This rural design studio is inspired by the landscape and heritage of Kutch

Founded by National Institute of Design alumni Brinda Dudhat and Sonu Yadav, Gandhinagar-based Morii Design studio solely works with local artisans

The summer of 2019 in Kutch was perhaps one of the hottest ones on record for the region widely known for its glistening white desert, the complicated economics of the salt industry, the ancient town of Dholavira and the virgin sea beaches.

Cutting across the white desert and guided by enough conviction to get local artisans on board, Brinda Dudhat made her way to the villages in and around the town of Bhuj in Kutch on just a two-wheeler. “When I first approached them [the Jat community, known for their unique embroidery work], all of them declined. It obviously didn’t matter that I’d come all the way to meet them on a two-wheeler, all by myself while my now-husband was in Bengaluru,” she recounts, smiling.

This was expected, no surprises there. Indian artisans have traditionally been exploited by “city people” who rip off their art for less than minimum wages, only to reap massive commercial fruits out of their skill and labour. If Dudhat had to prove that she meant well, she had to truly gain their trust. “For the next six months, I kept meeting them and following up, and they could see that I was in it for a long haul,” she adds.

It’s been exactly three years since that day when Morii Design was founded by the now-married couple Brinda Dudhat and Sonu Yadav. While Yadav completed his master's in graphic design from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Dudhat’s practice was more textile-based.

Learning from the master

Scrolling through their aesthetically curated Instagram page and website, Morii Design stands out in the elements that it derives inspiration from–evident in everything from wall art to home furnishings.

Based on the taxing but intricate design principles of hand embroidery, the genesis of the studio came about during a World Bank-funded programme called ‘Jiyo,’ that Dudhat was working for under the mentorship of the Indian designer and Padma Bhushan-awardee Rajeev Sethi, for his Asian Heritage Foundation.

“He always insisted that we create forms that can never be replicated by a machine and those that are unique to the human hand,” says Yadav. “So that became the guiding principle for Morii, and we infuse our work with enough detail for this reason.”

We find the fullest manifestation of Sethi’s ideal in their upcoming artwork that derives inspiration from the geographical rock formations of the Kutch landscape. It is replete with abstract curves and strong lines and created using stitches in the agro-pastoral Rabari community’s embroidery.

“There is always a dynamic movement of ripples, wind and even light and shadow in all our works,” Dudhat explains. Yadav adds that inspiration hit when they had come across a stunning landscape of fluid, molten rocks near the village of Kadiya Dhro in Kutch—listed by The New York Times as one of 52 Best Places to Visit in 2021.

Interpreting tangible heritage

Beyond the fluid movements found in nature, a majority of their artworks are based on the cross-stitch embroidery of the Jat community, the fine-grained patchwork of the Rabari community and even the running-stitch Sujni embroidery exclusively made by women in 15 villages of Bhusra in Muzaffarpur and a few villages of Madhubani in Bihar—also protected under Geographical Indications (GI) Act by the government.

“Earlier we had experience working with artisans in the village clusters of Andhra Pradesh,” Dudhat says. It was precisely Morii’s commitment to wielding such unique forms that had appealed to Aamer Sahni, for his project Table Kursi. “I was specifically looking for embroidered wall-art pieces and browsed countless vendors,” Sahni says. “What made Morii a perfect fit is their modern sensibility in design, particularly their more abstract pieces, while being rooted in traditional Indian craft. This harmony of conventional techniques and contemporary style was very well suited to my own aesthetic.”

Prateek Sohal, a designer at EKA Design Studio, echoes a similar sentiment. For him, Morii’s versatility in the products offered is refreshing too. “There are many brands that work with hand embroidery and patchwork but they mostly restrict themselves to clothing.” He adds that what Morii does are “wall art statement pieces,” providing a fresher perspective on the art form and home décor in general.

“In terms of design aesthetic, they have an abstract touch which I personally resonate with. The textures, strong lines, play of colours, is all very well thought of and executed,” he adds. “The fact that they focus on one or two techniques but use them to their maximum creative capacity has helped them form a personal signature of their own.”

The way ahead

While it’s hard to fault the many intricacies Morii Design brings to the table, can the Indian market really respond to this congruent approach to design and craft? It’s a question that has never had any easy answers when it comes to homegrown design studios such as Morii. Yet they persevere.

In November last year, Morii Design collaborated with Levi’s India to produce artwork installations for their Delhi store. The pattern for the same was created using a clamp dye technique on silk fabric embroidered in the Sujni style by the women artisans of Bihar.

“Initially we felt that the market was always there but we could never reach it,” Dudhat says. “When we graduated into wall art, architects reached out to us and the word spread. We’re still very cautiously approaching garments because we wouldn’t want to do something simple and minimalistic.” Sohal, too, says that the market for the kind of work Morii does has always been traditionally small. “But people who understand the commitment they put into their works will see why they must be known.”

In Morii Design, the fashion and art world finds an example that truly elevates and empowers the artisans rooted to the ground, minus any lip service or appropriation. The couple has actually moved to Gujarat so as to be closer to the towns and villages of Kutch, as opposed to operating from the high quarters of the Delhi-Mumbai-Kolkata trifecta. This is certainly an encouraging movement that deserves our love.

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