Introduction
Hi all, my name is Bhabinder, co-founder of Chunni London, and I welcome you all to my new Blog page where I’ll be talking all things Chunni & Phulkari amongst other topics!!
But first, a little bit about me and then more on how Chunni London came about.
I come from an IT background, having worked in the Banking sector in the City of London for most my career. When I was younger, my parents run their own textiles store, which I used to help in on weekends and holidays. I’ve always loved our Indian outfits, the colours & traditions. I enjoyed also the interactions with people, helping someone to choose something for themselves or a gift, and doing the visual displays. When the shop closed I missed these aspects, but I didn’t miss being stuck in one place!
Why Only Chunni’s?
I started Chunni London as something part time with my husband about 5 years ago. The initial thought started from wanting to showcase our Indian culture and tradition of a Chunni (South Asian word translating to mean a long scarf) and the historical embroidery art Phulkari, that is a heritage art of Punjab and something of a forgotten gem, and gaining a higher appreciation and want for hand crafted Phulkaris across the West, as like with other handicrafts from across India.
Secondly, unlike outfits, a Chunni never goes out of fashion, it forever remains classic, timeless and versatile. You can change to wear it with different outfits and still be in trend. It can also carry sentimental value as it passes down generations. And not only can they dress up an outfit, they can also dress up a home or a function/event. Many of our customers have bought them to make home décor items like pillows, throws, table covers or for decorating on a wedding/sangeet.
Setting up as an Online Shop and doing pop ups, events, fairs & corporate selling days has been perfect in that I got the aspects I enjoyed from my parents store with the flexibility to go to different places to showcase our Chunnis and meet different people and customers.
We have been fortunate to participate in a number of popup events, including the Asian Wedding Show 2018 in London Excel & corporate selling days including at British Airways London Head Quarters where we proudly exhibiting the Chunni and Phulkaris. Its been great to share our Punjabi heritage and Indian culture with people from different backgrounds and been lovely to receive positive feedback from them learning a bit about our culture and appreciating its history, and taking a piece of that back with them.
What next
In my future posts, I will aim to bring you interesting content and facts around the culture an tradition of the Chunni, and on my true passion, the Phulkari, a Punjabi heritage art.
I will also endeavour to share relevant news, special offers and popup events coming up.
Please remember to leave a comment if you enjoy the posts and let me know about any related topics you would like to see covered.