When two educated women (Seema and Simi) Store (Art and Craft gallery) on Craftfrunish from Bangalore formed a team to give shape to their dream – events started unfolding one after the other. They wanted to make use of waste material, cloth, handmade sheet, cotton, glitter foam sheet and similar such stuff to bring back more joy to kids at their Birthday parties. They started making motifs and popular characters – Chota Bheem, Doraemon, animals, cartoon characters, Hanuman, Ganesha and much more, replete with a story line in the backdrop and an apt theme to fire the imagination of young minds. We all know how we celebrated our birthdays when we were small. Things are changing, kids have become demanding and they want exciting choices to indulge and have better-themed parties than the last one they attended at their friend’s. The concept of making use of Handmade items and bringing to life those characters that kids associated with was novel and struck a chord in them. Now kids are choosing their birthday themes from an array of topics and the story lines. They stand proudly in front of their customized thematic backdrops to get themselves photographed along with their friends and make their day most memorable! The backdrop provides the perfect setting and helps the sutra Dhar at the party to unfold a magical story which the kids can relate with. It evokes imagery and delight that some of us who were lucky to have when we used to encircle the bioscope wala in our gali (street) as a kid or run to the khilonewala who would show us all types of toys made of terracotta, wood, paper even metal. This handmade Birthday Backdrop is a unique concept which is not only interesting, fun to have around children's room to look at but is also based on 'Go Green' need of the hour. It takes about 4-5 days to conceptualise it. It is interesting to note that after it has served its purpose as an interesting Birthday party backdrop at children's parties, it can be put to multi-use at home. Some people use it as wall hangings or curtains in kid’s room or simply as souvenir till the next birthday. And we have seen that it is an instant hit among parents who go that extra mile to give delight and happiness to their kids. Moreover, it can be customised based on parents-kids need and desire. Apart from the interesting story lined backdrops there are welcome banners, pinata (khoi bags), and swirls at children’s parties, which all leave an everlasting impression on children’s mind. Since all these items are made of biodegradable materials (handmade sheet, glitter, foam, felt sheet, colour papers, cotton, jute, clay and cloth etc.)which are non-toxic and reusable,it is an instant hit among parents who go that extra mile to give delight and happiness based on parent-kid need and desire. Interestingly, the duo thought of details - right from the manner in which an invitation card can be made using hand- made paper, puppets,return gifts, items required at the school (beautiful pencil boxes,lunch boxes,file,folders,pencil toppers,envelopes,bottle holder, pen holder and paper weight etc.) and gave personal touch to create unique items which are value added products which are generally NOT available elsewhere. Seema – Simi team intends to create value added art and handmade items craft products drawn from the remotest corners of India and give employment and create social entrepreneurship at different levels. They have started making efforts to coordinate and tie up the right organizations to the people who are actually making a living out of handicrafts. They wish to showcase the talent of rural India in a manner which is a win- win situation for the people on the ground.This will help the art and craft of the country to get the due encouragement and respect and the world can benefit from the rich traditional culture embedded in Indian villages. So what is that this Seema- Simi team is doing that is unique and how? Apart from attracting the attention of their young audience, the team does not stop here. Taking their ambition to a higher echelon they started studying the folk art prevalent in India. They have taken to these art forms and are either resuscitating it themselves or are taking the art forms directly from those who are actually making it in the villages and showcasing it to the world at large. This is serving two important objectives of theirs. While on one hand it helps them resurrect those dead or dying art forms hidden in the nook and corner of the country, and on the other, they are able to kindle renewed interest amongst young and old alike. Who would not want their children to know what crafts and art forms existed in the past and how they were being made either using vegetable or natural colours or simple clay. We all love our children to know and get inspired from nature and associate themselves with objects which are sustainable and move away from synthetic and plastic items. We all know how traditional art used to dot the countryside when there were no television, radio, and the internet. Sadly those wonderful traditions have either died down or slowly dying away. This is indeed a very vast field straddling the much-evolved art forms of yesteryears – paintings, handicrafts, clay work, printing on the cloth to songs, dance, and music. But here we are looking at paintings and interesting crafts carved out of hand drawing inspiration from the existing nature in that particular geography. It is notable that these interesting forms were regional and highly localized and had a distinct flavor of that particular geography. For example, the miniature paintings of Rajasthan stood distinctly apart from paintings that emanated in Madhubani. We wish all the best to the efforts made by the duo and hope to see wonderful results from their efforts in the times to come. They are showcasing some of their own art forms and some collated and collected from different parts of India on Handmade-gifts Should you wish to check it out yourself and give your valuable feedback, it will be highly appreciated. Online shopping Handmade crafts for birthday is the best choice for today children's, they are liking it very much as well.
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