Happy Diwali to all our readers!
As promised, we are here with a fab giveaway for our dear readers to coincide with Diwali. The giveaway is a lovely set of handmade cushion covers from Kye (also see our May 2009 post on Kye here).
Like The Keybunch, Kye has completed a year too. Read on for the wonderful story of Kye as told by its founder Kalyani Ganapathy, have a look at the handmade covers they are giving away exclusively to The Keybunch viewers, and comment if you want to win them! The bottom of this post has information on what you have to do to be eligible for Kye’s First Anniversary Cushion Cover Giveaway! Read on…
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This giveaway has ended. Congrats to the winner notyet100!
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| The Story of Kye |
Psst… let me tell you a little secret. There is a recipe for creating a beautiful home, a lot of love and a dash of personality. That’s where I draw my inspiration from. In the era of modern, touch of a button technology one often asks me if I am crazy using the methods of print making that I do. the answer is no, we have all become trend crazy addicts who have forgotten the simple essences of life. So in everyday work at Kye I pose two challenges to myself (i) redefining handmade (ii) creating an emotion within my consumers.
When I quit my job I had zero capital to invest in the business. All I did was buy a few basic things. It was amazing what I could do with a few meters of fabric, a sewing machine, skeins and a box of paint.
Okay, so I’ll be honest my stuff was not flying off the shelves. But there were people who wrote in to me saying “I… blah blah blah”. that was it. I knew that was the reaction I wanted. I made cushion cover after cushion cover, retailed on consignment at two stores, prayed that they would sell, I had no money to spend on PR. When things started selling, word spread.
Today a year later I am proud to say that my cushions sit on couches across India. I have sold wall art at the most basic prices, but to people who cherish having them on their walls. It has been a long journey, on the way i have had to earn trust, had numerous setbacks. But we still do everything by hand. (more pics of recent projects) After the success of my first venture, I hope to make ‘kye’ a recognized home furnishings brand, the mantra being freshness and love!
Love,
Kalyani
What you have to do to win the fab cushion covers:
- Kye is all about ‘hand made’. So for the contest, Kalyani wants to have The Keybunch viewers write in about their proudest hand made moments. Go ahead, we know each of you has some great stuff to share!
- Make sure you leave a valid email id along with your comment.
The giveaway winner will be announced at the end of our Anniversary Celebrations.
Check out these amazing brass diyas, just so perfect for the festivities.
OH wow!! how nice!! I'm not sure what my proudest hand made product is.. I'll have to seriously think that one.. and while I'm doing that.. I'm off to check Kye!!
Will be back with the answer!!
Kalyani : hats off you…wow…all the best for future…i am sure we will be seeing Kye across all stores vert very soon
Sharon : Whats with you lady…how do u come across so many talented people all the time…;)) thank u, big thank u
O..i forgot about the contest…will think of one soon 😉
Umm my proudest hand made product is
http://notyet100hub.blogspot.com/2008/06/expression-theme-tshirts.html
i loved doing them as the theme was expression
my email id is [email protected]
thanks for this lovelyn post to key bunch team,..:-)
Lovely posts on key bunch.This is to invite you to watch a series of posts on "celebrationsdecor" my decor blog posts on Deepavali.I thought i will let you know if you both didnt know.
Thanks everyone! Do spread the word, because Kalyani is such a talented person, and handmade is such a rarity these days.
Patricia and purplehomes, can't wait to see your entries:)
notyet100, I have seen your fab tshirts earlier, but the link you posted here is dead. Do update it quickly!
Lakshmi, we will be right over!:)
Tell more people, do!
Team Keybunch
loved all your creations Kalyani..my proudest handmade moment was when I embroidered my daughters kurta for the first and last time 🙂 and got appreciation from everyone, though she has outgrown it, she still refuses to part with it.
Rekha, Thank You for your comments at my blog and leaving this link.I wouldn't have discovered this otw.
Kalyani, Those cushion covers are awesome. My fav hand made moments are too many..i go creative around the house.Cover dull old pillows with old pieces of dupatta/bed sheets/curtains to bring in color n change.
Converted one of the cracked porcelain yellow dish into a centre piece with glass pebbles embellishment for the teapoy. Many appreciated this one.
