0:00 – 1:19 (Apparel & Block Printing)

So we started off with the story of the top. We are now moving on to the story of the block print.

So carrying on from the top, this is the dress that the top was cut from, which is the joy again of having your own tailor. And I’d like to introduce you to Doris. She strips regularly in our window when people want to buy whatever is there.

But we sell a lot of PJs. So we have multiple patterns, multiple sizes. Everything is 100% cotton, it’s fine, and it goes on forever. It’s a small family business that I work with. There’s uncle and his family, and then I deal with the nephew, Himanshu, who I’ve been working with—I don’t know, probably now about 8, 9 years maybe. Even through the pandemic, we managed to get things made and shipped, although it was a bit bumpy, like it was for everybody else.

But just to give you an idea of the range of clothes that we sell… My lovely assistant here! We have a few options.

This is our very popular kaftan dress. Nearly everything has pockets. All our ladies love a pocket. So most of our dresses and trousers have pockets. This one has a beautiful finish neck, and it’s actually hand-finished down the front here. Nothing is spared to make everything look gorgeous, and the finishing on the edge gives a bit of weight so that it hangs down.

And for these hot days that we have at the moment, this is our kaftan—another kaftan style, but it’s shorter, button down the front. We call this our “nep” pattern just because of the stalks. And the little buttons on the front are made from coconut shell. It, again, is no plastic, all natural, and that’s how we like to keep it.

Every pattern has a nickname, doesn’t it, Helen? Everything!

And I know when we’re all very, very hot like we are at the moment, we will go into autumn, I’m sure, at some time. And we’ve brought in something new for this year. We sell an awful lot of robes, both in the fine cotton during the summer and all year round, and also velvet going into the winter. But we’ve started doing block-printed waffle cotton, which just gives you something a little bit different, a little bit heavier as the days get a little cooler, which I’m sure we’ll all be looking forward to.

1:19 – 2:05 (Zero Waste & Bespoke Dyson Bag)

As well as doing trousers, we’re also a zero-waste company. So we sell an awful lot of bags and tote bags, all our wash bags. And when the guys make the clothes for us, the offcuts are then turned in to whatever else we need. So there’s very little thrown away.

I know this isn’t the same color fabric, but you can see that it’s the same design, so this will have been off a robe or something. When this is finished, the offcuts are turned into whatever else we need.

And going back to our bespoke story, we had a lady come in who had a Dyson hair dryer. She couldn’t possibly go on holiday without taking her Dyson. So Himanshu very kindly knocked us up a bag that her Dyson fits in, and it’s got all the little bits inside where all the attachments go. So this is very much made for her, albeit we have many in the shop now that you’re very welcome to come and purchase, to do whatever you like. You may even want to put your knitting in it from Jane’s yarn shop next door, because the knitting needles fit. Anyway, that’s another story.

2:05 – 3:05 (Bespoke Wedding Tablecloths)

So Helen, we’re aware you offer bespoke as well. Talk to us—what does that mean, what does that look like?

Well, bespoke for me is anything from designing the top that I spoke about in our last little clip that went out a couple of weeks ago. But we had great fun about three months ago with a young couple that walked in. And the bride—yes, it was for a wedding, folks!—the bride wanted block-printed tablecloths. And she found this one that was for sale in the shop, that’s one of the many that we stock, which is great, but when you’re doing a wedding, as I’m sure as many of you know, you need maybe 10, 12, 15. Well, I don’t hold that kind of stock of anything the same.

So we worked with our lovely bride and groom, Millie and Fraser, and Himanshu, who makes all our block prints, to create tablecloths for their wedding. And it started with their color palette. She then really, really wanted the soft look that you get from proper hand blocking rather than screen printing, which gives this very natural organic feel.

Very specific brief because it was long trestle tables, so the hemming had to be on the corners of the table, so when you put your glass down in the middle, you didn’t actually stand your glass stem on the ridge and everything would go flying.

And it started at the beginning of the oil crisis, so we were having trouble shipping. So my brief was to our lovely man in Jaipur to make these tablecloths—which he did, 15 of them, so there was probably getting on for 50 yards of fabric all told when it was all put together—and it was make them and ship them. And that was done at the end of April, although they didn’t get married until July, because we wanted to be sure they were here, even if they sat in a box somewhere.

So this is Millie’s design. And we’ll also insert to this a couple of pictures showing how the wedding reception looked, because Millie and Fraser were very kind and gave me some pictures to use along with their photographer. So bespoke for us can be anything from a dress to a coat, or we can decorate your wedding.

3:05 – 4:46 (Amit’s Silver & Gemstone Jewelry)

So many of you might already know the name Amit, but for those of you who don’t, we’re here to talk a little bit more about his jewelry.

Yes, Amit—family, friend, son! Amit’s been part of my life for maybe, I don’t know, 15 years now maybe. For as long as I have been selling jewelry, it’s been his jewelry. He is a gem dealer out of Jaipur originally, now based in Goa. I met him when he and his wife were setting up in the markets in Goa, really. And his daughter, that’s now just about to leave school, was a mere babe in arms.

His life story has been a tough one, like many Indian families. We—when I say we, myself and many of our friends in India, and many of you as clients and customers and friends of the shop—have bought his pieces, which has seen him through his cancer treatment. And at the moment, three years on, he’s clear. And I thank God every day that he’s clear, along with anybody else who’s going through that journey.

But to give you an idea, when I go and stay with him, we start off by choosing… some of the pieces are ready-made, and some of the pieces are loose stones, like these ones are citrines. And then they get made into pieces, for instance like this pendant that has a big citrine down the bottom.

