Hemp for the home
Globally popular materials, jute, nettle and hemp are making a comeback as part of home decor in India. Here’s how to use them right
Homegrown luxury labels still largely turn their noses up to jute! But globally, the material has been quietly gaining popularity at design and decor festivals around the globe. Jute is being spun into exotic carpets, dhurries, lampshades and curtains. Hemp is expanding its identity as well, as a material for office interiors and car upholstery. Meanwhile, Himalayan nettle, a medicinal herb for gastric ailments, is becoming a delicate gauzy fabric.
JUTE TURNS JUBILANT
India has been exporting raw jute to luxury labels, which are weaving it into expensive home décor. Eighty-year-old French rug company Toulemonde Bochart’s Marrakech rug is made from the fibres and costs 336€ (Rs 27,213). “Hand-woven jute looks raw and authentic, complementing the irregular texture of rugs,” says Anne Sebaoun, the company’s development director. The rugs retail at Roche Bobois’ outlets in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
Is it a hip new trend for middleclass homes? Not yet. Ayush Choudhary, the founder of Cocoon Fine Rugs, admits that jute sits oddly with traditional ideas of luxury. But Kavita Chaudhary, design director at Jaipur Rugs, says the fibre fits more modern living, now that luxury is synonymous with sustainability. The company is investing heavily in jute carpets.
Shilpa Jain Balvally, principal architect at Studio Osmosis says the versatile fabric is a great fit for “spaces that need a casual yet rustic feel”. Think of screens, lampshades, rugs or naturally dyed jute furniture.
HIGH ON HEMP
In 2017, Mumbai startup Boheco, which researches the medicinal uses of hemp, made waves when Ratan Tata invested Rs 6.25 crore in their company.
A clothing line followed. Then, Boheco debuted Labyrinth of Love, a home decor collection at the Kala Ghoda festival. The fabric features Aari embroidery and screen prints.
“Hemp is stronger than any other natural fabric and is hypoallergenic, fire retardant, and UV resistant,” says Alisha Sachdev, who handles the company’s handlooms division. “The plant also grows rapidly and requires 400 times less water than cotton does,” she says.
BE Hemp, another Bengaluru label, makes dreamcatchers, photo frames and customises hemp fabric into drapes, bed linen and cushion covers. “People approach us for all the wrong reasons,” says Elston Menezes, the co-founder at BE Hemp India. “They end up getting a bit enlightened about the plant when we show them the paper, bodycare products and fabric we make from hemp.”
NETTLE GETS NATTY
“The Lepcha tribe of Sikkim has a history of weaving nettle fibre into ropes and baskets which they used when they worked in fields and forests,” says Karma Sonam. Her label Kuzu, which covers fashion and now home decor, pushes the boundaries of traditional Himalayan textiles and develop a sustainable system for Sikkim’s textile sector.
Vritti Pasricha, the owner of organic apparel label, Vritti Designs, says that while Himalayan nettle, growing wild in the mountains of North India and Nepal, can create delicate fabrics too, they’re very rarely used in India. “It is still being exported mostly to Europe and North America,” she adds.
Furniture designer Ayush Kasliwal who has a repertoire for promoting local weaves and Indian-origin designs internationally, says that natural fibre-based fabrics will see a surge in popularity soon.
“They are challenging in terms of colour stability and tend to be slightly coarse unless blended; but I see their revival, in a big way.”