A designer who constantly redefines simplicity; lost in his love for Indian traditional crafts, he creates designs that interweave modern cuts with heritage fabrics. He believes in reliving the history of a culture by reviving its traditional fabrics.

The Summer House

They design and retail responsibly made clothing wares for modern living. They are inspired by a life that is allowed to takes its time. They design clothing that is luxurious yet comfortable enough to chase life’s little joys.

Sienna Store

Bare Necessities – Zero Waste India

Krithaa

DE’ANMA

The post Makers Collective First Edition- Kochi appeared first on CochinSquare.

‘My Cup of Tea’ is a curated pop-up store concept that brings premium and niche handcrafted fashion & lifestyle brands from all over India & abroad to smaller cities that have a growing market for unique and contemporary designs and/or products. At My Cup of Tea, the aim is to connect handcrafted entrepreneurs to the untouched growing market in smaller cities in the form of curated pop-ups.

The pop-up will feature new and emerging handcrafted makers (crafters, artisans, designers, artists) from India and abroad.

The concept started with founder & curator of My Cup of Tea, Rosemary Jacob’s love for fashion and eye for detail. This eye for detail has led her to various opportunities to curate unique looks, whether for a home or for a wardrobe. For someone who sees the world in colors, patterns, and contrasts, this has always been her passion.

‘My Cup of Tea’ is a collection of what represents the curator, Rosemary Jacob – a window into products made with love and attention to detail, all hand-crafted and straight from the maker. A little taste of what it would be like to find just what you’ve been looking for!

The Kochi edition, features 16 handcrafted brands from all over India. There is something for everyone -women’s, men’s, kids, home etc. Some of the brands like Chiaroscuro – leather bags from Delhi, VAPH Shoes for men, women, and kids from Chennai, The JODI Life -womenswear, Pune, Dhora – jewelry, Jaipur are widely popular online and we believe the Kochi people are waiting to see their collection live. Most brands are coming down for the event from all over India to get a feel of the Kochi market and its trendsetters. All brands promote sustainable or slow fashion, some have even been on the likes of celebrities like Dulquar Salman, Alia Bhatt, Sonam Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha to name a few.

Other interesting brands include The Second Life – features recycled and upcycled products using tyre tube, paper etc, Earth Loaf – artisanal chocolates from Mysore, Love The World Today from Mumbai – a playful collection for kids that promotes organic fabrics and dyes, Sonali Raman – zardozi embroidery jewelry, TUNI Tales from Hyderabad featuring beautiful home linen, KESYA from Jaipur that showcases Rajasthani colonial culture in the form of handcrafted accessories, Son of a Noble – an ultra-graphic menswear label, Zariin from Delhi featuring contemporary jewellery, Bheemstyx from Bangalore with unique collection of handpainted sticks, O.M.O for men’s and women’s from Mumbai, Anhaya for women from Pune, Priyanjoli for women’s from Chennai all promoting sustainable fashion using Indian textiles and weaves.

This is their first time in KERALA!

From the Founder

Growing up, my home was filled with so many treasures. Not the sort where there was a chest of gold, but the priceless sort that you would not find anywhere else. These were vintage handiworks of various members of my family. The light airy cotton dress with endearing and perfect embroidery of bunnies stitched by my aunt, a tablecloth hand-knit by my grandmother, a wooden chest handed down from two generations ago, made specifically for my father’s clothes and now being used by my nephew. These were all part of my life and growing up in the thick of it instilled in me a deep-rooted love for all things handmade and unique.

 ‘My Cup of Tea’ is my way of going back to my roots. In this day and age of ‘mass production’ and  ‘use and throw’ culture, I want to give Kochi a taste of what it is to have handcrafted products from makers across the country. These products, which are a labor of love, much like the ones I was privy to as a child.

Kerala is my home and Cochin, a city I grew in, is at an exciting stage of growth, with the emergence of new industries and a hotspot for tourists, it is a melting pot of culture. The people of God’s own country are ready and open to new experiences and ‘My Cup of Tea’ is ready to serve up! With my access to change-makers and trendsetters, My Cup of Tea would be the perfect platform to showcase handcrafted and distinctive products that you cannot find anywhere else.”

