India’s Textile Craft Heritage, Live! – Berkeley, CA

Dr. Yoshiko I. Wada’s research and relationships in Gujarat, India began in 1983 supported by an Indo-U.S. government fellowship affiliated with National Institute of Design (NID). Yoshiko’s work and the 2nd International Shibori Symposium held in Ahmedabad in 1997 served to inspire artisans of the next generation to carry forth with India’s culturally important and beautiful textile heritage crafts. Gujarat’s textile heritage dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization.

Our guests from the Gujarat region:

Asif Shaikh is a designer and master embroiderer with a passion for preserving, nurturing, and showcasing India’s long and rich textile heritage which led him to found the Craft Design Society Art Foundation (CDS) in 2017. To recognize India’s highly skilled textile artisans, he initiated, Walking Hand-in-Hand, a fashion show where designers and their artisans walk together down the runway.

Abduljabbar Khatri with his brother Abdullah Master Bandhani artists founded SIDR Craft a social, artisan-based enterprise in 1992. They employ approximately 200 craftswomen from eight villages in Kutch, Gujarat, India. SIDR is known for their incredible Bandhani and clamp dye pieces. The brothers have been awarded the UNESCO Seal of Excellence for standard-setting craftsmanship.

Sufiyan Ismail Khatri is part of the Khatri Community of Kutch, Gujarat, continuing the four thousand year old tradition of Ajrakh hand-block printing, a tradition that goes back to the early civilizations of the Indus Valley. His passion is to re-instill a sense of reverence for the craft of Ajrakh and the artisans who are committed to this technique.

Siju Shamji Vishram is a designer, master weaver, and natural dyer dedicated to preserving the Kutch, Gujarat region’s traditional extra-weft weaving heritage. He leads “Vankara Vishram Valji Weaving”, a multigenerational weaving and natural dyeing initiative and is known for his innovations in Dhabla weaving. Siju has been awarded the UNESCO Seal Of Excellence for his outstanding craftsmanship as a master artisan.

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Padmaja Krishnan, a designer based in Mumbai, India, runs her studio and creates “slow hand-made clothing” working with artisan communities across India. She integrates the work of traditionally skilled artisans with modern design practice.

Ashita Singhal (Paiwand label) from New Delhi. Paiwand blends heritage craft, such as Aari embroidery from Delhi and Kantha stitching from Bengal, with modern ingenuity and design– threading waste fabric strips into these time-honored techniques. In so doing she also revisits the traditional practice of sustainability, something urgently needed today.

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The 12th International Shibori Symposium (12ISS):  12ISS discussions, debates, workshops, excursions and tours take place September-October 2026 in Basel, Switzerland. Be a part of this pivotal event for future of textile, architecture, and other craft practices.

The World Shibori Network Foundation (WSNF)’s mission is to share the rich wisdom and beauty found in world-wide heritage craft practices through immersive experiences that nurture a deep love and appreciation for the craft and its cultural context. Preserving heritage crafts means building on the foundation of ancestral knowledge for a healthy and fruitful future for our global community.