Lovely cushion . my prouudest handmade products are my blockprint fabrics. I use them as dresses, curtains, cushions etc. and here are a few
http://rupasivanarayana.wordpress.com/2008/03/13/i-indulge-in/
email : [email protected]
Way to go Kalyani. That is indeed a great achievement from scratch to what you are today.
My memories date back to schooldays and I used to collect the tender leaves and tiny flowers/petals of various plants and keep it in my diary. Over a period of time, due to sheer pressure these objects used to get flattened out. Any of my friends birthdays were wished with greetings made of these leaves/flowers/petals! They used to feel so great about this, some of them liked it so much. I used to feel so happy for making their day with my handmade greetings with these special items.
Good old days! I should get back to them again and move away from e-greetings 🙂
Wow, I love the fact that Kalyani is sticking to handmade. Especially because I started out with handmade, but switched over to machine embroidery.
My best handmade moment? When I embroidered my first bed sheet and pillow cover set for my cousin's wedding and with huge initials running across the length of the sheets and covers.
Lovely blog. I have been a lurker for so long. but had to come out and comment on this one!:)
[email protected] (I don't blog..at least not yet!)
Alright, i am back with my handmade moment…it has to be the tableware i made for this Diwali…mmmmm…yes i am sure it is my proudest. Here's the link.
http://purplehomes.blogspot.com/2009/10/celebrations-decor-food-family.html
[email protected]
Thanks a lot for your lovely comment.
Wish you and your family a very happy and prosperous Diwali.
I appreciate for your beautiful handwork. I liked the design of the cushion cover very much. You are a creative person and also artistic.
Sadly I was going to leave a comment about making curtains and pillows out of saris BUT, saw the photos of Rupa's block printing put me to shame! I am so IMPRESSED by everyone! Happy Diwali to all!
How cool! My favorite handmade items would be the things I knitted for my niece before she was born. Besides an assortment of sweaters, jumpers and caps, my masterpiece was a dress/coat with a scalloped edge. It came out gorgeous!
Here's mine:) My patchwork baby quilts for each baby brought in by the stork in my family:) I have made 3 so far – for my niece, nephew and my daughter!
Sharon
Creative minds don't need any introduction, their work speak for their ingenuity. Kalyani’s creativity indubitably deserves a seat on the modish couch. In the era where handmade products appear to be losing the value, ingenious people like Kalyani deserve a great round of applause. As far as I’m concerned, I simply love creative handmade stuff. Don’t exactly remember the number of creative stuff I’ve come up with but the suit I embodied for my mum is really close to my heart. It was just like my other creative stuff but the day she wore that and haughtily showed off to family members and friends that actually made me feel good. Mum always looks good but loved her in that suit!!! 🙂
Thanks Rekha for your comments on my blog…n leaving me this link…
Lovely cushion covers Kalyani! I have read about your work on Rang Decor, and seen your work too. Its awesome 🙂
Me and my sister used to do embroider on suits in my college days; just for us…I still cherish the work on a white cotton suit. I have preserved it and hope to convert it to some wall piece maybe..
I love the blue covers..they're so quirky and fun! You've got talent, Kalyani. :0)
My handmade story goes like this:
At the preschool I run, we were teaching 4 year olds to tell the time. Now we could use the big fancy toy clock that we had or introduce a DIY element and have them make their own clocks. So we chose the latter. A paper plate was the clock's face. We finger painted across it and then wrote out the numbers in glitter (what's the harm in getting in a little number writing practice too?) and poked ice-cream sticks into a piece of thermacol as the long and short hands, pasted a pretty red ribbon to hang it with and the kids were all eager to learn from their "own" clock!
I can't thread a needle so my attempts at DIY won't extend to cushions, unfortunately.
My email address: [email protected]
Oops! just realised that i didnt leave my email here..
[email protected]
Thanks a ton KEY bunch Team for choosing the expression t shirts,..and thanks to Kalyani too,..
thanks a ton,i got the cushions today and tey are beautiful,…
Priyanka, glad you loved them:)
iam seeing an old post…so nice …wonderful
Turquoise is a very happening color and breaks the monotony of the room.The cushions are very well made.