DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
Crafts
Proudly made in India
“Pehchaan is the discerning eye of the connoisseur. Someone who understands the nuances because he or she has the knowledge of the process of creation.”
ANITA LAL
We create sustainable luxury through a contemporary prism of Indian craft and culture, with the highest standard of care and attention to detail. We believe that design should be relevant, honest and connected. And in order to stay relevant, crafts need to be revitalised with new design energy.
The pehchaan of our handcrafted objects lies in the finesse of its making, its attention to detail, and the originality of its design.
Hand Block Printing
An age-old Indian craft, where intricately hand-carved wooden blocks are skillfully stamped on textile to create repeating patterns.
From the skill to transfer the finesse of lines on wood to the depth and play of colour on fabric, this meditative process requires the precision and focus of a master craftsman.
Originating in China over 4000 years ago, block printing flourished in India under the patronage of the Mughal Empire and has continued to evolve ever since. Block printing has been a signature craft featured across Good Earth’s home and apparel collections for the past two decades. Working with the same master craftsmen from Rajasthan over the years has allowed for a collaborative design process with continuous innovations in design.
Crockery
Fine bone china hand-decorated with our signature motifs and finished with 24-carat gold and platinum accents.
Our iconic crockery collections are created by our design team, guided by the vision of creative director Anita Lal. In-house artists hand-paint each motif, which are then carefully applied as artwork decals by highly skilled women at our Ballabgarh warehouse. A hand-painted 24-carat gold or platinum banding adds a signature flourish.
The focus is on producing small volume of high-quality products, layered with vibrant design patterns and whimsical motifs.
Kansa
Traditional serveware crafted in a bronze bell metal alloy, revered for its wellness benefits.
Hand-beaten by tribal craftsmen in Orissa, Kansa has been used by generations for its anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. Good Earth recognised the potential of Kansa to be reintroduced into the modern Indian home and began working with the craftsmen to revive this languishing craft.
The Good Earth Kansa range is characterised by a gleaming colour, and the quality and length of its ‘leher’ or the bell-like sound it makes when struck.
Naqashi
Delicate hand-painted papier mâché decor objects that are native to Kashmir.
Since 2011, the Good Earth design team has been working with artisans in Kashmir with a long-term view to create a new design vocabulary within a traditional form of art. While traditional Naqashi features extremely intricate floral patterns that may cause strain to the maker’s eye, our design features enlarged motifs and looser patterns in a vivid array of colours. This creates a more contemporary look and protects the artisan’s eyes.
It takes half a dozen processes and 30 days for each Good Earth Naqashi product to go from refuse to art. The fine decor objects are characterised by fine, strong layers of paper with a sleek finish, and a delicate 22-carat gold leafing to add a finishing flourish.
Katran
One-of-a-kind patchwork textiles, made from upcycled and overdyed fabric scraps.
Made entirely of fabrics reclaimed from Good Earth’s collections, Katran is a process that upcycles luxurious silks, velvets and handwoven cotton leftovers to create something new. Patched together and over-dyed in rich hues, our signature Katran jackets and home textiles are finished with subtle hand embroidery and gold-khari block printing, done by our in-house artisans.
Gyasar
Rich Benarasi textiles woven from satin silk and gold zari thread.
Through our signature Gyasar brocade, we continue to apply contemporary design thinking to craft through technical innovation.
In our iconic Kashi collection, there are four warp threads through each dent. Twice as much as average brocade, including 200 gms of gold zari. This creates a stunning trompe l’oeil effect, making the fabric seem delicately embroidered. Each Gyasar brocade cushion cover takes approximately six months to be made.
Kalamkari
An age-old craft technique that uses hand processes and indigo, madder and siyahi natural dyes to create splendid nature-inspired motifs on cotton fabrics.
Kalamkari evolved in the Golconda province, under the patronage of the Mughals. This is evident in the motifs, which draw on Persian designs like the tree of life, jaals, exotic fruits and flowers, animals, creepers, and stylised peacocks. These patterns are created using a combination of hand block printing and hand-painting, which is done using traditional natural dyes made with plants, jaggery, cane sugar, and even iron filings.
Our Kalamkari collections are developed with a community of 95 artisans from the southern coastal town of Machlipatnam, once a thriving port and a centre for dyeing techniques that produced Kalamkari a few centuries ago.
Metalwork
Metal decor accents, finely crafted and ornamented using heritage techniques.
In Moradabad, also known as ‘brass city,’ streets echo with the sounds of skilled artisans using a motley of tools on brassware to complex patterns of intricate detailing.
Our metalwork decor pieces are finished using a range of traditional hand skills including etching, embossing and engraving, which are now practised by a few remaining master artisans. To make the pieces food safe, we employ the art of kalai, a sacred process that involves overlaying brass with a coat of tin.
Embroideries
Elaborate needle and thread work used to embellish home textiles and decorate apparel.
The Good Earth design language features many kinds of intricate and traditional embroidery techniques that represent the diversity of India’s craft history. From the twinkling metallic touch of mukaish, to the loose running stitch of kantha technique from Gujarat, and elaborate dabka threadwork adoring our decorative pillows, our fine embroideries add a special finesse and timelessness to our products.
Embroideries are usually done on an adda or wooden frame, on which multiple artisans often work together to achieve these highly complex patterns.
Handmade Blankets
Summer wraps with fine hand finishing and cloudlike comfort, crafted by our master artisans in Jaipur.
Featuring two layers of hand block printed muslin that envelope soft cotton batting, stitched together by hand, our tulai is a summer favourite.
A lighter covering – Dohar is made by stitching together three layers of fine muslin with a patterned flange that offers all day comfort.