Rosemary Jacob, who is the Founder & Curator of My Cup of Tea has a degree in Mass Media (Advertising) from Sophia College, Mumbai and Masters in Fashion Management from NIFT, Chennai and has  5 and a half years of experience in marketing and communication. She  considers creativity and communication her biggest fortes.

EVENT TITLE:

My Cup of Tea | Edition 1- Kochi

DATES & TIME:

3rd, 4th & 5th November 2017 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) | 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM

VENUE:

Pepper House, 11/10A & B, Kalavathi Road, Fort Kochi, Kochi, Kerala – 686002

Follow ‘ My Cup of Tea ‘ on Facebook and Instagram to get updates on its upcoming events.

The post MY CUP OF TEA Edition 1- Kochi appeared first on CochinSquare.

To involve the architectural community of Kochi, KMRL is organizing a competition to find the best architects in Kochi who will be rewarded in cash and fame.

What is the Water Metro you ask?

Water Metro is a project in Greater Kochi that intends to utilize the vast interconnected water channels in and around the city. The project will feed to the Kochi Metro Rail project. The project was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and proposes a 78 speed boats connecting over 38 boat jetties across the city. The project is likely to be operational sometime in 2019 and will be the largest water transport system after Venice.

The architecture design competition for the Vyttila and Fort Kochi terminals is open for architectural firms, architectural students and schools and colleges offering architecture or design studies. If you qualify, head over to the Kochi Metro website here to apply! Last date to send in your designs will be September 10th. First prize is ₹50,000 and the second prize is ₹25,000. The winners name will also be mentioned in the ferry terminal for a lifetime of fame! Results of the competition will be announced on 10th October.

Make sure your designs convert the location into a iconic landmark! Good luck and get started!

The post Hey Architects! Here is a chance to design ferry terminals from KMRL appeared first on CochinSquare.

Childhood is one of the best times for you steer them into future success by helping them learn a few new things and hopefully discover what they like or dislike. The team at Mamangam is looking to do so by having its first Summer camp from the 1st of April to the 7th.

It is designed for kids in the age group 4-13. They have organized the camp with a lot of different activities. The daily schedule is from 9 am – 4 pm and it includes both planned and fun activities each day. The morning session from 9 am to 1 pm is fixed for the week and the post-lunch session is a new activity each day. Refreshments will be provided for the kids. Lunch has to be sent along with the kids or the parents can bring in lunch for the kids during the lunch break which is between 1-2 pm.

The fee for the camp is Rs.7500. The intensive camp has the following sessions and they are conducted by eminent people from their respective fields to introduce and teach your kids to various arts.

Morning sessions:

YOGA is not about being good at something. It’s about being good to your- self!!

The class kicks off with Yoga at 9 am by Rohini Oberoi along with Ms. Meher. Rohini Oberoi is the owner and teacher of Kochi Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre (affiliate). She is also the in-house yoga trainer at Mamangam.

“Yoga in childhood gives young people the best foundation for life. Physically, it enhances their flexibility, strength, coordination, and body awareness. In addition, their concentration and sense of calmness and relaxation improves.”

After the kids have had their yoga session they are given a 15 minutes break for refreshments

The second session is the contemporary dance sessions by a shining star in France and is also the resident artist at Mamangam.

Great dancers are not great because of their technique but because of their Passion. Ms. Angele is looking forward to meeting the kids and spark such passion in them.

The next session that follows is the Hip – Hop sessions which begin after the kids are given a half an hour break.

Dance first, Think Later, it’s the natural order when it comes to dancing. The kids will learn a few popping and locking and you will soon have them do the moonwalks all over the house.

The morning session comes to an end with the Lunch break that is from 1-2 pm.

After-noon sessions

Day1

The kids will learn about different kinds of music. They will be taught on how to identify them. The session is taken by Ms. Priya.

Day 2

The kids will get close to nature today where they learn about gardening and the tips and tricks of the art. It is the time we got back to nature.

Day 3

Do not worry if your kids are asking if it is okay for them to carry your tawa or the bucket to class today. They are just getting all set to learn a thing or two about making music. They will be learning the beats and rhythm from the percussion master Mr. Sunil Kumar.

Day 4

You have been packing their lunch all these days, so here is your rest day. The kids will take over the kitchen today and will be cooking you lunch. They will be learning the art of non –fire vegan raw food cooking from the owner and chief chef at Primate Raw Food, Mr. Eldho Pachilakkadan.

