Getting down to it

Meet Kaleem: our dexterous sample tailor

2013-06-12T07:40:00.002+05:30

Syed Kaleem isn't just a tailor. He has the intelligence required to see a paper pattern and understand how the garment needs to be made without seeing a mock-up. In fact, he creates the first sample that the rest of the tailoring team uses as a guide when we begin production. Sometimes, watching Kaleem at work is like watching an artist absorbed in the details of his painting. Below are a few questions we asked him, so you can get to know him better.

How did you decided to become a tailor?
After I completed 4th grade, my father wanted me to start working in a safe field. I was interested in becoming a mechanic but my father felt that was too labour-intensive. I was 9 years old when I landed my first job with a salary of Rs 5/ week. That was 20 years ago!

Tell us about some of the skills you've acquired over the years.
Starting young has exposed me to everything from cutting and stitching to operation of machines for tailoring. Even today if there is a tiny fault in our production unit, I try and fix it myself before calling for service.

What do you like about working at Brass Tacks?
The team work here is what keeps me going! The emphasis is also very different when compared to an export factory. There, the emphasis is on quickly making a sample so that bulk production can begin. Here, samples are worked and re-worked until we create a great design and a great fit. It is truly satisfying when we create the final sample.

What is your style statement?
I love wearing quirky and funny t-shirts with jeans. Like the one I'm wearing right now ("Six pack coming soon")!

You are now a father. What is it like to have a son in your life?
My son Darvesh is just 4, but our relationship is like a friendship. I hope we always maintain this special bond. When he grows up I want us to play cricket together and check out girls together [laughs loudly]. It is a real joy to have him in my life.

What do you do in your free time?
I am part of a religious organization that is involved in community service. For the last seven years I've been a part of this Jamaath, helping people in need of education, health and finance.
I'm also a pretty good cook! I can make dal, chapati and chicken biriyani.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I would like to become a manager and take my career to the next level.

The making of Summer 2013

2013-05-26T19:03:00.001+05:30

I was traveling in Kutch (Kachchh) a few months ago and I had a revelation: if clothes can change the way you feel, then why am I not making clothes that help the wearer to feel more relaxed? I was thinking of work clothes in particular; Indian women have the (fortunate) advantage of not having to adhere to a restrictive dress code. I wanted to design office-appropriate clothes with elements of lounge or resort wear - elements that could make a work day less stressful.

A lot of the fabrics I saw in Kutch were too busy for many office environments. I would have to tone them down, or use them as accents. I did that for some styles, and for some styles I just went ahead and created a line halfway between urban and resort wear. It is summer after all- it would be nice to slip into comfortable dhoti pants even if you are trapped in the city!

This is a traditional Ajrakh motif called Kan Kharek. I looked it up and apparently the motif is inspired from dry fruit and nuts. This is printed on jersey in the photo above, and we made these Knit Camisoles with them.

Knit Camisole, Viscose jersey, Indigo Ajrakh

The same Ajrakh supplier does some tie-dye work too. This is also done with thin jersey, and we made a loose, slightly draped silhouette from this fabric. We called the style Goan Beach, inspired by the laid-back vibe of the beaches in Calangute, Goa.

Goan Beach, Viscose jersey, Brick tie-dye

paired with

Definition, Cotton lycra, Red

We went a bit more tailored for this style. The fabric is a thin cotton in 100s count from Andhra Pradesh, handwoven with a "self-stripe" design. We added pin-tucked checks in the front to make it less transparent.

We couldn't resist using this striking Central-Asian inspired print again. We made a bias cut shirt in the same print (different colours) last winter, and this time we've made an easy silhouette called Summer Camisole. The fabric is printed onto Modal, a cellulose based natural fibre.

One of my favourites from the collection is Knit Boheme; a style that embraces the aesthetic of mixing prints and patterns. I've always been a fan of combining clothes that don't match but still look good together. The recent trend in all the fashion magazines of mixing pattern with pattern gave me courage to create this style!

I've been meaning to work with this khadi trader in Bengal for a long time. I finally got around to ordering some beautiful thin cototn khadi from him. We went a bit classic on this one: heavy pin tucks in front and at the back, with fabric flowing from the waist down to the hips.

More on the Summer 2013 collection as we produce the next round of styles!

Imitation: a form of flattery, copying in the name of inspiration, or plain lazy?

2013-04-11T14:44:00.004+05:30

I recently learned from a few friends that another boutique is "copying Brass Tacks". On closer inspection, I found similar literature ("focus on fit, fabric and tailoring quality") and their styles had names and similar stories about them (call me hyper-vigilant but you know when someone is trying to imitate your writing style). Most upsetting of all was that a few of their styles seemed like copies of Brass Tacks silhouettes. They had my Patiala Pant (under a different name of course), and an ill-fitting version of my Wide Hem Trouser (called Wide Leg Pants).

It's not the threat of competition that bothers me. What really gets my goat is the blatancy with which Brass Tacks ideas are copied.

A few days ago I noticed, on Facebook, the brand description of yet another designer. She had used the words, "To be understood, our clothes have to be touched, stroked, and worn". How could someone else have come up with those very words that my sister had worked on for Brass Tacks in 2007? A description so unique because it acknowledges the sensual appeal of handwoven fabrics and the focus at Brass Tacks on fit.

A screenshot of the Brass Tacks homepage in 2008, with the paragraph containing the sentence, "In order to be understood, our clothes have to be touched, stroked, and worn".

And just out of curiosity I did a google search a few minutes ago for "Inspired by the rhythm of the weaver's shuttle" to see what I get, and found the linkedin page of a Bandhani trader who just copied the entire paragraph, word for word, but replaced his business name in place of Brass Tacks. Oh wait, he also changed "clothes" to "cloths", and "tailors" to "Karigars".

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I bet most creative people who spend hours or days trying to come up with a unique idea that will have commercial success wouldn't be able to laugh that off like a genuine compliment. Copying is easy. Coming up with a new idea is tough.

So what's the difference between copying and being inspired by someone's work? Copyright infringement is a highly debatable and controversial topic in fashion. While copying a logo or site-content can be taken to court, design is a grey area. One simple change- like the colour- makes the style different. Many designers who look to the same sources for inspiration end up designing styles that have a common thread even though their research and work was done independently. What's important to note here however, is that despite the similarity, easy designer has his or her own unique take on the theme.

Left: An article in the New York Times on the trend of geometric patterns.
Right: The 70s Maxi from Brass Tacks' Spring 2013 collection.

Many even argue (and I agree), that designers should rely on work done in the past for inspiration and information, because sometimes in order to improve you need to see what's been done before. An article I read recently on the National Post quoted a professor at University of Virginia: "No one creates ex nihilo. And in the fashion industry especially". It's true- how do you create something without any frame of reference at all? And when someone does create something distinct - like Vionnet's cowl - does it mean no one else can use the same technique of draping a cowl, for fear of being seen as imitating Vionnet's style?

I, for one, have certainly relied on the work of many others during my journey with Brass Tacks. I'm not going to get into the obvious (clearly I did not invent the shirt, or the cowl neck), but were it not for other brands whose creations I did not care for, I might not have thought about creating a line of tailored clothes. Were it not for India's textile heritage, I might not have thought of translating those textiles into modern silhouettes. I needed to be surrounded by those particular brands and fabrics in order to gain the point of view that I have. And once I started, I needed to look up to other brands and retailers for inspiration. I've been inspired by Anthropologie's photography, J.Crew's clever marketing emails, and all the creative artisans who supply Brass Tacks with beautiful fabric.

But at the end of it all, I have my story. I have my reason for starting Brass Tacks, my unique point of view and my personality behind every creation. For me, that's perhaps the biggest difference between copying and deriving inspiration. If you don't have your own point of view, then all you'll ever be seen for is knocking-off your inspiration.

And as for me, this is just the kick I needed to get me started on some exciting projects I had lined up for the Summer. Imitation is unethical, but maybe it's what keeps us on our toes, working more creatively to make pieces that are more distinct. Let them copy all they want (I'll work on feeling more flattered) - what they can never get is my energy and passion.

Hope you paid attention in geometry class!

