Art Masala puts on a show of their craft on  November 2nd and 3rd, 2002, at the Lexington Montessori School, Lexington, MA.  Parts of the proceeds from the sales will be donated to charities, hosting organizations and art institutions.

When four young designers Shubhra Chandra,  Saeeda Carrimjee, Priya Verma and Deepika Sawhney pooled their design skills and entrepreneurial energies, they created Art Masala. 

I spoke with Shubhra Chandra about her art and about the impending show.

"Art Masala" explained Shubhra,  "is an eclectic potpourri of our various styles mixed together. Our main objective when we created Art Masala was to celebrate the Indian art and craft tradition, to promote an awareness of the cultural and artistic aspect of Indian tradition. We also strive to create a platform for artists to showcase and bring attention to their work.  At this show, we will display  art, crafts, home furnishings and clothing designed by the founding members as well as our visiting artist Cathy Kelly . The items will be available for sale."

"This show has special significance for all of us because we are also celebrating the Diwali season. There will be many hands-on activities for children. There will be diyas to paint, henna application, bindis and much more. We took the Diwali theme and decided to run with it. We are hoping for a good turn out and want to guage the response and interest this show generates".

"Our aim is to bring Indian textiles, the richness of our traditional crafts to the international market. Our passion saw us through our initial two showings which were talked about and were reasonably successful."

"There will also be accessories there that will appeal to all, from the conventional dresser to the bold one. You may find a shawl that will elevate your basic black dress to a eye catching evening wear, or a pair of earrings that will go with almost everything in your closet. Expect to see some fascinating designs in home furnishing too."

Asked what defines her style, Shubhra said that even though Art Masala's silhouettes are mostly Indian, fusion wear forms an important part of the collection. Traditional motifs and techniques are continuously re-interpreted to suit contemporary fashion trends creating exquisite Indo-Western outfits perfect for today's cosmopolitan woman.

Shubhra adds that she designs clothes to portray a fresh perspective by combining classic elegance and contemporary flair. Paying great attention to detail and cut, she reaches out to the discerning customer offering classic and timeless designs.

Having moved to the  Boston are after completing her Master's degree in Clothing and Textiles from Michigan State University, she has worked with The Limited, Inc and Victoria's Secret Catalog - Sportswear, Sigrid Olsen, Inc., (a division of Liz Claiborne). She now consults with Talbots a retailer of quality women's wear.

"I want my designs to be avant-garde and traditional, marrying modernity and old world charm." Striving constantly to bring a new intellectual excitement into her designs, Shubhra also collaborates with, encourages and patronizes area artists.

More information about Art Masala is available on their website www.artmasala.com. You can browse their studio online to check out some recent artwork, which Shubhra tells me, will be featured in the upcoming show.

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