Day 5

Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes and having fun. The kids will have fun creating their own models during the clay modeling sessions. The session is taken by Sooraj.

Day 6

Maya Ravaan will be played at the studio today. It is an epic retold with dance and drama and it is conceived and choreographed by the actor – dancer Shobana. Maya Ravan tells the story of the Ramayana.

So be all ears when your kids get back from today’s session.

Day 7

The final session of the camp will be a personality development session by Zaileshia on the topic “Who am I in a reflection”. It focuses on a journey we all share “Discovering me”

We are sure the kids will have fun discovering themselves this summer. The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.

For further information about this event, you can contact the team at Mamangam on their facebook page – Mamangam- The School of Dance or call them at – +91-9744210101 or +91-9744930303.

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“Eat Kochi Eat” aka EKE had a viral growth within months of launch and still continues to gain strength with new members joining in every day. How fast? From the time this article was drafted and published, the group had added over 5,000 new foodies! So, whats the hype all about?

An independent group of foodies, sharing their reviews of the hottest new food joints from across the city. You get authentic reviews of amazing dishes from restaurants with their original pictures and not the make believe ones that they put up in ads and menus.

These reviews are put up by normal people like you and me with no incentive whatsoever, but out of pure love and commitment to food! You also get to know about the places you shouldn’t visit and the dishes you should probably avoid. In this world, you can put in your queries such as;

Which is the restaurant that serves the best steak?
What is the specialty of XYZ restaurant?
Where can I have authentic abc dish?

Now this group serves a very particular niche  of Kochites, the kind of brave people who do not order the safe biriyani every damn time and the food connoisseurs who believe in titillating the taste buds. A virtual group for foodies, from foodies.

Whenever the members visit a restaurant, they post pictures of the food they had and write a review. All of us here at CochinSquare, have a list of restaurants/cafes to visit curated from EKE reviews alone! With the crowd sourced inputs, the list keeps growing faster than we manage to cross them off!

Eat Kochi Eat (EKE) also organizes frequent meet-ups to develop the interactions within the community. The meet-ups are sometimes well-planned with a focus on exploring a certain cuisine or an area. The last event was ‘Explore Shaappu’ at the Nettoor Shaap. The one before that, a “Food Walk” in which they explored all the eateries in Mattanchery! There are unplanned meet-ups or ‘Raids’ where one of the members calls a Raid and suddenly a restaurant gets lucky and busy with a bunch of EKE members!

“We personally know more than a couple of restaurants whose sales have doubled because of the reviews in EKE”, said Karthik Murali, one of the admins of the group. To add to this, they also organize tasting sessions based on requests from restaurants.

The best part about the group is that, some of the restaurant owners are in it too. You would find them replying to the members’ appreciations & concerns and promising to improve their service in case of bad reviews. Eventually, the group works both ways: Spreading word about food and helping restaurants improve their quality.

You can join the group by clicking right here. Are you a EKE member already? Tell us what you love the most about this group in the comments below. Happy fooding!

Ranjini Shankar contributed to this article.

The post Eat Kochi Eat: Bringing Together Those Who Live to Eat! appeared first on CochinSquare.

Do you know anybody who has this talent in them? Then get them to register to the event Let’s Cook organized by Crowne Plaza Kochi‘s #Trilogi in association with Eat Kochi Eat. It is a cookery contest only for the ladies as a part of their International Women’s Day celebrations.

The Trilogi is a fine dine restaurant at Crowne Plaza Kochi. It offers regional cuisines from Kerala, especially from Malabar, Travancore, and Kochi. They are looking out for special Kerala recipes and maybe it could be yours!

Send in your applications of which 20 will be shortlisted and announced on the 1^st of March. There will be a live cooking contest at Trilogi Restaurant of Crowne Plaza, Kochi tentatively on 3^rd, 4^th and 6^th of March.

The best 3 recipes will be selected at the end of the 3 days by a panel of chefs and influencers from the city.

The winners will be announced during the International Women’s day Celebrations on 8^th March at Crowne Plaza, Kochi.

The Prize:

The winning recipes will be listed down in Trilogi’s Menu along with the winners’ names. Also, a lot of surprise gifts await the winners during the ceremony. The shortlisted 20 contestants along with their families will also be invited to the event.

