Dear Reader, Initially, I wanted to write about the importance of swaddling for this month’s post - on how it should be tight enough to give a sense of a mother’s womb and loose enough below the waist to let the legs move. However, as the creative mind works, I got distracted by an article by Gianpiero Petriglieri, Susan Ashford and Amy Wrzesniewski in Harvard Business Review on how freelancers thrived in the gig economy, a burgeoning segment of the workforce. The article concluded with sentiments of one such independent consultant, who would “frame her life as really living!” There were a couple of pointers that resonated with my partners and me, as insights into our own head workings: ...
Dear Reader, Last month has been a busy month for us, here at Whitewater. Avani and me became shutterbugs for some time and you have been seeing our handiwork in our social media posts. Ankita on the other hand has been working on the development of our gift boxes, which will soon debut on our website. I also visited the trade fair Playtime in New York where I saw the work of 200 talented design houses and independent makers from across the globe who are designing for children. Through my conversation with some of the exhibitors, and by observing their displays, I could discern the unique design language of brands that were French, American, Scandinavian, Spanish and those from Latin...
Dear Reader, When everything around you feels cold, it is the warmth of the winter sun or a mother’s touch (literally!) that can inspire you back to active stage. I came across something similar yesterday – The Kindness Rock Project (thekindnessrocksproject.com) in a magazine under ‘Ideas worth stealing’. What a fabulous initiative! Reading about the project took me back to the day Claudia and I spent hours collecting rocks on the banks of Spiti river at Sichling, only to realize there was only so much that we could carry back to our homes. Thus, began the painful process of editing and choosing. This constant battle of what to keep and what to let go has become part and parcel of...
Dear Reader, I remember the first time I visited Nagaland, I was struck by the sheer joy on the faces of the children in the villages, even those who had their younger sibling on a sling on their backs. No mothers, no nannies....just groups of children looking after each other and playing together. Contrast this to urban living, where we are extra cautious of our little ones, scared to let them out of our sights and governing each moment of their lives. While some will argue that it is required, others will completely deny that they tend to do that. Whatever be the case, most of mothers and caregivers in the cities have become so wrapped up in their everyday...
