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Stories from the global community
Come along on the journey!
Day 23: To Northern India to Explore Wood Carving
Destination:
North Central India
The North Central Plains of India, also known as Indo-Gangetic Plain are a flat and enormous plain. They extend in the east-west direction and are bound by the Himalayas in the north and Great Indian Peninsular Plateau in the south. Generally, the best time to visit North Central India is during the winter, when the weather in most places is relatively cool and pleasant.
Fun Facts:
This region is home to thirteen UNESCO World Heritage sites including the Taj Mahal in Agra, Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya
(marking the location where the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment),
Mt Nanda Devi, the Valley of Flowers National Park and the Great Himalayan National Park.
Also: The state of Madhya Pradesh, in the heart of India, is considered one of the most important regions for wildlife conservation. Wildlife lovers come to explore the immense range of species, especially tigers!
Art Form: Wood Carving - Puzzle Boxes
Wood carving in this area of India is a traditional art form with a thousand year old history. The intricate puzzle boxes from Matr Boomie require years of practice to create intricate carvings and designs.
The Indian Rosewood is first harvested from sustainable forests scheduled to be felled. The wood is then seasoned for four weeks before it is carefully cut and carved. Each carving is done with extreme mastery and precision using a chisel and hammer.
Today, the work of these artisans creating these careful, handcrafted pieces, continues to keep the art form alive. Each carved piece is then finished with natural wax and non-toxic paints.
Atar Singh (left) has been a wood carving artisan for over 15 years. He learned from his parents who were also master wood carvers.
Quasim (left), Sachin (middle), and Mukul (right), have been wood carving artisans for over 10 years.
Watch how it's done . . .
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| Woodcrafting in Northern India |
Matr Boomie - The Company
The vision of Matr Boomie is to create a world that is more playful, compassionate, kind and connected.
Matr Boomie is a Certified Fair Trade business that blends the traditional art forms of India with timeless and modern design aesthetics, bringing people and cultures closer together.
And . . . "A Fair Trade Love Story"
On a trip back to his native India after years living in the United States, Manish Gupta was struck by the extreme material poverty of his homeland. With deep respect for the rich culture and the untapped potential of rural Indians, Manish realized that he had a role to play - that he could bridge two seemingly disparate worlds.
Ruchi Agrawal followed a similar path of inspiration. She began her career working with export houses in India as a designer. There she experienced first-hand the exploitation of workers taking place in the fashion world. Workers endure appalling working conditions for extremely low compensation, creating a cycle of poverty that is nearly impossible to escape. Ruchi desperately wanted to find a way to help break this cycle.
On a fateful "arranged" date, Manish and Ruchi discovered their shared aspirations to create a more kind and fair world. In 2006 the duo began collaborating on what would soon become Matr Boomie.
And along the way, they married and became partners in life, love and business.
They began on the ground in India by partnering with grassroots organizations to transform unskilled women and men into community artisans. Manish and Ruchi personally ensured that the materials and processes used in production were safe for people and kind to the land.
With the help of family, teams in India and Austin TX were gathered to design new products while honoring the culture and craft of Indian artisans. Over a decade later, the little company has grown into a leading fair trade company and innovator in ethical, sustainable business.
Building a
playful, compassionate,
kind and connected world.
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Shopping . . .
Are you ready to explore
what we have in our store?
Wonderful puzzle boxes (check out how the butterfly box comes apart!) along with eyeglass holders, wooden trays and book stands.
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Don't forget to stamp your Passport!
Click on the
"stamp" to add to your "passport."
We keep track of your stamps for you!
"Collect" at least 12 different "country" stamps during the second 20 days of our around-the-world trip to
be entered
into the drawing for a $25 gift card.
At the end of our 80-day
Around the World
excursion, all eligible travelers (minimum of 48 country stamps)
will be
entered into a drawing for . . .
a Grand Prize
$100 shopping spree gift card!
Thanks for traveling with us today.
Where to next? Stay tuned!
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From Manish and Ruchi's lives and journey together, I am reminded once again how many different "journeys" we each have in our lives. Actual trips where we travel by plane or car, by foot or by animal and see new places and meet new people and cultures. Personal journeys where we explore our own paths and experiences that sometimes lead us in new directions. For the last several months it has also included the COVID journey that has shifted our lives in so many ways. All these journeys certainly steer our lives, our hopes and dreams, our fears and challenges. This is true for all the businesses and artisans around the world, for each of us at World's Window and for you. As always we are delighted and touched that you are on this World's Window journey with us. That journey, whether by these stories, or in our Brookside store will continue to shift and change as all journeys do.
We plan to re-open our Brookside store this Friday, May 15th with limited hours of 11 am to 5 pm. There will be hand sanitizer and masks to be worn by both staff and customers. We are continuing to prepare World's Window for re-opening in a welcoming and safe manner for all. We will have more details in tomorrow's newsletter.
We THANK YOU for your continued online shopping support.
YOU are an important part of what makes World's Window so special!
World's Window
"Nobody can define you like you."
P.S.
We are glad to be on this around-the-world virtual journey with you and delighted that you are traveling with us. We hope you are learning some new information as we travel along.
If you haven't already done so, invite some friends to come along! There's still room on this journey!
Send an invite
P.P.S.
We're keeping our trip "log" up to date. If you think you've missed a day or are new to our journey, click
here
to review where we've visited the last 22 days.
"Soft" Opening Dates: Friday, May 15 from 11 am to 5 pm
Saturday, May 16, 11 am to 5 pm
Sunday, May 17, 12 noon to 5 pm
Temporary Hours starting May 17
CLOSED Monday and Tuesday
OPEN Wed through Sat, 11 am to 5 pm
Sunday, 12 noon to 5 pm
As always we are "sharing the world" through clothing, jewelry, folk art, textiles and hand-selected gifts -
and
buying locally-owned is a gift to your community!
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One way to support us
right now
is to purchase
World's Window gift cards.
In-store gift cards can also be purchased by calling
us at 816-361-2500.
And, with all gift card purchases
we'll ADD 10% more
to the value of your gift card as a "Thank You" for shopping small and local.
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See what's happening on our social sites:
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