2013-04-02T18:00:00.002+05:30

The original title of this post sounded like a boring academic paper: The use of 2-dimensional geometric shapes in 3-dimensional draped styles. I didn't think that would grab your attention.... but converting flat geometric shapes into draped styles is what this post is about.

A couple of years ago I was in New York for a short vacation and I noticed a drapey style at a store. I say "drapey" because it wasn't the conventional draped style with cowls or fabric flowing from one direction to another. It was a fairly structured silhouette with these long drapey bits at the side - almost like the top had sleeves from the hip going down to the thigh. It made me think a lot about proportions, and the conventional notion that a flattering shape must follow the body's contours.

There's a certain amount of geometry that's required for pattern-making in general. Some designers might not think of it as geometry (and that's definitely not a word you'll read in most pattern-making books), but it's really all about angles, manipulating those angles and triangles (darts), and figuring out body contours. Throw in a 2-dimensional shape, and you've got yourself a fun challenge of figuring out how to make it look adventurous yet flattering (hey, it's cool to be a design nerd).

I played around with a few basic geometric shapes, and those became the patterns for Draped Circle and Dolman Drape (above). The Dolman Drape is just an inverted triangle with the base on top. The regular triangle (below) got converted into Draped Triangle.

From left to right: Draped Circle, Dolman Drape, and Draped Triangle

Below is a photo of Draped Rectangle from our latest Spring 2013 collection, and for Summer we're working on a Draped Square dress! Yes, that last one will be for the very brave and adventurous.

Kachchh 2013: going to the source for joy and inspiration

2013-03-25T13:22:00.003+05:30

A couple of months ago I was working on my laptop and I switched tabs to Facebook for a minute. I saw this poster by Khamir about a Bandhani exhibit that was on until March 15, 2013. I was in the middle of finalizing an order for my Summer collection, I had to plan for an exhibition in Mumbai, and I had to launch my Spring 2013 collection. It probably wasn't the best time to take off, but when an opportunity calls you have to go with your gut instinct. I made a couple of calls and booked my tickets that same morning.

Since I was making the journey all the way to Kachchh/ Kutch, I had to make a trip out of it. I can't begin to explain how much fun the trip was- connecting with people I've been in touch with for a long time but never actually met in person, getting to see craftsmen doing their work and experiencing their hospitality, and taking in the precision and labour-intensive work that goes into our amazing textile heritage. The delicious food was a bonus!

The Bandhani exhibit at Khamir was presented really well. You don't get to see a curated collection with well-written explanations and stories often in India, but this was definitely one of them. I learned something new as well: the Muslim Khatris who make bandhani textiles were once converted from the Brahma Kshatris. Today, you have Hindu and Muslim Khatri families making bandhani.

I like seeing crafts and textiles for the educational experience, even if I can't buy or use everything for Brass Tacks. I was blown away when I read that the piece above has around 90,000 knots and it took a woman 12 months to tie. Here's a lesson in patience and attention to detail!

Khamir is also doing some really cool work with recycling plastic. They collect plastic bags from a garbage dump, clean them, cut them into strips, and weave them into a thick fabric that can be used for table mats, beach bags, and floor mats. I tried to weave a few weft rows, but I wasn't very good it (and I'm told this is the most simple, basic weave possible)! I did leave with a colourful beach bag though.

Perhaps the highlight of my trip was my day at Ajrakhpur, with Sufiyan Khatri and his family. I couldn't contain my excitement when I found the blocks for fabric I had ordered last year and had to ask someone to take a photo! The really fun part about this visit was that I had just given Sufiyan bhai an order for my Summer collection, and I got to see the blocks up close, change my mind on a few prints, and actually print them on fabric to see what they would look like.

The famous "kan kharek" blocks, derived from Islamic art and used often in traditional Ajrakh prints. I'm told the motifs are inspired by nuts and dry fruit.

Every time I travel to villages there are these awkward moments when I'm reminded of my urban background. Once, in Ahmedabad, I squealed and folded my legs up on my chair when a little mouse ran into the living room from the porch. The family looked at me in amusement and one of them said, "oh, they come and go - don't worry about them". Here in Sufiyan's backyard, a dog had kept her puppies in the pit near the Indigo vat. None of the family members seemed to mind.

In Bhuj I met Abdul Jabbar Khatri, a man who has returned to his ancestral craft even though his father and his grandfather had left the tradition to work at a bank. Abdul Jabbar provides employment to over 200 women, and his dyeing unit looks like a professional science lab, with dyes being measured and weighed accurately to get the right consistency.

The last leg of my journey was Hodka, a village near the Rann of Kutch. I met with a leather craftsmen and got to punch some motifs into leather (the flower on the left was done by the craftsman himself, the one on the right was my feeble attempt at replicating the same thing). The visit inspired me to work on a line of belts for Brass Tacks... colourful pieces to go with our high-waist, belted trousers.

On the way back from Hodka I stopped by the Kala Raksha museum. I'm not usually a fan of embroidery or any kind of ornate embellishment, but I did spend a couple of hours going through these museum pieces. I learned that women spend up to 10 years working on a single piece for their dowry. You end up viewing a piece with a different perspective when you have that knowledge: these women's youth was embroidered into those beautiful pieces. Each community has its own motifs and embroidery techniques, with striking colour combinations and placement that looks rich without looking gaudy or overdone.

Interesting story: there was one village where the young women didn't want to get married, and so they took longer to make their dowry pieces. Finally, the village elder banned embroidery altogether and now that village uses ribbons and other decorative pieces to adorn their textiles. Not sure how I feel about the dowry aspect - and if it's some consolation the grooms family gives the bride jewellery so she does get something in return for her efforts. It's a lifestyle and tradition that preserves the art of embroidery and jewellery making.

The links to all the places I visited are in this post. If you're into textiles and you're thinking of visiting Bhuj, go visit these places! If you're short of time, there's a lot you can pack into 3 days, and it's totally worth it for memories that are going to stick with you for a long time!

Not proud, and therefore prejudiced

2012-12-07T14:33:00.000+05:30

It's been hard for me to write these past few months. I've spent a lot of time thinking about what I want this blog to be and I can't seem to arrive at a conclusion. Fashion advice? Soul searching essays? Nuggets of information on textiles? It's hard for me to write in a non-intense, fashion-magazine-style about Brass Tacks. I'm emotionally attached to it and in a weird way, Brass Tacks is an extension of who I am.

When I was a kid (and a lot more idealistic), I wanted to be an IAS officer. I was proud of my city, and it hurt me that people didn't take enough pride in their city and neighbourhood to keep it clean. Back then my cause was environmental issues. As I grew up I was taught that it was very "western" and upper class of me to be more concerned about the environment and the visual appearance of my city because people had bigger concerns- like access to health, nutrition and clean drinking water. And it's not just that- every day life in India can be such a struggle that it's hard to find the energy and motivation to engage in civic participation at the end of a working day.

But is it just that? Or is there a lack of pride in all things Indian that has something to do with it?

I've been running Brass Tacks for 5 years now, and one of the things that still hurts me is the lack of pride I'm forced to confront everyday. It's in people who come looking for jobs- people who think working for an export company is more prestigious than working for one that caters to the domestic market. It's also in the lack of dignity of labour - but I've given up on that one. It's in consumers who assume that the best fabrics and most "fashionable" fashion must come from labels abroad. It's in suppliers who wonder why a small local label would worry about quality and spend money on photoshoots ("it's just for local customers, no?").

I met a couple at my store last week who had come to Chennai on vacation from the United States. I spoke to the man while his wife was trying on clothes, and I asked him how they knew about Brass Tacks. He said Brass Tacks is really popular on Facebook and he asked who owns the company and where the other retail locations are. I introduced myself and told him he was standing in our one and only retail outlet. I also beamed with pride (guess all my Facebook posts paid off!) He seemed surprised and I detected a touch of disappointment when he said, "oh, so it's not an international brand"?

It's hard to prevent all of that from getting to me. As the creator, the designer, and the director of Brass Tacks, I am responsible for how the brand is perceived. And as the director, I suppose I should let the more detached part of my brain take over while I ponder the ways in which I can overcome the perception of domestic brands, and invest more time and effort into marketing and brand positioning. It's not that I'm not trying, it's just that I'm struggling to do it in a way that is still true to me and my values.

