Monday, May 31, 2010

Bells on my furniture

Bells have a special place in the Indian culture and each state has its own version. I bought a string of cow bells long ago and then happened upon this beautiful piece of kutch embroidery on a visit to Ahmedabad. I adorned my South Indian oonjal (swing) bench with a piece in which I fused both...
Here to prevent the delicate embroidery from tearing, I stuck bakram behind the length of the embroidered panel. Then using an eyelet kit, I made holes, punched in the eyelets and threaded rings in them. Little tag nails at the bottom of the oonjal help hang this panel. The bells are also hung on rings, which are run through eyelets made using an eyelet kit.

This is another view of the panel, wrapped around a chair. You can make out the ring on which the bell is hanging. All eyelet holes are in the bakram, to prevent fraying of the embroidered fabric. These kinds of embroidered panels are available in all exhibitions. Use bells on them and attach to different pieces of furniture for a unique look...


Bells strung on a pretty thread look so pretty next to an antique kashmiri embroidered curtain....Go on then, bell your furniture!

5 comments:

  1. oooohhhh soooo gorgeous! I love bells as well... I've got a few... Love the sound.. and love how they look.. amazing.. how they simply fit in!

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  2. How beautiful! I love bells. :)

    Can you explain this special cultural significance that you refer to? What special place do bells have in Indian culture?

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  3. Hey Laura, Welcome to my blog! In India, you'd find bells in all temples. We pray and then ring the bell so that God hears the message... there are bells which were used on cows in the days gone by, to let the herdesman know its location.... just 2 of the many uses of bells in India.. guess there must be reasons as interesting in other countries.

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  4. Love what you did with the bells!! Love your oonjal bench too! :) Great Blog!

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  5. Hi Archana! Welcome to my blog... great seeing you here.... the oonjal palagai is antique that's why it is so good looking after years of use

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Thank you for taking the time to write your thoughts!

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