How to Participate:

Send in your special Kerala recipe entries to eatkochieat@gmail.com with the subject “Let’s Cook”. Don’t forget to include your Name, Contact number, and photographs of the dish. The Last Date to submit the recipes is Feb 28th.

The Trilogi is a specialty Kerala restaurant that offers traditional yet creative and novel signature dishes close to the heart of people in Kerala. The working hours is from 7:00 PM- 11:00 PM and hence only serves dinner. The contact number is 91-484-2865000(5175).

“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.”

Let the best recipe win!

The post Let’s Cook: Cooking Contest by Crowne Plaza,Kochi appeared first on CochinSquare.

There was a reason why grandparents emphasized in narrating stories to children. It improves their imagination, it makes them think from every character’s viewpoint which makes them empathetic and eventually, there is always a moral that the child could take away. They try to imitate the main character and internalize his/her morale. Unfortunately, the culture of story-telling is gradually dwindling. With the advent of technology and the availability of games in them coupled with super-busy parents, children are exposed to smart phones and they refuse to do anything without them. To make things easier, parents let them have their way.

The makers of Readers Wheel saw the lack of time and reading culture in today’s children and decided to fill the gap. Based right in the heart of Kochi, they provide story books and toys for children on rent on a monthly basis. Once the children read the given set of books, they provide the next set and so on. They have books for children between 3 years to 14 years. Many of the books are imported and hardbound to minimize damages. They also have jigsaw puzzles that the children could solve. This addresses another problem faced by parents; the unnecessary clutter of toys and books after the child reads, outgrows or loses interest in them.

In addition to this, they are organizing Story Time, a storytelling initiative by a certified Storyteller, Preethi Shanker. This will be a two hours session on 25^th Feb 2017, comprising of a lot of animated storytelling with the help of props, mostly puppets. The attention span of kids is very less and these props will keep them engaged and focused. Readers’ Wheel is trying to organize more of similar activities to bring out children’s imagination and creativity. Origami is one thing they are planning to try their hands on.

Those who know what a good book feels like would agree that this is a very impressive initiative. Anyone who was introduced to reading at a very young age never stopped reading while many youngsters and adults have a very tough time sticking to a book because they aren’t used to it. This is one fundamental benefit of introducing children to reading at an early age. The books become a part of them.  “When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your life does,” said Kathleen Kelly in the movie You’ve Got Mail.

Give them those books instead of tablets and smartphones. They will thank you one day.

For details about Reader’s Wheel

Contact  :  +91-8547085180
Location: CBI Road, Kathrikadavu, Cochin
Facebook Page: Reader’s Wheel.

The post Story Telling event on 25th Feb at Reader’s Wheel appeared first on CochinSquare.

Run Miles and bring Smiles’ mission is to promote physical fitness and wellbeing amongst employees, instill the need for being healthy in all and benefit local charities in the city. The TCS Fit4life Corporate Challenge Kochi is all set for its 5 edition on the 19^th February, 2017.

Last year the event witnessed over 3100 participants from 80 corporates and institutions across Kerala which was a 10 km run starting from the Durbar Hall ground along the marine Drive.

The highly awaited fitness event, is a 10 KM timed run open to corporates employees across Kochi, where teams participate with a minimum size of four members having at least one member from opposite gender.

Every registered participant will be presented with a Runners kit (t-shirt and goody bag). All participants will be awarded a completion medal, photo and video clip and the winners will be given prizes.

Associates who are participating in this event are advised to ensure they are medically fit enough to participate in the event and have no history or underlying issues that may result in a health risk due to physical exertion.

EVENT DETAILS

10 km Chip Timed Run! Gear Up Kochi!!

PRIZE

• Cycles for Winner, Runner-up and First runner-up from Tata Stryders in both male and female category
• Winners medal for Winner, Runner-up and First runner-up
• Finishers medal to all participants who complete the race on time.
• Prize for the company with maximum number of participants.
• Prize for the company with maximum number of women participants.

TCS Fit4life Kids Challenge-

TCS is also conducting a 1 mile (1.6 km) challenge for the kids of the age group 12-15 on the same day at the same venue. The registrations will remain open till 23:59:59 hours on Friday, 10^th February 2017.  Every registered participant will be presented with a Runners kit (T-shirt and goody bag). All participants will be awarded a completion medal and the winners will be given prizes. The registration cost is Rs 150.

