Jodhpur and Jaipur - A Design Lover's Dream

With just a few more containers coming in from our last India trip - I thought it was about time to do a blog post about our visit last October.  India stays with you - walking through the store everyday, pieces jump out and constantly remind me of its magic.  A fabulous old damachiya on the floor - yes, I remember picking it out in the sun dappled antique yard of our favorite dealer - stacks of richly carved corbels - yes, I know the exact corner of that dusty warehouse where they were shelved all in a row.

And of course, it is a photographer's dream - the colorful, chaotic streets, the giant's scale architecture with gates big enough for visiting elephants and entire courtly retinues, the bustle of the best dressed ladies in the world with their flowing saris and salwar kemeez.  Ah India - can't wait to be back!  

Please take a peek at the little photo album of sorts below - I love to look back at these and dream about the next trip.

Shown above is the beautiful restored stepwell in the old city of Jodhpur.

Ladies out doing their afternoon shopping in the old city of Jodhpur.

The Clock Tower of Jodhpur

Jodhpur Veg Market colors

A lac bangle maker in his shop melting down bangle remnants to create a new, mixed design.

Pretty in pink!  A perfectly pink girl gang gathering next to the Stepwell.

October is definitely still hot enough to tempt the local boys into jumping into the Stepwell waters from way up high on it's pink stone walls.

Me shopping in the sari trim store for package tie-ons and ribbons.

The incomparable Raas Jodhpur Hotel all lit up at night with Mehranghar Fort towering above.  We have been staying here since it opened in 2010.  I can honestly say it is one of the best small hotels in the world. 

Modern meets ancient at Raas.

Linda appreciating the slender Neem trees and the old haveli courtyard at Raas. 

Acres of antique treasures at one of our favorite vendors. 

Old stone jalis to be mounted on iron stands.

Beautiful old teak doors coming this April!

Antique plaster molds that we use for wall hangings, table tops, and as art pieces on iron stands. 

These will be coffee tables or desks with iron legs and glass tops!  Old meets new!

A vignette here at TDL with a coffee table made from one of the antique plaster molds.

Old water pots and antique doors - both coming this spring!

Linda with thousands of old iron fragments - balcony railings, transoms, window privacy screens etc.

A collection of old doors, corbels, and an antique temple from India - all here at TDL - love!

Antique carved panels coming on the next container this April!

India in bloom!

We always start out in Jodhpur and meet with our furniture vendors - and then make our way to Jaipur to focus on textiles. 

It is about a 6.5 hour drive - not by camel!  But with a car and driver that we arrange with our friends' assistance.  This time we stopped en route to stay at the wilderness property the Raas hotel group renovated called Chhatrasagar.

Here a stately Rajasthani camel ambling along with the swerve and honk traffic in Jaipur.

Chhatrasagar is about at the midpoint between Jodhpur and Jaipur - we had a lovely pause here for one short night.  I walked the extensive grounds and saw native deer and a million beautiful birds.  There are booklets in the tented rooms helping even novices identify the species populating the forest.

Our tented room at  Chhatrasagar.

The absolute highlight was waking before dawn for sunrise over the reservoir.  We stood spellbound for an hour watching the light change and the birds' first flights across the water's mirror surface.

We arrived in Jaipur midmorning and the work began again!

The Hawa Mahal in Jaipur - taken from the car window en route to one of our dealer's warehouses.

More drive by tourism - the Amber Fort - no time to go inside this trip - but it is absolutely amazing!

Jaipur looks like this the most to us!  Basement stockpiles of vintage textiles.

Beaded Pakistani dress flowers - they make great coasters!

One of my favorite recent shelfies I created here at TDL - with a zillion pillows from India, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and beyond.

At our BFF Elizabeth Hewitt's block printing workshop - they painstakingly produce all her original designs for her textile companies Tulu and Tamam.  

Hand carved block prints.

All block prints start as solid slices of acacia wood - and are hand carved by masters into incredibly intricate designs.

And hand stamped onto fabric in every color of the rainbow.

Meters and meters of cotton being hand stamped, and hung up to dry above.

Tulu Textiles Cecilia fabric.

Cecelia's lovely little clouds.

We stay at a darling little guest house called Jas Vilas on many of our Jaipur trips.  Owned by a wonderful family with connections to the royals court of Jaipur, it is a wonderfully affordable haven in the midst of the chaotic city.  It also helps offset the cost of the luxury stay at Raas!

We have an amazing collection of bedding, throws, and blockprinted robes that make wonderful pool coverups coming this last week of March.

It's so amusing to look back at the crazy mess of some of these showrooms and wonder how we find anything at all!  But yes - we have hundreds of fabulous new textiles coming from this very room!

Ah - I am missing India now - can't wait to be return this year!  Here is one last look at Mehrangarh Fort - towering above the Blue City of Jodhpur for the last 600 years.

Incredible India indeed!