Its here!

The Mish Mash cushion cover I won in Emreen's giveaway is here! Got delivered this afternoon.

And I knew exactly where it was going! No, not the studio like I had mentioned, but a guest room, the room I call the garden room. This is the one room in the house that has a  lot of green and even a little bit  of blue, and opens out on the north side onto a lovely balcony with lots of potted plants. The window grill on the west side is completely covered with creepers and vines......so all in all good reason to call it the "green room"!!! And, I had just as of last week replaced the drapes with some really light Fab India block printed ones.

An easy chair that I bought at Pier 1 imports way way back 10 years ago, sits in one corner, a perfect spot to read and get lost in dreams. And "the dreamer cushion" has now found its new happy home on that chair!

Giveaway time!

Yay! I love giveaways. Love giving them and receiving them and blogging about them. So who is giving away what and why?

Emreen of Liven Things Up is giving away some lovely cushion covers from Mish Mash design to celebrate her blog's first anniversary!

So hurry up, get over there and do what you have to. 

All the best! Happy Birthday to your blog Emreen and keep the lovely posts coming!

Artist Profile - Ayesha Puri

First there was Abhilasha, then there was Aarti and now there is Ayesha. I'm calling them the "A" girls for their Ambition, their Aspirations and their Attitude! 

We all have great ideas from time to time....we go looking/shopping for something and cannot find exactly what we want, so we reluctantly settle for second best, and then always think "Now, maybe there's an idea for me? Maybe I should do something about it"? And then we all go home to our busy lives and forget about it till the next time we go in search of something, cannot find it....and.......you know what I'm talking about. 

Wel, not these girls. They are risky and brave and take fate into their capable young manicured hands and make things work!

Meet Ayesha Puri! A consultant who hung up her 9 year old corporate hat and dived headlong into designing pretty things, specifically her own line of home furnishings, and so aptly calls her company  - ALL THINGS PRETTY!"  This is what she says about ATP:  

 
"My venture is called All Things Pretty and we are a few months old now. Our current focus is on decorative cushions and we are slowly looking at expanding into table linen, bed linen as well.  Our product prices range mostly between INR 500 to 1100 or so. I am working on a summer range of quilted cushions using English country prints. I retail mostly through exhibitions in Delhi and NCR and am open to taking orders and mailing products within and outside India. My products are also retailing at ZAZA home in Zamrudpur, New Delhi and a few other stores across India.  I was hugely inspired to start my own home furnishings venture when I was setting up my home two years ago and shopping for a lot of cushions and linen in general. I think that was really the trigger. In the next few years, I hope to get into exports, open a lifestyle store and be known as the one stop shop for home decor"!

Ayesha was also covered in the Feb issue of the Ideal Home and Garden. 

Here are a few images of her fabulous work:

Lovely products in vibrant colors at a very reasonable price....what's not to love about it? You can see more at her etsy shop, and if you want more details and/or information...e mail her at Ayesha.puri@gmail.com. See? What an easy way to add some colorful Indian pop and ethnic zing to your interiors!

Artist profile - Abhilasha Jain

Many of us have a lot of talent and dream of starting our own venture, but few of us have the entrepreneurial spirit to translate that into a reality. Meet Abhilasha Jain - artist, dreamer, art lover, painter, photographer, jewelry designer and merchandiser who defied the odds and did exactly that. Now meet Abhilasha's creative baby - MISH MASH DESIGN.

The dictionary defines mish mash as "a confused mixture of things"....but Abhi's work is anything but that! Boo to you Webster! Mish Mash designs is a collection of the most vibrant, colorful gorgeous Indian inspired hand painted items you will find. At MM, Abhilasha paints all of her products. When I asked her about the design ideas and inspiration behind them, she said they come to her at any time - while she is walking on the beach, while she is day dreaming. Abhilasha has been drawing and painting for as long as she can remember and has always been part of some creative process or another all her life. Her work does not belong to any "school of art" persay but every piece is unique, handmade and made by her single hand. When I see her work, I am reminded of this quote I read  along time ago..."There is a road from the eye to the heart that does not go through the intellect".  What her heart conjures up via pure imagination and creative genius, is translated directly to her work.

As of now Mish Mash Designs is focussed on cushion covers, pillows and tote bags and the fabric used is silk cotton and organic cotton. The entire range is grouped under 3 collections:

The Royal collection which is based and inspired by ethnic India, Jodha Akbar, Mumtaz, Shah Jahan and the royal Rajput princes and princesses and evocative of an era in our history when India was the richest country on earth, handsome mustached Maharajas ruled gently and fairly, while the Maharanis strolled the palace grounds with perfumed roses in their hair, gossamer veils on their faces and tinkling anklets on their feet!

The Tribal collection features paintings of bold faced men and doe eyed women amidst the eternal theme of love and romance, brave rugged tribal men wooing and courting shy coquettish women with flowers and songs, Krishna serenading Radha with his bansuri/flute.

The Dreamer collection aptly features the dreamer in all of us....moments of quiet solitude, a girl deep in her thoughts smelling a flower before the fragrance disapperas, ethereal butterflies and dragonflies hovering by.

 In addition to these 3 collections, Abhilasha has also made some miscellaneous designs which fall under the Mish Mash Potpourri collection!

Gorgeous stuff! To browse more and lay your hands on her work go visit Abhilasha's site here!