I recently made a trip to a mall in Bangalore when I was there for a Brass Tacks exhibition. I wanted to check out a few international brands there, just to get a feel for the market and what urban women find appealing. It would be hard for any entrepreneur designer to walk down those aisles and not feel insecure. Thousands of air-conditioned square-feet filled with merchandise and displays... how many consumers wouldn't be impressed by that? And for something like fashion, I know the whole image that you create around the clothes is just as important as the product.

Ironically, the trip to the mall made me feel better. We're doing something pretty amazing here at Brass Tacks and I don't take the time out to step back and admire that. Most Indians look at high quality products and immediately assume it can't be Indian. Most craftsmen from Italy or France get to work on high-end luxury products, while the skilled craftsmen of India are forced to battle bargain negotiations. Brass Tacks isn't just producing clothes and this is what makes us different from all those mass produced international brands in malls. We're really changing the way people perceive our crafts and skills, and through that, we're improving our self-image and self-esteem. We get to work with real fabric - fibres that have a connection to our soil- and we're privileged to work with craftsmen who are such a big part of our heritage and culture. We're excited about our work; about finding new, contemporary markets for traditional skills and crafts.
And not just that, we're successful too. We provide employment for 25 people and we create high-quality clothes that people from different parts of the world love to wear. We have a great working environment that keeps us motivated, and we like each other.

This isn't about congratulating myself and my team. It's about feeling good and embracing who we are. I don't think we do that often enough.

Meet Manickam: our speedy saviour

2012-11-29T16:00:00.000+05:30

When Manickam joined Brass Tacks as our first and only tailor in 2007, I wasn't sure how to read him. He was quiet and respectful, and never let his guard down. He was a fantastic worker though; few people manage quality with speed and he's a master of it. I remember when we used to outsource our shirts for button-holes, I showed them a sample of Manickam's hand-sewn button hole as a reference for the kind of quality I was looking for. The shop owner refused to believe that button-hole was hand-sewn.

Over the years we've grown fond of him and got to know him better, although the opportunity of an "interview" with Manickam got many people among our team excited so I guess there's a lot more to discover about this shy talent. This short conversation is between Manickam and the rest of the Brass Tacks team. We wanted to share it with you so you can meet our benchmark for quality at Brass Tacks.

How did you decide to become a tailor?
I went to school when I was a child but due to some financial constraints in the family I stopped my education and began working at a shop as a tailor. I worked there for 8 years and later I joined a larger export factory.

You started off at Brass Tacks as a sample tailor. How did you make the switch to cutting?
I was a tailor for a long time and after a few years I requested for a promotion. My Production Manager gave me training with cutting and handling patterns. Now I am a full time cutter at Brass Tacks.

Do you ever miss tailoring?
Not at all. I can always stitch clothes and in fact I still do at Brass Tacks when they are running short of time and they need something done really quick.

What do you like about working at Brass Tacks? Is your work-life different at Brass Tacks compared to the export factory you used to work at before?
At the factory the job was very monotonous but that is not the case here. There are different designs for each season and there is a lot of variety in style. I like it here.

Last year you married Sugasini, the Office Assistant at Brass Tacks. Some of your colleagues are dying to know who proposed first!
I expected that she would ask me out, but she did not. So I went ahead and proposed first.

Who gives you career advice?
I consult my wife when I need to make tough decisions. She helps me out during such times and her judgment is always correct!

We know you are big foodie, so what is the one dish that you can’t live without?
Sambar rice.

Do you know how to cook?

A little. I can cook some basic stuff like sambar, rasam and rice.

Some of your colleagues feel you are very quiet and reserved. Is there another side to you that we don't see?

Yes, I have a bad temper and not many people have seen that side of me.

Tell us about something crazy or out-of-character that you've done.

When was I ten my uncle took me to the beach. He and a few others went into the sea for a swim. I got curious and wanted to swim too, so I jumped into the water without knowing how to swim in the first place. The waves dragged me in, but soon my uncle came to my rescue. I thank god for that.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

I wish to set up a company like Brass Tacks in the future.

Meet Saravanan, the fit genius at Brass Tacks

2012-08-23T12:22:00.001+05:30

Meet Saravanan, our talented and highly motivated Pattern Maker who bikes across the city from his home in Tiruvottiyur to our workshop in Kottivakkam everyday. Saravanan joined Brass Tacks in April of 2007, and he's the one responsible for translating my sketches into physical patterns that are flattering and functional. Our team put together a few questions for Saravanan to answer so you can get to know him better.

How and when did you decide to enter the design/ fashion industry?

I originally wanted to become a cop. I tried my best but I did not get selected. I was rejected because I was not tall enough [laughs]! My all time passion was to do something that involved creativity. I did an entrance exam for a 2 year course at NIFT. That is how my journey in Fashion began.

Is there a difference between the work you did at the export factory where you worked before Brass Tacks and now?

Of course! Though the job title is the same, the work I did there was mechanical. There were spec sheets that went into every detail, with very little focus on draping and fit. But here at Brass Tacks I get to translate a design and there's a lot of creativity involved in achieving a particular fit for each style.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I'd like to have my own label, and participate in Fashion Week.

Would you design men's, women's, or children's clothes?

I want to focus only on women’s wear, especially party-wear. I'd to design gowns, dresses and maxis with a lot of draping.

If your aesthetic is more towards party-wear, draped dresses and evening gowns, what do you think about the simplicity of Brass Tacks clothes?

Most designers today choose to do very decorative, elaborate and intricate styles but it is extremely rare to see designers who create garments with simplicity. I think it's more challenging and it has pushed me to focus on all the tailoring and fit details that might not otherwise show in a decorative dress.

What is your style mantra?

I think a pair of jeans teamed with a t-shirt works always works for me!

What is the craziest thing you have ever done in your life?

I was 8 years old when I felt this sudden urge to know what an electric shock felt like because I had heard people talk about it. So I took a large nail and put it right into a hole on the switchboard and turned on the switch. Baaammm! I immediately withdrew my finger within a second. That was the first and last time I ever had such an urge to feel electricity in my life. Thank God for the single- phase power supply that was then available, I survived.

What are the two things you can’t do without in life?

Helping others and achieving goals.

Who is your favourite actor?

Rajnikanth

What is your method to maintain your health?

I try to stay healthy by going to the gym at least thrice a week, sticking to a good diet, and getting enough rest.

If you had a son who was inclined towards fashion design, what would you tell him?

If you think out of the box and have the passion and skill to design, I strongly recommend this field as this industry is growing rapidly and has a bright future to it.

The challenge of designing for a brand

2012-07-27T12:49:00.002+05:30

When I started Brass Tacks 5 years ago, I didn't know that designing for a brand meant that I wouldn't be free to design whatever I wanted. Nor did I think there would be restrictions and guidelines to which I'd have to adhere. Early into the business I realized- as anyone who does commercial design would- that it's not just about what I like designing: I also need to think about what women like wearing.

It was frustrating at first, especially since I was still finding my voice as a designer and I was keen on translating every inspiration into a design. I'd see a vintage print and I'd immediately want to design a dress. I'd see pop art and I'd want to design a top that was evocative of that. I recognized the beauty in simplicity and I wanted to design a line that was in neutral, solid shades. I fell in love with ikat and I wanted to design shirts, pants, dresses and everything I could out of those fabrics. I didn't stop to think about whether all those different looks would go well together under one brand.

Then I started listening to my customers, and I learned some very important things - things that are integral to good design. Like understanding the lifestyle my customers lead, acknowledging their need for style and comfort and their need for occasion-appropriate clothes. When I edit a collection now I always ask myself two important questions: Who is going to wear this, and where can she wear it? If I can't answer those questions easily, I need to modify my design or scrap it altogether.

The formula can never be truly mastered- because once a brand becomes too predictable, it becomes boring as well. People want consistency but they also want to be surprised. So there's this constant, dynamic communication between my creative mind and my retail mind, trying to push creative boundaries but without letting go of what Brass Tacks is all about. You can't take risks and expect to not make mistakes, and if you don't take risks the brand becomes stagnant. This aspect that makes building a brand so challenging, is also what makes it so exciting. And the best part of it all is that this process has allowed my own style to evolve.

