Design Studios in Kerala adding a restful zing to your classical Christmas gifts
With an idea to present Kerala beyond Kathakali and houseboat curios, Kochi based studios like Memory Train and Sossegada exhibit the city’s eternal beauty, landscape and wildlife as 3D models and painted ceramic baubles.
Kerala-themed flora fauna models, Christmas tree ornaments, hand painted baubles, resin curios and souvenirs are the order of the day to celebrate this Christmas.
Kochi based ‘Memory Train’ designs endearing artefacts like Santa Claus rowing a boat, elephants, hornbills, the Malabar red squirrel, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus (KSRTC) and many others depicting a zesty lifestyle of God’s own country.
While the ceramic and resin curios are made at their studio in Edappally, the porcelain pieces are imported. According to the designer, it is called Memory Train because the artefacts manifest a train of memories, it is never a single one but a series.
The nostalgia-inspired collection of Christmas hangings, How’s it Hangin’ derives inspiration from travel, flora and fauna of Kerala.
Gifts like a Nokia 3310 phone, a Walkman, telephone, postbox, KSRTC bus, typewriter, houseboat, Ambassador car, cassette tape and even jackfruit, tender coconut and cashew stir the nostalgia for those familiar with the culture of the coastal town.
An elephant, hornbill and Malabar red squirrel make up a ‘white and gold’ Christmas set. These are available in sets of three on the website. For those with more traditional tastes, there is a 12 piece Nativity set too.
Another Kochi-based Studio Sossegada espouses the ‘art of slowness’, Sossegado is a Portuguese word, means calm and quiet.
Founder Anie George aspires to imbibe this innate serinit in her recently launched collection of hand painted ceramic baubles which are sourced from Chottanikkara, and then painted by Anie and her team in her studio.