But with him and his craftsmen, we can make anything you want, really. He makes significant pieces, like this wonderful labradorite collar. All the stones are beautiful stones, they’re all set in silver. We can have gold work done, but we don’t hold gold here. They are, again, comes back to that word bespoke—they’re made for you, whatever you desire.

We’ve had engagement rings made for people. We’ve also had people give me old pieces of jewelry that they no longer can wear, and he’s melted it down and reset it into something that they can carry on wearing, and carry on the sentiment of the stones. Maybe it was your grandma’s necklace and you just don’t like the style of Edwardian jewelry, so he’s melted it and made it into something contemporary.

For instance, just on the cabinet here, we’ve got moonstones. Moonstones are always really popular, everybody likes them. We try to sell high-grade stones so that, yes, they are a little bit more expensive, yes, the quality is there. And just at the minute, the price of silver and gold has gone through the roof, so unfortunately everything is costing just a little more, but they are beautiful quality.

We also [have] incredibly beautiful silver work. This one has an onyx middle, would go on maybe a torque to wear around your neck, or a chain, or a long chain to be worn lower down. Also the silver pendant with turquoise.

And then I know a lot of you know Amit’s beautiful bracelets. And these—this is a moonstone and crystal bracelet—that are significant pieces and have become a bit of a collector’s item.

So I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing a little bit of the story. We have many, many pieces, many gemstones. Some are quite unusual, some are ones that you’ll recognize. The earrings I’ve got on today are pink tourmalines. He also has workmen who can make quite intricate filigree work like my ring, with the pink morganite and green garnets. I didn’t even know there were green garnets until I met Amit!

And you’re going to show us a few more pieces as well, aren’t you? Just a few more, so yes. Now I have to walk and talk! That’s more difficult! Right…

4:46 – 5:48 (Gold Plated Jewelry)

So, another cupboard of treasures. So here we go with the earrings that I’m wearing today. These are pink tourmalines. I’m sure many of you know a little bit about the green and the yellow that you often see.

Likewise, many of you will know and wear purple amethyst, which are here. But who knew you could have green amethyst? And I didn’t know we could have green amethyst, that’s something else I’ve learned from Amit. So that’s a set of beautiful green amethyst earrings.

And of course we get the smoky quartz, and then topaz—there are very many different shades of topaz. And these ones, this one is a beautiful double necklace which is sky blue, which is one of the paler ones, as opposed to the London blue topaz which is considerably darker.

Basically, your wish is our command! We can make anything you like within reason, and it can be done in silver, or in gold, white gold, rose gold. And if you have a design that you think you’d like to create, then that can be done. Generally when the bespoke jewelry is made is when I’m traveling out there, because it’s easier for me to sit with Amit and work out what it is you would like. Over the years we’ve made some beautiful pieces, and everybody has been really happy with them.

So, yet another little bit of my emporium’s world of pretty things.

5:48 – 6:58 (Gold Plate Story & Charity Partnerships)

So Helen, I’ve noticed these lovely earrings, they look a little bit different to Amit’s jewelry.

Yes, so 98% of the jewelry we sell here is Amit’s, and the only reason I have these is because they’re gold plate. They’re 22-karat 2-micron gold plate, which is the kind of thickest, best quality plating you can do, but it’s a whole different process to something that a jeweler like Amit can make.

So when I was in Jaipur last June, when you do work in India and you want something different, you just need to ask one of the tradesmen that you’re working with already, and they will say, “Yeah, you need to go and see so-and-so,” which is what I did. So the gentleman who owns the firm who does this, he looks like India’s version of George Clooney! I went in and asked for gold plate, which is what these are—he could’ve sold me anything you like! Because he was rather gorgeous, he’s also married and had two sons, but never mind about that!

So these ones are gemstones, they are obviously a variety of designs, but they are plated, which I’ve always had a thing—it’s not really my thing to sell plated jewelry of any description, but these ones are good quality, and they again follow our ethic of: I know where they come from, I’ve seen how it’s done, I’ve met the guys who do it, so I’m happy to sell it. And when I go back out there as part of this trip after I’ve seen Himanshu, then we’ll go round and meet the guys again who do this, and we’ll have a new range in for Christmas.

Amazing, all very exciting!

Yeah, I think in our very first vlog I mentioned that we do a lot of supporting two charities, one here in Sussex, Safe in Sussex, and the other one is Maher out in India, it’s based in Pune. And we sell products made by the women that are in the refuges there. Most of the women who stitch are based in the Pune area, and we have things like the jewelry rolls, which they’ve made—all beautiful cotton again, all beautiful stitching. And we have lots of little purses and pouches. So when you come and buy this, you’re not only supporting us, but you’re supporting the women out there.

Most women in India can stitch, because if they wear their own kurtas or they are wearing a sari, they have to be able to make the sari blouses, put the sari falls on, and make the kurtas and the trousers fit them. So stitching is not only therapeutic, but it’s also a skill that a lot of them grow up with.

We usually have a lot more items in the shop than just these few that I’ve got here, but because I haven’t actually been out to Pune for just over a year, we’re a little short. But when I come back, hopefully I’ll have a lot more goodies that will be available.

So that’s a little bit about some of the things we sell in the shop. I leave for Goa on the 14th of September, can’t wait! And we will introduce you to some of the people that I’ve spoken about today in person whilst I’m there, and the story will continue, I’m sure! And we’ll meet also some of the ladies who run the electric rickshaws in Jaipur and take you round the city, and do a little bit more about diving into the culture and fun of India that I absolutely adore.