Thank you, Brass Tacks and all my customers, for keeping me on my toes in the best way possible!

Silhouette variety and size consistency

2012-06-27T20:48:00.001+05:30

There's a certain amount of consistency and standardization that customers expect from a retailer, and size is one of them (perhaps the third most important after quality and customer service). I work with measurements every day, and I've done a lot of research to come up with my size chart (which works well for many Indian women), so I'm not representative of an average shopper. However, I certainly can understand the frustration (and confusion) in having to try on different sizes for different styles all in the same store.

So what's the deal here? Why can't us designers get it right? Well here's the thing: we're under pressure to provide a variety of silhouettes to suit different body types, but our size chart remains the same because we too crave a certain consistency.

Let me illustrate. Take a look at this shirt style below called Casual Thursday.

Casual Thursday is a a shapely, fitted shirt and the model is wearing a size 2. If a woman who has a bust measurement that's an inch larger than a size 2 tried this same shirt, she'd find it very hard to move her arms. A style like Casual Thursday looks great on women who are evenly proportioned (doesn't mean then all have to be a size 2, just that their proportions need to be similar to our standard sizes).

Now look at this draped style, aptly called Dolman Drape.

This silhouette is designed to be worn loose at the bust and fitted at the low waist area. It's the same size 2 model, and you can see how this top adds volume to her torso, making her hips look narrow in comparison. This style works well for women who are flatter at the bust and/ or wide at the hip. If a woman who had a bust measurement of size 4 wanted to try on a Dolman Drape in size 2, she would have no problem because it's loose around the bust anyway. In fact, even a woman with a size 6 bust could wear this silhouette, if her waist and hip measurements were closer to a size 2.

Now our final silhouette for this case study: Draped Shirt.

Draped Shirt is tailored around the bust, but loose around the waist. The model is wearing a size 2, but let's say a woman who had a bust that corresponds to a size 2 and a waist that was closer to a size 4 tried this on, she'd have no problem carrying it off.

A customer who has a bust of 35" and a waist of 26" would wear a size 2 in Dolman Drape, but a size 6 in Draped Shirt.

So long story short: our size chart is standard, but each silhouette has a different shape. You should definitely be suspicious if you shop at a store where all the clothes that fit you have the same silhouette but different size labels. However if different silhouettes that fit you have different size labels, that's just because your body measurements can't be categorized easily into that brand's standard size chart (not a bad thing- it just means you're unique)!

And in case you're worried that this is all so complicated, look on the bright side: once you figure out your body proportions, you'll be in a much better position to assess which silhouettes flatter you the most!

Knitorious!

2012-06-15T14:37:00.000+05:30

Up until a few years ago I was a woven-fabric snob; I thought knits looked too casual and they were appropriate only for bed or the gym. I didn't have the exposure to knits from a young age like I did with woven fabrics, so I never knew that they could be draped into stylish silhouettes. I also didn't know that knits come in fibres like modal, viscose and excel- all of which have the sheen and drape of silk, and at the same time that inherent casual look of a knit that is often needed to make a dressy outfit look effortless.

So when I wanted to make knit garments in-house, people told me I would need to hire a tailor who knew how to handle knit fabric, I would need a couple of additional machines, and that procuring fabric in small quantities would be a pain. But every doubt I conveyed to my production team just made them more motivated to overcome these challenges with our existing machinery! We bought different needles for our machines, reduced the tension while tailoring, and got some sample fabric to experiment with. I didn't want to buy a flat lock machine until I was sure we could handle knits and make the garments in-house, so I was keen on making our first sample with our single needle lockstitch machine and the overlock machine.

I always knew I had a talented production team, but I didn't know the kind of magic they could make together until they produced this knit sample!

I can barely contain my excitement! This means that once I buy a flatlock machine we can do all kinds of draped silhouettes in knit fabric, and I can look into using striped fabrics or getting mud-resist block prints done on the knit fabric. How cool would a draped, block printed knit top look with one of our dhoti pants?

Here's to my amazing production team, for doing what many said is not possible!

My current obsession: maxi dresses

2012-06-09T11:23:00.002+05:30

It all began when a friend of mine suggested the idea of a maxi dress, and I designed one for the Spring 2010 collection in an ikat fabric.

Sangeetha Maxi, Spring 2010

The Sangeetha Maxi sold well. It had a low cut neck and a low back with straps criss-crossing from the shoulder to the back empire level. I ended up getting one for myself only after all the fabric was over- which means I couldn't order a special piece for my length. I got one anyway (yes, out of sheer greed because I had to have one) but never wore it more than once because it was too short for me.

Perhaps that's why I had to design another one.

My second maxi dress was Feather Maxi, an ajrakh printed maxi with a lot of flowing fabric around the knees and ankles.

Feather Maxi, Summer 2011

I ended up over-ordering fabric for this one (one supplier completely disappeared after delivering 10 out of 100 metres, so I placed an order with another supplier for the same print. Two months later, the first supplier re-emerged from hiding and supplied me the balance fabric, leaving with me 200 metres in total from both suppliers)! But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the style did well, and I finally got myself a longer version that I wear very often.

I loved the Feather Maxi so much that I repeated the same silhouette in a colourful ikat fabric this summer.

Feather Maxi, Summer 2012

I just got myself one of these as well, and I'm wearing it today as I write this. I never thought I'd be into long dresses a couple of years ago... and now I resist the urge to wear them every day! I think they are stylish, incredibly versatile, and the fabrics that I generally use (handwoven or block printed) translate really well into maxi dresses.

I'm tempted to make another one for the Monsoon 2012 collection. This time, I thought I'd make it more appropriate for a formal evening occasion (the Feather Maxi dresses work best as day-time or informal pieces because they are cotton and relatively modest). I was thinking of sticking to the same silhouette of a fitted empire, but playing with the neck line and back. Below is a muslin sample of what the style would look like, and I was thinking of making it in a printed silk fabric (perhaps indigo and red, but muted because I'll use natural dyes).

The muslin sample for Night Stars Maxi, Monsoon 2012

Tell me what you think of Night Stars Maxi for the Monsoon 2012 collection!

Making Brass Tacks happen: K. Razia Begum

2012-06-05T10:48:00.000+05:30

When I first met Razia I couldn't believe she was a production manager at a large factory, responsible for over 500 tailors. She is petite, slim, and soft-spoken. She came with a strong recommendation from a family friend, and when she joined Brass Tacks as a production manager I realized that she had some great management techniques (I'm still learning from her). She's good at creating a sense of community among the production team members, and she manages to get good work out of people without breathing down their necks. We asked Razia a few questions so you could get to know her better, and here are some of her answers.

Did you always know you wanted to be in the garment industry?

My grandmother used to stitch all our clothes when I was small. We didn't have a machine- she made every piece by hand and I used to spend hours watching her. I knew then that I wanted to do something involving "hand work". I studied Chemistry, thinking I could work at a leather institute. But after I graduated I ended up taking a part-time tailoring job and there began my journey into the garment industry.

How did you make the shift from tailor to Production Manager?

When I first started tailoring I was happy to be told what to do. I was intimidated by the idea of coordinating with other tailors and telling a team of people what to do. But soon my supervisors realized that although I knew tailoring, my strength was in realizing how the garment is pieced together. I got promoted to the level of a supervisor and every year I was shifted to different sections of the factory (embroidery, tailoring, fabric washing, etc). Before I knew it, I was the Assistant to the Production Manager and responsible for achieving production targets set by the Manager.

Didn't you worry that working at a small company like Brass Tacks might seem boring after working at a large factory?

Well actually, I wanted a job that was less demanding because my kids needed me at home. But Brass Tacks has been challenging in a different way- there is far more variety in styles and fabric here and the garments are technically a lot more complicated than the shirts and pants we made in the export factories. By the time I left my previous job, I would see a garment once during the cutting stage, and then again a few weeks later at the quality checking stage. Here at Brass Tacks I have to be involved at a hands-on level everyday. It's far from boring here.

