Folk of the Faraway Tree
Karomi reinvents Bengal’s Jamdani weaving, transforming age-old techniques into a canvas for contemporary expression. What began as a single artisan’s leap of faith has grown into a dynamic network of weavers, redefining handloom traditions. With an artist’s instinct and a designer’s precision, Karomi moves beyond convention, embracing spontaneity in pattern and composition.
Expanding beyond weaving, the brand explores hand-block printing and kantha embroidery, crafting richly textured fabrics. Founded by textile designer Sarita and chartered accountant Sarika, Karomi blends artistry with ethical craftsmanship, creating slow-fashion garments from organic fibres and natural dyes - honouring both their makers and the planet.
Alongside their artisan garments, Karomi also creates exhibited artworks. They shared details with Selvedge about a recent piece featured in Unstructured Whole, an exhibition in Ahmedabad that opened earlier this March:
Folk of the Faraway Tree is a textile artwork in which the whimsical spirit of Enid Blyton's beloved story gracefully intertwines with the timeless essence of the Tree of Life. It's a piece born from the subtle dance between a cherished childhood narrative and a deeply rooted universal symbol, creating a world where imagination and enduring meaning coalesce.
This piece is a tapestry of scenes, each a window into a world where the fantastical elements of Blyton's Faraway Tree meet the symbolic interconnectedness of the Tree of Life. Meticulously patched, handwoven indigo fabrics in the boro style form the foundation, each piece a canvas for the stories that unfold.
Through the delicate artistry of kantha stitching, a menagerie of creatures and whimsical scenes emerge, a fusion of characters inspired by Blyton's stories and symbolic forms drawn from the essence of the Tree of Life. These intricate stitches weave together the playful magic of the book with the deeper, enduring essence of the interconnectedness of all living things, a central concept within the Tree of Life.
The artwork’s composition reflects the deliberate interplay of these two worlds. The boro base, with its patchwork of indigo hues, acts as a foundation for this blend, while the kantha stitching adds layers of narrative depth and texture, highlighting the interplay between the book's specific imagery and the Tree of Life's more universal form.
"Folk of the Faraway Tree" is not intended as a literal interpretation of either the book or the Tree of Life concept. Instead, it is a creative exploration of their intersection, a visual expression of the artist's journey in bringing these two distinct sources together into a singular, compelling artwork.
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Further Information:
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Image Credits:
All images courtesy and copyright of Karomi