditional artisans in the villages. From it’s inception, Kanthaa.com has been guided by principles of sustainability, fair trade, and respect for traditional cultures. When you buy a Kanthaa product, you bring a piece of a living art into your home.
Other companies use machines to make quilts, resulting in uniform, sterile blankets that have no personality or uniqueness. In contrast, every Kanthaa quilt is entirely handmade with thousands of stitches by artists living and working in Rajasthan, West Bengal and Calcutta, India. They use the same ancient techniques handed down across centuries, creating blankets that incorporate a running stitch called the Kanthaa stitch. Each quilt is different – bearing the visible imprint of a human hand and heart.
The kantha holds a very special place within village life . Making kanthas is a ritual activity as they are used to protect precious objects. The newborn are greeted with baby kanthas. At her marriage every girl receives an elaborate kantha which her mother has worked on for years. These quilts are usually not for sale.
Traditionally, artists recycled pieces of good material from discarded garments, just as traditional quilters do worldwide. Village women would gather together to sew layers of old saris, with intricate stitches, using thread pulled out of the sari itself. Their meticulous artistry transformed old garments into extraordinarily beautiful creations. Today, this combination of thrift and aesthetics persists in the making of a traditional kantha quilt.
Our Indian Sari Silk Comforters still utilize this custom, while some of our other products are made from new fabrics. In either case, you are insured of a unique , durable quilt that will last for a lifetime.
Today, Kanthaa.com is proud to support the work of 140 artisans, spread across India. We continually expand our product line, most recently to include patchwork handbags. Blending traditional artistry with the ever changing tastes and needs of 21st Century society , we strive to mix the best of the past with the present day, to link cultures, preserve traditions and insure fair business practice internationally.
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