Aishwarya Nanda is a student pursuing a Master’s Degree in Textile Design from National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Textile Design from National Institute of Fashion Design, New Delhi. She has worked as a Print Designer with brand Torani.
A native of Simdega in Jharkhand, Aishwarya grew up watching her grandmother stitch, do kantha work which drew her to the design field. Her vision is to improve the socio-economic conditions of her community so that they may be employed in dignified jobs and vice versa.
Design as a discipline transporting her ideas or lived experiences into digital format excites her a lot. Her memorable projects include a project with Tribal Design Forum, graduation project which was about carpets where she used the theme of brick making process borrowing from brick factories in her native place. While working with brand Torani she had the experience of managing the interns and having to work with limited resources as well as correcting the mistakes during lockdown during the pandemic. She wants to work for her own community as she is aware of the areas where a lot of development is lacking and needs intervention.
Thorough with the indigenous arts and crafts Aishwarya feels that indigenous motifs and colours should not be altered in any way as it takes away the whole essence, meaning as well as the beauty of the art. Further she sees an opportunity to make sustainable products by utilising many waste materials in rural settings.