What do you like about working at Brass Tacks?

The exposure to so many different styles, and being a part of the entire design process - from sketch to final product. I also like that we have a close community here- we're all friends and it's fun to come to work when everyone is so close and friendly with each other.

What do you do when you're not working?

I spend time with my family, I watch a bit of TV to unwind in the evenings, and I also cook. My Biriyani is really good.

Do your children like working with their hands?

They both enjoy art and craft-making.

What dreams do you have for your children?

I want for them what they want for themselves. Sajitha, my daughter, wants to be a software engineer, and Haris, my son, wants to play professional Cricket. I'd really like for him to get a stable job and play Cricket on the side for a while until he's sure that he can do it full-time.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I'd like to start my own business, making men's shirts.

International payments and shipping

2012-05-24T23:25:00.000+05:30

Fantastic news! We've signed up with Paypal and we've cracked the Indian Government Registered Postal system! The process for our international customers is not yet as easy as adding items to your shopping bag and paying, but I've outlined the steps below and they are not too complex.

Here how shopping at Brass Tacks works if you need something shipped abroad or if you have an international credit card, or if both are the case:

1. Peruse our online store and figure out what you want to purchase.
2. Register on the online store so that we have your name in our billing database.
2. Send us an email (to service@brasstacksmadras.com) with a list of what you wish to buy. Remember to include your full name, shipping address, phone number, the style names, the style # (found right below the style name) and size.
3. We'll send you an email confirming your total amount, including shipping. Once you confirm, we'll send you a Paypal invoice (via email).
4. The Paypal invoice doesn't require you to sign up for an account- just hit the buttons in the email and follow the instructions to pay.
5. Once we get a confirmation from Paypal, we'll ship you the clothes and send you the tracking information.

International Shipping Rates:
We're happy to calculate this for you when we send you a confirmation email, but just to give you an idea of how much it costs, here is a list of rates according to weight. It's interesting to note that rates are only dependent on weight and not on location. Yes, a shipment to China costs as much as a shipment to Argentina (provided the weight is the same).

In the table below I've listed out the standard weights for our clothes. The box has a weight of 100 grams. Based on how many garments you are ordering, you can figure out the weight of the parcel. Then take a look at the table on the left and figure out how much it will cost by looking up the weight. You can also download and use our shipping calculator here.

Indian Government Tariff for International Registered Post

When I made a trip to the Government Registered Post office to crack the mystery system on how to pack parcels, I was pretty amused to observe how they work. Walking into the post office is a bit like stepping into another era- except they do have a few computers around. They insist on seeing the contents of the parcel, and then you have to seal it in front of them for security! The staff are extremely helpful, but their systems are antiquated. They have their International Speed Post tariffs up on their website, but not the Registered Post tariff. When I asked them for the rates, they showed me a handwritten table, laminated in a plastic folder. "Go Xerox this if you need it", one gentleman said kindly, as he handed me his only copy.

And Xerox it I did. Feel free to download Indian Government Rates for International Registered Post here and use our calculator to figure out how much your parcel will weigh and cost. I like to use the Google Currency Converter to convert Indian Rupees into Dollars or whatever currency you need.

Warning about the Government Registered Post: It's reliable, but far from speedy. Shipments to the US usually take 10 days. Shipments to Europe take around 14 days. Shipments to Swaziland take 30 days. The upside: It's pretty cheap, and it's reliable.

Summer 2012: Colour, prints, patterns

2012-05-09T10:47:00.000+05:30

Whenever I describe my work in interviews or press notes I try to explain that Brass Tacks clothes are stylish, but they are not purely for one trendy moment. They are meant to have a certain timelessness about them - which means they cannot be the latest craze of the month. I usually derive inspiration from my fabric rather than from fashion trends, but it would be incorrect to say that every book, magazine, film or art that I'm exposed to doesn't influence me in some way.

When I first moved back to Chennai from New York, I played with silhouettes and tailoring techniques and I stuck to solid colours. I always paired colours with neutrals like grey, black, white, brown and nude because my taste is simple and I do believe that less is more. But that was then, after 6 years of living in the United States. Now, after years of living and traveling in India, I'm starting to change the way I think about pairing clothes. Why is it that certain "rules" established in fashion are so contrary to Indian aesthetics? You don't have to pair a bright pink with a nude- it also goes with green, indigo, black, yellow and orange.

I started playing more with colour a year ago, and strangely, the trend in fashion was moving towards that too. "Colour blocking" (pairing contrasting colours) became the new trend. But every season has to go one step further from the previous season (or in a different direction) and after colour blocking came the trend of mixing patterns with patterns. In other words, instead of pairing a printed shirt with a solid colour pant, the trend is now to pair it with a striped or printed pant.

Prints and patterns: images sources from left to right are thesartorialist.blogspot.com, Harvey Faircloth on shopbop.com, and Diane von Furstenberg on shopbop.com

At first I thought the trend was noisy- there was just too much going on and even if I liked the concept, it didn't mesh well with Brass Tacks' personality. But as I saw more images, I got lured into the concept. It's not just about mixing patterns and prints- it's about daring to do something unsafe and fun, and figuring out how to make it look stylish too.

Someone from The Hindu had sent me a few questions about fashion forecasting and trends a few weeks ago. While writing responses to her questions, I realized something very cool about fashion today. There are no rules- you can put together the craziest of combinations, and wildest of colours or an entire outfit in monochrome. The emphasis is slowly (and finally) becoming less on the actual clothes themselves and more on the person wearing them. This means it isn't about buying the most expensive label at a designer store - it's about how you pair things together while staying true to your personality, and most importantly, how you carry it off.

For the Summer 2012 collection I've chosen to mix ikat motifs and prints with bright colours, in a way that fits well with Brass Tacks. And as always with design, the more I surround myself with prints and ikat, the more I'm inclined to go one step further and add another unusual element to the outfit. Here is a link to the entire Summer 2012 collection on Facebook.

From left to right: Feather Maxi, Mudprint Monday shirt with Wide Hem Trouser; Zipper Camisole with Cropped Junior, and Patchwork Angarka with Mull Churidar.

And here are some cool blogs that have fun with fashion and celebrate street style:
Fashion Bombay
The Sartorialist
Wearabout
Lazy Manx Cat

The making (and dying) of ikat

2012-04-26T14:54:00.001+05:30

I wrote a post recently about my love for ikat textiles and about how the slow death of ikat is not due to low demand but rather lack of supply. I couldn't understand why weavers would rather work in an office if there were takers for their textiles at higher prices. Last weekend I went to visit a few weavers to see for myself what was involved in the process and why my supplier was finding it harder to recruit weavers. Now, after my visit, I understand what my supplier is trying to say. The kind of laborious work that is involved in making ikat textiles is difficult and it calls for immense concentration. In comparison, an office job is seen as superior (plush, air-conditioned office and easier work for better pay) and with the potential for upward mobility. I'm not surprised- some of the work involved is plain tedious.

The Process

Step 1: The master weaver studies the design, and calculates where the yarn needs to be tie-dyed.
A Master Weaver is a title given to someone who understands every step in the ikat making process. Although every step in the process requires concentration and precision, the real mathematical work is done in the beginning, when deciding where the yarn is tied and dyed. For those who are new to ikat, it's a technique of weaving where the yarn is tie-dyed in a particular pattern in order to reveal a design once the yarn is woven into fabric.

Step 2: Before the tying begins, the yarn has to be collected into a length of 25 metres (length of one warp on these looms). The yarn is collected from different cones, and these yarns together make up the width of the fabric.

Step 3: After the yarn is marked by the master weaver, helpers (employed by the master weaver), sit down to tie the yarn. A thick rope of many yarns together is used for thin lines, and rubber is used for thick or wider white patches. Tying the yarn essentially ensures that this part of the yarn won't get dyed when the whole lot is dipped into a vat of colour. The tied parts are tied so tight that the liquid dye can't percolate through at these points.

Step 4: The yarn is tied and dyed repeatedly for different colours. For example, if the pattern above has to be replicated in blue and green, the yarn is first tied in all places that are eventually going to end up as either green or white. Then the yarn is dipped into a vat of blue dye.