Register now: https://fit4life.tcs.com/

EVENT DETAILS

1 mile Run – Kids

Parents or Schools please note that they should ensure that the date of birth of the ward is between 19-02-2002 and 19-02-2005 and they are medically fit enough to participate in the event and has no history or underlying issues that may result in a health risk due to physical exertion.

This year TCS Fit4Life is associated with Cochin Cancer Society as their charity partner. Cochin Cancer Society aims to help poor patients to obtain expensive cancer treatment. The charitable society was incorporated during the year 2004 when a group of like-minded persons joined hands along with Dr.V.P.Gangadharan, the main architect of this society.

For more details visit their website http://www.cochincancersociety.org/ or email at info@cochincancersociety.org

TCS Fit4Life is a unique workplace-organized fitness initiative designed to inspire fun, fitness and camaraderie in competition and, of course, for the social good.

Feel like giving it a shot? You are in luck as the registration for the event has been extended until 23:59:59 Hours on Monday, 6th Feb 2017. So Hurry up! Run Miles & Bring Smiles 🙂

Register at TCS Fit4life Corporate Challenge Kochi 2017

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And now, the dream comes true! Feb 4th and 5th will witness Kochi’s first ever Flea Market, On Flea.k .  It will be held at Cochin Gymkhana, from 11 am to 8 pm. The idea has been embraced with a lot of enthusiasm. Their quirky logo with an elephant says ‘Shopping • Music • Art • Food • Fun’ but even the organizers wouldn’t have imagined what they were in for. A glimpse of their Facebook page would leave you perplexed seeing the numerous art forms and artists that were in the shadows in Kochi. Apart from making Kochi a happening place, On flea.k has unveiled and brought to the forefront these artists.

Brainchild of three women – Bhavya Babu Mathew, Anz Elizabeth Esho and Leah Rachel Abraham – On Flea.k has as its theme women empowerment. Many of their stalls and events are women oriented.  The happy news doesn’t end with just one event. They intend to organize it every six months, each time, supporting a new cause.

Ranging from clothing brands to umpteen musicians and many more forms of art one could only imagine, Kochi has it all and On flea.k brings them together. There will be a food section that houses cafes, bakers for your sweet tooth, burgers and so on featuring ‘The Grill Lab’. The stage will showcase various musicians, comedians, rappers and bands. Amidst all these, there will be an ensemble of stalls that sell organic soaps, homemade pickles, wall hangings, home decors, clothing lines and so on throughout the venue.

Once the sun sets, the atmosphere already ringing with music and happiness will be drenched in a hundred fairy lights making it more magical. Music, art, food, mellow lights and friends. Is there anything more one could ask for? We sure have our weekend plans figured out. Have you? 😉

The post Flea.k Kochi: Shopping, Food, Music, Art & Entertainment Come Together appeared first on CochinSquare.

Ajith Mathew conveys the same with his latest album – Ival Ente Kochi. The song is like a travelogue through the common as well as rare spots of Kochi. The song has beautiful and mesmerizing shots of Kochi striking a chord with every Kochite. The singers are Arun Alat and Siddharth Menon of Thaikkudam bridge fame.

YeLove Music is Ajith Mathew’s record Label and this is his third song. Ival Ente Kochi has already crossed 1 lakh views on Youtube in less than a week. The previous two songs are also still making noise. The first song sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Siddharth Menon just crossed 4 million views. The other song YAMI has crossed 8 Lakh views.

Ajith is able to create hits after hits with his music and on being asked how he does it, he says “it is about understanding what the people wants to hear and that’s my secret”. Judging by the reception of the video, we think he understands Kochi pretty well!

He came up with Ival Ente Kochi because he wanted to give in something for the city that has been giving him a lot.  He is a passionate Kochi Machan.

I am sure we all can agree with Ajith. Kudos to the YeLove team and a special thanks to Ajith for creating such beautiful songs especially one for Kochi.

If you have not heard this beautiful song yet, here is the link.

Listen to all songs from the Yelove playlist below:

Experience Kochi and you will not want to miss it. Did you spot all the places where the video was shot? Let us know in the comments!

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