Ingrid Khan´s collection came about as a result of a love for handmade textiles, a love of colour and painting techniques, studies in Indian and South-East Asian textiles, and most of all, a love for the people who produce these works of art.
Following extensive travels in mainly Bangladesh, and discovering the rich tradition of handmade fabrics over there, the idea to start a company with a collection based on traditional embroidered and woven textiles along with new designs became real.
Three main characteristics define this collection: Firstly there is the time-consuming nature of the making of the products.
"Nokshi kantha", the famous embroidered quilt of Bangladesh, is one of the oldest and certainly, one of the most beautiful of traditional artefacts produced by women. Initially, they used old saris and other articles of clothing and joined together several layers using long running stitches. Nowadays, nokshi kanthas are being made out of new clothing, either in cotton or silk.
After having hand-quilted these kanthas, an elaborate stitching of embroidered geometrical, floral, mythological or pastoral design is done. The kantha has an endless variety of styles, as many as there are women who sew. It takes about 2 months or more for making the simplest bedcover.
Even the new contemporary designs are made with as much elaborate handwork and age-old expertise as the more traditional ones.
At least 98% of the women come from nil or low income families and this is where the second main aspect of my collection comes in: all suppliers are welfare trusts or non-profit organisations who have a social commitment in their countries. They are not depending on charity to do good for their fellow countrymen. They engage in building schools, universities dairy farms and other farms and hospitals.
Thirdly, all my products hold high quality standards and together with the long process of manufacturing, this makes prices a little bit higher than your local department store but on the other hand the buyer can be sure that the artisans have been given fair wages .In my opinion, the notion of bargaining for the lowest possible price is not good behaviour in developing countries.
Apart from the nokshi kanthas from Bangladesh, my collection also contains throws, bedcovers, hanging scrolls, curtains made from Dhaka muslin known as jamdani ,table linen, cushions in all sizes, baby blankets, silk and muslin shawls, candles and small household items.
Bergbostigen 16
163 46 Spånga
Sweden
Mobile: +46 (0) 709 99 70 82
E-mail: info@ingridkhan.se
Website: www.ingridkhan.se