Step 5: The yarn is dried, and then all parts that were dyed blue are now covered with rubber. The parts that are meant to be white stay covered, and the parts that are meant to be green are now uncovered.

Step 6: Then the yarn is dipped into a vat full of green dye, where the exposed yarn turns green. Finally, the yarn is dried and all the covered parts are untied.

Step 7: Once the yarn is completely dried, it is ready to be woven. This green and blue pattern is an example of warp ikat, where all the design is done in the warp yarn. The weft yarn is a single colour (which will change the intensity of the blue and green when it is woven- for example a white weft will make the colours seem less intense, a black weft will give the whole fabric a dark grey effect, etc).

Below is a photo I took of five men working on tying and dyeing a fabric I had ordered for the Summer 2012 collection. These men sit outside all day (sometimes without a fan) and just tie knots on yarn, and untie knots once the yarn is dyed and dried out. It's not so surprising now that some of them would rather work as a factory watchman - that's a lot less laborious and arguably, less monotonous too.

Step 8: The yarn is put on a frame that goes into a mechanized loom. On a mechanized loom, with fine yarn, it takes around 8 working hours to weave around 8 - 10 metres of fabric.

Notice how a different colour in the weft produces a different effect on the fabric colour. We experimented with different shades of grey, blue and green.

As if this entire process wasn't complicated enough, with precision required at every stage; it gets more complex if you want a warp and weft ikat design. In the design above, the ikat work is done on the warp and the weft yarn is a single colour (which means no tie-dyeing was done to the weft yarn). But what if the design calls for a warp and weft design with completely contrasting colours showing up on the fabric? The tying and dyeing has to be done on both the warp and weft yarn.

Below is an example of warp and weft ikat. The design is a black background with white circles. If this was done only as a warp design, the circles would be a muted grey if you used a black weft yarn, and the background would be a muted grey if you used a weft white yarn. A warp and weft ikat design ("double ikat" as it is often called) gives you complete colour saturation at a particular area in the motif.

Steps 1 through 7 are the same for double ikat as they are for single ikat, although the steps are carried out separately with different sets of measurements. Weavers and their employees need to be clever about their work so they aren't stuck all day doing redundant work. For the design below, the tying and dyeing is done for a semi-circle, and then unfolded, width-wise, to reveal a full circle (mirror image of the first semi circle).

Step 8 for double ikat: It's the weaving that really makes double ikat a much slower process. Weavers have to pay very careful attention to the alignment of the yarn (where weft meets warp) because a misalignment in one place could lead to a blur in the design throughout the fabric. For the fabric below, it takes this weaver a whole day of work to weaver 2.5 metres.

Every 5 inches, the bobbin, containing the weft yarn, needs to be changed. The yarn on the bobbin has already been tie-dyed and the order of the bobbins are crucial to the outcome of the design.

Another weaver weavers a black fabric with squares in different colours. When he weaves the section between each row of coloured squares, he uses a bobbin with plain black thread and the weaving goes faster. But when he weaves the rows with squares, he checks the yarn alignment every time his shuttles goes from left to right and again when it goes from right to left. His feet are in a pit (hence the name, pitloom), pushing pedals that raise every alternate yarn so that the weft can be woven into the fabric. He pushes ones and pulls the rope hanging in the centre. The rope shoots the shuttle across from right to left. He adjustts the yarn, and then he presses the other pedal and pulls the rope again. He repeats this for several hours in a day to get 1.5 metres of woven fabric.

I wish there was a simple way to invent a machine that could take care of the tying and dyeing, because that is the real drudgery and monotony behind ikat making. The mathematics behind the design and the placement of the motif and the beauty of the woven fabric coming together will not be taken away if the tying and dyeing is mechanized. But as with many ideas, it's the implementation that difficult. Who will invent this machine, how long will it take, and how much would it cost?

This trip to Koyyalaguden, the village in Andhra where these photos were taken, was fun and interesting because I got to see fabric being made after having read about it for years. And my host was Mr. Shankar, my ikat fabric supplier in Hyderabad who comes from a family of weavers and who really loves the craft. Shankar sounded so sad when he was trying to explain why no one is willing to do some of the complicated ikat designs anymore. He put up with my naive urban understanding of the situation and my desire to turn the whole process into an assembly line. How tiring it must be to explain this to buyer after buyer, tourist after tourist. Why would this economy not have better opportunities other than sitting and tying knots all day? It certainly is something to think about next time someone with an urban education scoffs at the thought of choosing a call centre job over weaving. In my Shankar's words, "When we cannot convince our own children to join the family business, how can we say anything about the weavers' families? Weaving is seen as something very inferior".

Click here to view the entire "Making of Ikat" album on Facebook.

How Brass Tacks clothes are priced

2012-04-02T12:28:00.000+05:30

I recently had a poll on Facebook, inviting people to vote for topics they would like me to demystify. The one that got the most votes was "How do you price your clothes", so here's to transparency and sharing information!

Around 2 years ago I wrote a blog post on labour costs, largely motivated by people asking me why my clothes were priced so high. Salaries have gone up since then and talented labour is harder to find. Also, 2011 was a bad year for cotton and silk prices- the costs kept increasing every week. I struggled to prevent all of these factors from affecting my retail price, but it was difficult. I used a crude pricing system then that didn't really allow me to play with numbers and figure out what fabrics were within my budget and what weren't.

This was my old costing system:

([Tailoring cost] + [Fabric Cost] +[Thread/ Buttons/ ZipperCost]) * Markup = Price

It took me a few years to realize that this calculation wasn't giving me enough information. It wasn't telling me if I was covering my other costs (pattern making, quality control, production manager, sales staff, etc). A casual conversation with an accounting professor last year led to my new costing method (yes, I am a nerd who talks about work even at parties). ABC, or Activity Based Costing, breaks down the cost of each garment into every single aspect that is required for production. ABC allows you to see how wise a certain investment is, and it helps you work towards reaching economies of scale. Think about a cost like rent: your rent is going to stay at X amount every month, whether you produce 300 garments a month or 500 garments a month. However, your cost of rent per garment is lower if you produce more, because that X amount is now divided by 500 instead of 300. Another great example of reduced cost per garment as you increase quantities is the pattern-making costs.

My equation now looks like this

([FabricCost] + [TailorCost] + [Thread/ Buttons/ ZipperCost] + [PatternCost] + [ManagementCost] + [QualityCheck] + [Rent& Electricity]) * Markup = Wholesale Price

In order to do this accurately, it is important to arrive at a way of calculating precise costs. This means that fabric inventory counting and checking is important to know exactly how much fabric a particular style consumes, and producing a style in mini-bulk quantities is essential to observing average tailoring time for that particular style (it also ties in to how you would calculate Rent & Electricity cost for that style).

The Wholesale price is what another store would have to pay if they decide to start a franchise or retail Brass Tacks in their space. Please note, the markup highlighted in green (in the ABC equation) has to be significantly lower than the markup highlighted in yellow (in the first equation), since in the ABC equation you are taking many more indirect costs into account.

Finally, Wholesale Price * Markup = Retail Price

To know what costs need to go into your equation, ask yourself this question: if I did not have this thing, would it be possible to make my garments? If the answer is no, then you need to find a place for it in your equation. For Brass Tacks, things like fabric washing, rent, electricity, and pattern-making are all necessary for garment production. However variables like sales staff salaries, shop rent, photoshoot costs, etc, are not required in the garment manufacturing process and therefore they do not have a place in the ABC equation.

I cannot go into further detail of how much my tailors cost, and how much rent I pay, etc. However I do know that our markups are lower than industry standards. I'm not looking to change it now, because I hope that as we grow I'll reach better economies of scale that allow me to increase that profit margin without letting my customers feel the pinch. In other words, I'm willing to bear that cost today - because I know there's a future coming up very soon where Brass Tacks is bigger, and our production is more efficient.

