Love the feel of hand-crafted fabrics? Then, 2Up2Down should be on your shopping list. Started by Namrata Shah in 2008, the brand makes lovely stoles, scarves, sarees and fabrics by the metre. We love that their fabrics marry shibori techniques (Japanese tie & dye-stitched and clamp) with hand-embroidery and block prints. Plus, they employ and train women from lower economic backgrounds to financially empower them, so that's a win.
Since Namrata loves experimenting with her fabrics, you'll find things like mukaish work (metallic surface embroidery from Lucknow), eco-prints (dried leaves, flowers and vegetables used to make prints), naturally dyed bandhanis and hand-dyed polka dot patterns! And because these are experiments, they are available as stoles when they just start out. If you want the same design or any other design that you may fancy in a larger fabric, for, say, a saree, just let Namrata know and she will get it done for you.
At their studio in Sadashiva Nagar (which is basically a small apartment), you'll find a small range of fabrics to choose from. The only catch is that since they focus on the fabric and the design, they don't have a tailoring team, so you can't get your outfit stitched here! Nor do they accept too many custom orders (unless it's in bulk). And since they're venturing into the zero-waste space, you'll also find some notebooks that are covered with leftover material. They're super pretty, too! Just make sure to call before you head there so that Namrata can show you around and help you find exactly what you want.