My travels have taken me to India three times and I'm always left so inspired by the color, craft and rich culture there. India still has the skills of ancient artisan craftsmanship in their textiles, beading, embroidery and block printing as seen in their traditional saris and dress that features delicate to opulent designs.
My first trip was a tour led by a designer who had been manufacturing and visiting India for over 30 years.
We visited Mumbai, Jaipur and Delhi in a whirlwind 7 days. Highlights were
-the sumptuous scent of the flower market at 4am bursting with color,
-the street food market in Mumbai that starts at 3am-9am and travels for miles to feed the 27 million people living there each day with fresh food,
-the fish markets full of bright little boats and baskets of life from the ocean for sale
-Jaipur we visited block printers and saw how they cut the block designs by hand and the precision they use to match the continuing print
We also stayed at the most opulent palace hotel in Jaipur, The Taj in Mumbai and The Leela in Dehli, which all took luxury to another level. Visiting the high end wedding dress boutiques were incredible to see the detail and handiwork creating works of art. There was so much to see and I wish I could have brought home ten suitcases of fabric inspiration. I'll just have to keep going back.
