Tell us about yourself and what you do?
Hi, I’m Ravi, a textile designer. While I’m based in Melbourne, Australia, I also spend extended periods in India, working closely with village communities. I am driven by justice; my heart beats for people struggling with poverty, inequality, addiction, abuse and discrimination. In collaboration with the local community, we provide education for children living in slums, upskilling for women and medical camps in remote villages where there are no medical facilities. I launched Ravi in September 2018. Our clothing is handcrafted by artisans in India using traditional methods and skills that have been in families for generations. We use natural, biodegradable fabrics that are handwoven and block printed with plant or low impact dyes. These age old processes are inherently sustainable and better for our planet. Our clothes focus on simplicity and clean silhouettes that are timeless.
Have you always had an interest in textile design?
As a child, I was obsessed with colour and form. I have always loved art, interiors and photography and by age 12 had decided that I was going to be an artist with a purpose or an interior designer. When I arrived in India, my birthplace, at the age of 18, the colours and multitude of styles of cloth just captured my heart. Textiles have consumed my life since then.
What inspired you to begin Ravi Threads?
I have to laugh because I had no intentions of doing clothing! I love interiors, so I have almost always designed accessories for the home. I had designed a range of block printed fabrics. My daughter Hannah, who was living with us at the time, loved the fabric and design so much, she asked me to make her a dress. On the very first day she wore it to work, she received 24 compliments! She told me I had to switch to make clothing and I said No! Clothing design is challenging because we are all different shapes and sizes. But I couldn’t shake the thought. I like to try new things and so I went with the risk!
What’s your creative process?
I am inspired by patterns and textures in my surroundings - buildings, ordinary objects and nature. A cloud, an aeroplane, the moon, a plant. When I get into a creative space, I dream designs and sketch for days. I work on putting all my ideas and drawings on paper without filtering any. Then I pick my favourites and work away on the lines and strokes until I arrive at a version that is its simplest, truest essence. I like designs that have a simple, raw, not quite perfect quality. With clothing styles, I research trends and check out shops and streets to see what’s new and what people are wearing. I may take elements of current trends but ultimately I design with the aim of making a garment that is simple, flattering for most body shapes and will endure a few seasons. I draw little sketches and run them by family and friends before making a sample.
Your pieces are made using traditional methods of textile printing, tell us about the challenges and benefits of this?
We are passionate about promoting and preserving the livelihood of artisans and the traditional techniques they practice. The Indian textile industry is unrivalled in its capacity to make a diverse range of fabrics, using a variety of methods and styles. These traditional techniques use local resources and manual processes without electricity or fossil fuel and leave a zero carbon footprint. These living traditions are threatened by mass production and the availability of cheap substitutes. Power looms can mass produce cloth faster, cheaper than handlooms can. India has 95 per cent of the world’s handmade textiles. In 2020, there are 3.5 million handloom workers left, a decline of almost 50 percent in the last 24 years. Handcrafted traditions are expensive because it takes time, labour and skilled workmanship. The benefits are that it provides work, preserves traditional intergenerational skills, helps women be employed in their own homes and stops the migration from villages to cities due to lack of work. It is also not harmful to the environment. There is a chain of silk cultivators, cotton growers, spinners, weavers, printers, dyers and tailors who are linked to each handcrafted garment. When we buy one, we are supporting all of them and the environment.
Tell us about a funny incident or memory from one of your trips to India?
On the morning I arrived in a town where I knew no one, the Indian government declared demonetisation. There was panic with the sudden shortage of cash, with long queues at every bank. ATMs in India are usually enclosed in a small cubicle with a security guard outside. After lining up in a queue for an hour, I found myself in one of these cubicles with about twenty of us wrapped around the ATM in an area about two by three meters. The woman in front of me didn’t know how to use the ATM, so I helped her. With bodies pressed into mine, arms and legs everywhere, everyone shouting instructions, I put her card in and she told me her pin number. Then it was my turn and given our unique circumstances, it was not the time or place to be concerned about security! It was simply hilarious! This is what I love about Indians – they have an amazing capacity to accept and adapt to major setbacks and upheavals. Everyone comes together, like family and help each other along. We suddenly had a shared bond. Strangers went out of their way to help others. And they paid it back to someone else and on and on. By the end of three weeks there, I owed money and my gratitude to a lot of strangers and friends of friends and it was okay because we were connected now.
Any music, artists, books, or Instagram accounts that you’re loving right now?
Lately, I have been listening to music non-stop. Mostly Jazz (Dave Brubeck Quartet, Gene Harris) and spiritual songs that help me stay grounded and hopeful. I like non-fiction and am about to start reading Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe. I simply love @andrea_ucini whose illustrations conveys a strong visual message on social issues. I love @warrenkeelan who takes the most stunning photos of the ocean. Artist @princegyesi His art is a visual feast of vibrant colour and feeling. @Johnzbawa for his simplicity and use of colours and shapes. @anka_zhuravleva_arts Her photography is like fine art. @Clementevb His photographs of buildings. Great use of shapes, patterns and colour. Favourite weekend activity? My husband Chris and I enjoy drives to the country or the beach, finding little out of the way places to eat and get lost in. Until the lockdown, I enjoyed having people over for a relaxed meal.
What kind of flower brings you the most joy?
All flowers make me smile, especially brightly coloured ones! I love a tangerine or magenta cockscomb with its crazy brain like formation and smooth velvety texture.
Top tips for surviving COVID?
For most of us, the pandemic is a chance to reconsider how we live. It has made us realize that life is short and uncontrollable; that relationships are important and we need to invest in them; to savour ordinary moments; become better people who care about our local communities and the world. I have been taking it one day at a time. Listening to music, gardening, doing stuff that makes me happy. As well as allowing myself to have “nothing happened today” kind of days. Which is hard for me! And actively focusing on staying optimistic and hopeful, in an honest, real way, even when it’s hard to do. Gratitude helps me when I’m feeling low and I try not to let other’s negativity affect me.
