DESIGN EXPLORATION IN BEAD WORK OF GUJARAT- INDIA: EXPERIENCE AND OUTCOME OF CO- CREATION

Amid myriad handicraft traditions of India, many of them have been explored to its maximum whereas few of them are unknown to the world, as those crafts are minimally explored. One such craft- Moti Bharat; a technique of interlacing beads is practiced in many parts of Gujarat in western India. Due to certain limitations in the technique, craft could not flourish in recent times. The present paper explains the design intervention through co -designing, including difficulties faced and solutions devised in making craft based fashion collection incorporating bead work. After conducting the secondary research and preliminary visit to the bead work cluster, exploratory and experimental methods were adopted to finalize elements at each level. Achieved fashion collection not only evidenced craft's high potentiality for market-oriented product developments, but would also be immensely helpful for the researchers and designers who are willing to pursue same or similar crafts.