Why Ikat will always be my favourite

2012-03-27T10:31:00.000+05:30

Ikat has always stood out among all textile crafts for me. When I was young and didn't know the technique behind the patterns, I used to just soak up the flavour of the design with its irregular outlines. The fabric spoke to me, calling out to be touched and cared for. And I loved them all: from the simple, bold, geometric motifs to the intricate, detailed designs. I used to get lost in some of my mother's Orissa Ikat sarees - they had seashells, birds, tortoises, and squirrels (that could look really hideous if it was a graphic print, but the abstract ikat version is classy and timeless). The fabric had a lot to do with it too; the comforting smell of cotton made me want to wrap myself in those fabrics just to be surrounded by the smell of cotton.

Ikat textiles are so much more than patterned fabrics. They represent a skill which has been handed down from generations ago, a skill that is a labour of precision, technique and love. I feel sad that many of our traditional ikat techniques are already lost. The skill required for an intricate ikat motif hasn't been preserved. When I visited an Ikat supplier a few weeks ago, he asked me not to choose fabrics from one folder. "Those are museum pieces", he said, "we can't make them anymore". We can't make them anymore? Aren't we supposed to be getting better at this, not sliding back?

The precision required for a warp and weft ikat design (this means the yarn has to be tie-dyed for both the warp and weft yarns, and measured in such a way that when it is woven the warp and weft intersect where the yarn has been dyed) is not something that be be taught easily. I'm still trying to figure out why so few young weavers are learning this skill, when it appears that the demand for these gorgeous textiles is still high. I'll find out more in a couple of weeks when I go to visit a young weaver who makes some of Brass Tacks' Central Asian inspired fabrics. For now it's dawning on me that some of the fabrics that I use for Brass Tacks' collections might become museum pieces for the next generation. I feel proud that I'm giving Brass Tacks shoppers a piece of our history, and in the process sharing a piece of my childhood. But for the same reasons I feel frustrated that I can't do more to change the situation.

Seashells in flowing water (Orissa Ikat)

Warp and weft ikat, in a traditional geometric design (Andhra Ikat)

Hata Ikat, Spring 2012 Collection

Kalamkari, Chintz, and textile crafts

2012-03-22T12:46:00.000+05:30

I've been surrounded by Kalamkari textiles all my life. We've had kalamkari table covers and bed covers at home, and my mother used to wear soft kalamkari cotton kurtas and kaftans. When I started Brass Tacks I didn't feel inspired enough by Kalamkari. I had seen so much of it growing up that it was too commonplace for me. But after meeting Eswarudu, a fantastic Kalamkari printer, and seeing some of his work, I've grown to love it.

My first Kalamkari order for Brass Tacks was made into a draped silk dress. Yes, it's true the fabric is washed in cow's milk, and printed with natural dyes from vegetables and flowers. For me that makes the fabric so much more appealing because of its close connection to nature.

And what is just as incredible and cool, is that in India we still have craftsmen working in villages, using traditional methods and processes to make gorgeous textiles that find their way into urban stores and homes. I wonder how long that will last.

I'm sure we will invent techniques and ways to print a similar "look" on fabric, as the number of textile craftsmen who produce Kalamkari, Ikat, etc, reduce. But there is something special, nostalgic and romantic about the process of doing these by hand.

I saw some dresses on net-a-porter recently that looked exactly like Chintz prints. I haven't seen great contemporary Chintz prints, but the ones in my textile books are beautiful, just like the prints on these dresses.

Isabel Marant (net-a-porter.com)

Clements Ribiero (net-a-porter.com)

The Online Store

2012-03-21T13:19:00.002+05:30

Whenever I take a hiatus from blogging, it's not because I've run out of things to say. It's actually the complete opposite, except I have less time to blog. The last few months have been busy with finding replacements for sales staff, training new hires, working on the online store, scrambling to put together the Spring 2012 collection, increasing our production capacity, dealing with a tailor crises, and more of working on the online store.

Getting the online store off the ground has been and exercise in patience and communication. I won't get into the details here because that topic deserves its own post. Right now I just want to celebrate the soft launch of our beta site: shop.brasstacksmadras.com

There are some features that need improving, and a lot more products that need to get added to the site, but the payment gateway is secure and we're ready to ship out the few products that are already on the site. We're also happy to hear feedback and suggestions, so feel free to comment on anything and everything while we're still working on alpha. We're actually dying to hear what you think.

Goodies I like: Krya

2012-01-25T14:21:00.003+05:30

I've never written a post promoting a non-craft product before, so that should give you an idea of how fascinated I am by Krya. A few months ago I met Preethi and Srinivas, partners at Krya and committed to environmentally sustainable living. Both have business degrees with years of experience marketing consumer goods with Johnson & Johnson (relevant information because their years of experience reaching out to a mainstream consumer audience will help them market their environmentally sustainable products to a wider base).

Preethi and Srinivas gave me a pack of Krya, a natural detergent made from organic soapberries, to use on Brass Tacks fabric. Now when I say "made from", I don't meant hat soapberries are one of the main ingredients. Krya is literally 100% crushed, dried, soapberries packaged nicely and sold with a pouch for easy use in our urban lives. I did a few loads of laundry with Krya at home, hand-washed some indigo-dyed fabric with it, and when I figured that it did a fantastic job of deodorizing fabric I washed some old silk fabric that was starting to smell of old cupboards. I love this product, and what I love even more is that Preethi and Srinivas have taken the time to think how soapberries can be used by an urban population (unlike many environmentally sustainable goods that are actually hard to sustain if you're working and don't have the luxury of full-time domestic help).

In the past I've always recommended this liquid soap called Genteel to my customers at Brass Tacks for washing handwoven and hand-dyed or hand-printed clothes. At home I'd sometimes use shampoo on silk clothes instead of dry-cleaning them because.... well, what's good for your hair should be pretty good for your clothes, right? Krya is a better alternative because it's even more gentle than any shampoo, and something about its properties ensure that fabrics retain their colour and lustre.

Dry soapberries. There's a large organic farm full of soapberry trees from which Krya sources its ingredient.

Here's how to use Krya, and you should if you're interested in preserving the life of any garment/ fabric/ sari that is handwoven or handblock-printed or vegetable-dyed.

1. Empty the contents into a bottle so that moisture doesn't get to it easily.
2. The powdered soapberries come with 2 cloth pouches, and I recommend that you use a rubberband to keep the pouches with the bottle (rubberband around the waist of the bottle, pouch tucked into the rubberband).
3. When washing your clothes, take a tablespoon of the powder and put it into a cloth pouch. Tie the pouch so that the powder can't come out easily.
4. If you're washing the clothes in your machine, put the pouch in the detergent drawer. If you're washing it by hand, put the pouch in your bucket.
5. When your laundry is done, empty the contents of the pouch out (preferably into your potted plants) and dry the pouch before tucking it back into the rubberband on the bottle.

I think what fascinated me about Krya the most is that the crushed soapberries (which to the unacquainted eye looks like a brown potpourri mixed with mud) actually lather in water. Not everyone likes the smell of Kyra, but I absolutely loved that fruity smell (sadly, the clothes don't really retain the smell) and it's amazing to see how that brown matter can clean white clothes.

Crushed, dry soapberries. The stuff that Krya is made of.

You can buy Krya online here.

Get Going with 2012

2012-01-04T23:08:00.003+05:30

In Groundhog Day style, every few months I find myself in the same situation. I'd like to think I'm getting better at detaching myself from the situation; looking at it as a blessing in disguise and a chance to learn and improve. There are also those rare moments when I'm detached enough to find it amusing. The situation I'm referring to is staff turnover at the store, at a time when things are chaotic at the production unit or at a time when I'm working on a big project.

In 2009 it was right before my wedding, then in 2010 during a weekend anniversary getaway (we shortened it to a day trip). In 2010 it was right before my Bangalore exhibition and a couple of weeks ago it was right when I was shifting to a new workshop and launching the Winter collection at the store. Rain doesn't pour for nothing, right?

Last week on the 30th, I woke up to read an email from my new store manager saying she wanted to resign. I spent the better part of that day just calling up recruitment agencies, friends, and contacting people who had mailed me their resumes before. That afternoon I found my new store manager. It was a total Booyah moment, and it put me into a temporary deluded state that I could solve any problem that came my way. (Keep it humble, Anaka, those delusions always get you into trouble). I came crashing down a few days later when another sales associate who was supposed to join on Saturday called to say she won't be able to join after all. Back to hunting, calling, interviewing....

