Place them in the running waters of time and get your soulsoaked in the rain of childhood memories “ paper boats take you back to thosedays when life was simpler, innocent and carefree. “The feeling almost comestrue at the ‘Paper Boat Collective’. The range of products in this concept shopstore are simple, handmade and artistic.
“We do not use any machine to make our products. Each pieceis delicately and meticulously created, taking care of intricate details. Ourprice tags may bother few customers but looking at the time spent on each ofour product and the amount of artwork going into it, the price tags arereasonable,” says Bhagyashree Patwardhan, a down-to-earth ceramic designer fromNational Institute of Designing (NID), Ahmedabad elaborating on the conceptwhile her business partner Thomas Luis seems to be happy and content as anartist.
Paper Boat Collective, Goa (PBC) offers pan India art likeChenna Patna (turning of wood and polishing with organic lacor), Silk Weavingfrom Karnataka, Palm Leaf (dried palm leaves stitched together), Bent Metal andcreative experimentations with raw materials like clay, wood, metal andtextiles “ all natural. “PBC is in conversation with international designers toshowcase their work at the store, as they navigate through workshops and make asplash with events, destined for an unforgettable journey into the horizon,”says Bhagyashree, adding, “Our handcrafted ceramics, textile, furniture andwall art is a limited edition curated collection that stirs the soul with itssimplicity, thoughtfulness and charm.”
The store has a line of bold, handcrafted ceramics fromMonkey Business Enterprise, the parent company which is a ceramic and potterydesign studio based in Socorro. Along with this there is children’s merchandisein a riot of colours from Sotomoto, handmade wood furniture from Bent, organiccotton and silk apparel from Rangoli and candid renditions in water colours,pen and ink, and photography by Prash, Allen, Vikas and Sandy.
As the founder and partner of Monkey Business Enterprise,Bhagyashree has made Goa her base. Paper Boat is her second baby in Goa whereshe has involved her artist friends from across various cities in India. Afterher graduation in interior designing, she post-graduated in ceramic designingand worked with industrial ceramics in Mumbai before she joined Purple Orange,a design studio in Bangalore. “I want to explore the craft techniques oftraditional art in India,” says Bhagyashree, 38 who has also tried her hands atset designing work, visual merchandising of websites like Pantaloons andSignage and art museums at Nanded and Pune.
Paper Boat plans to be a platform for art exhibitions,farmer’s market, events and activities as well as organic food joint in thenear future.
