Crafts go green

As Dubai slowly but surely eases itself into the green and eco-friendly era, individuals are taking baby steps towards reducing one's carbon footprint. Raina Pratap Chandra is one such individual who came up with her bit. It just also happens that it is also a very artistic and bright idea. The spark was lit long ago, buried under the voluminous fabric and paper scraps overcrowding her closet.

It was in that major manic chaos that Rainassance, her eco-friendly jewellery line, was born. Chandra, a fashion design graduate from Hyderabad's National Institute
of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in India, and currently based in Dubai, says: "Rainassance was born in 2005 when I was faced with the guilt
of having to throw away piles of paper.

I decided to do something about this dilemma and started to create fashion accessories such as bags from my bounty of junk. It was then that I considered paper as a material for creating interesting paper
bead necklaces."

Why did she choose to call her line of jewellery Rennaisance?
Rainassance has always a part of my desire as a first name . Also it is means 'to be born again'. This is in keeping with the concept of re-use.

"From what was a small attempt to live in an eco-friendly way, Rainassance has become my passion today. I started off by making and stringing simple paper beads together, but in time and through creative exploration, my collection has grown to include several techniques, some of which have evolved into these pieces of jewellery."

Chandra is the ultimate environmentalist's ally. "My jewellery is made of paper of every kind that has already served its primary purpose. I make each bead manually. This makes each one unique. Each design is a limited edition!"

Why make paper beads, which is
a cumbersome process, when one can use readymade beads?
"Rainassance is structured around a concept and it is not simply about making jewellery. The focus is on resource conservation by rescuing existing waste (in this case, paper) before it makes its way into the
trash can. It is a way of spreading environmental awareness.
"The way I see it, my handmade paper beads are a greener option to mass-produced imported plastic beads. Of course it is more time-consuming, but it is equally satisfying when people recognise what my concept is all about. It also makes my products exclusive."

What is it that drives her to be as eco-friendly as possible with Rainassance, considering the time-consuming technique she uses in making her beads? "I believe that as a designer, I have the power to make a positive difference. I have the option to choose what materials I use and what methods I employ in my design. I can help raise environment awareness through my product."

Chandra admits she was initially and primarily concerned with environmental resonsibility, believing ecological issues to be the sole responsibility of social groups.
"I thought that only expensive and elaborate alternatives could help reduce the human carbon footprint. Now that I am aware of how I can be a part of the solution, I have tried to alter my lifestyle to use fewer resources and re-use whatever I can."
Chandra believes that the future of Rainassance could be applied to home accessories as well. "I love working with fabric and I am sure that I will eventually get round to designing products consistent with the concept of Rainassance.

I am currently researching greener alternatives to what I use and will be eager to incorporate these."
It looks like Rainassance is set to make other designers of handcrafted jewellery in Dubai sit up and take notice. Chandra's collection will hopefully inspire others with other unique ideas to work at greener alternatives.

To contact Chandra,
you can email her on rainassance@gmail.com.

–Preethi Janice D'Sa