Strangely, this situation is a bit different this year. Maybe I've finally accepted that this is a big part of running a business (holding onto tailors and holding onto sales staff are both hard), or maybe I'm just naively hopeful in the way that most people are at the beginning of the year! So many awesome things are in the pipeline for this year, and that excitement is carrying me through this phase of staff turnover. Besides, I had forgotten how fun it is to spend the whole day at the store, meeting my wonderful customers and helping them find cool clothes to wear.

Anyway, enough about me. We've got a new line of knitwear coming up, a Spring collection on the way, an inspiring Brass Tacks woman in mind for a creative shoot, and the much awaited online store. Let the year begin already!

Productivity Breakthrough - II

2011-11-30T23:00:00.001+05:30

I've been spending a lot of my driving and eating time (and some of my sleeping time) thinking about new ways to motivate people. In particular, I need new ways to motivate my tailoring staff. Our production levels are low partially because the garments we make are complex (darts, french seams, pin tucks and pleats, zipper details, slippery fabric that's hard to handle), but I often have a sneaky suspicion it's also because there is no sense of urgency at my workshop. In other words, there is nothing to lose if a tailor were to stitch a garment slowly because they are paid a monthly salary rather than a piece rate fee.

A few months ago we tried this system of making a monthly chart with every tailor's name on it and the points they earn from garments. It had a great effect on productivity initially- tailors could see how many points they were earning everyday and they could also see how many points their peers were earning. I felt high on life, wrote a blog post about it and gave myself a pat on my back. I know, that last one was really uncalled for, because after a couple of months productivity started dropping again. Absenteeism, lack of team work, and one departure from the team left the tailors who were showing up to work feeling less motivated.

So in September when I had to launch my Monsoon collection at my store in Chennai and send clothes to Mumbai (where we are retailing at Sanctum), I knew something had to be done about productivity right away. Plans of shifting to a larger workshop, hiring more tailors and increasing our production capacity were in the pipeline but still a few months away. I was out of incentive-based ideas, so I tried my all-time favourite backup strategy: complete honesty. We had a staff meeting during which I explained how important this business is to me- it's so much more than the money, it's about doing something well and creating a brand that we really believe in. I told them how lucky I was to have them as a part of my team and that each one of them was an artist in sewing and fabric handling. Finally, I told them about the pressure I was facing: launching the Monsoon collection late would mean poor sales in September, and not delivering those pieces to Mumbai might mean losing that account.

When I told them we had to produce 500 garments that month, I wanted them to give me their word that it would happen. I hate playing the role of a school teacher or a cop- walking around all the time to make sure everyone is doing their work and doing it on time. So I wanted some assurance from them. I offered to pay double their wages for overtime work, and sponsor meals for those who came into work by 7am or stayed at work past 8pm. I also put up a sign on the bulletin board with a tracker chart to show where we stood everyday with respect to our goal (and I offered a small token bonus if we reached our goal- this is over and above the overtime pay and meals compensation).

I got their assurance by the end of the meeting. Some were more reluctant than others- the general feeling was, "I'll work hard and try my best, but I can't promise anything". Energy levels the next few days were high, and I started relaxing. I spent time away from the workshop and didn't pay close attention to the production tracker. On September 13th I took a look at the tracking chart and flipped when I saw the cumulative number: 139! How were we supposed to reach 500 garments if they hadn't touched 250 by the middle of the month? I asked the team what was going on, and how they could give me their word without making a sincere effort towards their goal. Again I heard the same thing: "We're trying our best to do what we can within work hours". And although I completely understand where they are coming from, because I remember all too clearly what it was like to be just another employee in a company, I lost my temper. How could they expect to jump up from 350 garments a month to 500 with all other factors staying constant? Working longer hours had to be a part of the plan to achieve that goal! I stormed out, afraid of saying something that I would regret later.

Things really changed from that day on. Tailors took shorter breaks, they worked overtime, and really pulled out all the stops to reach our goal. We ended up having more than 5 absent days (across the entire team), and I did end up spending a lot of money on production that month just to sustain their long hours. But reaching 500 was such a sweet reward- both for the team and for myself!

I made a graph (I majored in economics, I'm allowed to do nerdy stuff like this) to see how things changed after my tantrum on September 13th. Not that getting upset should ever be a solution to a problem, but it was a way to communicate how much I depended on their cooperation and production did increase quite steadily after that.

Our celebrations included cutting a cake (of course the guy at the cakeshop couldn't spell "Thank You", giving me another opportunity to tell my staff how the little details are so important) and I braced myself for another awkward thank you speech (awkward because I'm always so conscious of my atrocious Tamil while talking to my staff). But halfway through my speech, as I was thanking them and telling them how much this meant to me and how it really re-affirmed my faith in our ability to work as a team I realized that my Tamil really doesn't matter with them anymore. Sure, there are times when I'm trying to explain something complex and my production manager has to step in to translate for me, but what counts is that they get me. They get why I started Brass Tacks and what the company stands for, and why this is so important to me. And for them to put in that kind of effort because it was important to me and the company- that was really moving! I didn't need to articulate that perfectly in Tamil for them to see my gratitude.

Clamp-dyed Ocean Blouson

2011-11-15T23:17:00.001+05:30

I wrote a post a couple of months ago about Ocean Blouson Dress, a style made from clamp-dyed shibori fabric by 2up2down. I recently asked Namrata of 2up2down to send me photographs of the clamps so I can learn more about the process.

First the fabric is folded- and there are different techniques to folding, depending on how you want your pattern to unfold. Then wooden blocks are placed above and below the folded fabric and held in place by these industrial looking clamps.

The shape of the wooden block will determine the outline of the pattern that emerges (i.e. a square wooden block will give you squares, a triangle will give you triangles, etc. In the case of this fabric, the yardage was first dyed a golden-green colour. That golden green fabric was then folded and placed under square wooden blocks, clamped down tight onto the fabric. The fabric then gets dyed a burgundy/brown – and this whole time the fabric is still folded and clamped down with the square wooden blocks.

Finally, after the fabric is dyed and dried, a work of art emerges.

The Ocean Blouson Dress we made from the brown and antique gold/green clamp shibori was a hit, so I couldn't resist ordering more! I had been eyeing this stunning combination of pink and grey shibori for a while.

For this colour combination, the fabric is first dyed pink, then folded and clamp-dyed with triangular wooden blocks. That folded, clamped fabric is "discharged" so that the parts of the fabric that are not under the clamp get bleached white. Finally, the fabric (still folded and clamped) is dyed grey. The end result: a bold design of pink triangles with faded grey and white outlines.

Brass Tacks Living: Sunitha Prasad

2011-11-10T11:19:00.001+05:30

A few months ago I met with the folks at PixelKraft to talk about getting an online store done for Brass Tacks. I quickly realized during my conversation with them that they had some valuable suggestions and feedback about Brass Tacks as a brand; in particular the branding and positioning with relation to the product.

Brass Tacks was always meant to be a line of well-cut, well-designed clothes that fit easily into women's every day lives. It's probably my own limitations as a designer that after starting Brass Tacks I stopped thinking about other work environments, and what women need for their daily activity (you see, I do get to wear dhoti pants and a tank top to work every day)! But I'm back on track, listening carefully to customer feedback and keeping a close watch on the market without losing track of the brand philosophy.

The idea behind the Brass Tacks Living campaign is to show how Brass Tacks is worn in everyday scenarios, and we focus on women we admire! Meet Sunitha Prasad, the focus of our second creative shoot in the Brass Tacks Living series:

And some more photos made into a collage by the talented photographer, Priyadarshini Ravichandran.

Someone asked me why the entire outfit isn't visible in every photo. The idea behind the shoot is to tell a story- a day in Sunitha's life. Each shot, done is a photo-journalistic style, is meant to capture Sunitha's mood, personality and energy. So if the best shot shows only a bit of her shirt collar, it's fine by us. The focus is on Sunitha- for the clothes we always have our catalog shoot on our collections page.