Wood and Lac Turnery of Channapatna
The Channapatna cluster has large number of craftsmen lived and worked on production of turned wood toys and decorations for local and export markets.
Brief
To design products that will help craft clusters to generate market demand for their livelihood development.
Visiting the Clusters
The items are made from hale wood which is off-white in color and is moderately hard. It turns on the lathe and needs very little surface sanding. For coloring, the wooden object with lac, a piece of solid lac is held against the surface of the finished object, while the lathe is turned at high speed. Due to the heat generated by friction, a coating of the melted lac covers the outer surface of the object. Screw pine leaf is used as the material for buffing.
I interviewed craftsmen to know about process, their issues in production, sourcing of material, market demand, profit, their aspirations etc.
I interviewed craftsmen to know about process, their issues in production, sourcing of material, market demand, profit, their aspirations etc.
Products
Based on insights got from market research and talks with craftsmen,I developed products below. I concentrated on creating products with utility and value. Also, craftsmen will find it easy to assemble and don't have to depend on technology.