Thoughts from our designer—Analise Stukenborg
Flash back to April 2020. I was waiting for my final flight, the end of nearly 48 hours of travel, and I found myself pondering what it meant to belong. More specifically: where did I belong? This question started circling in my mind weeks earlier, when we had to leave our home in Udaipur and take refuge with some friends in another state at the start of the pandemic. Then, as we realized the most sensible thing to do was to go back to the States and lockdown with our families, I really started to wonder. The question grew within me as I lived in suspended transition for the following months.
How strange, to have chosen a home, a life, and to not be there. To find myself in any number of homes and places, always a welcome addition but still distinctly not my own. My job was halted, my days entirely transformed. Amongst the many wonderful and treasured experiences that came in those long months, there was a gloomy feeling of missing my role and responsibility. Made all the more potent by not knowing if I could ever return. Yes, I felt sure I could make it back to India, but would there still be a place for me? Could I belong again? Did I ever belong?
These moments and musings were the catalyst for the Community Collection. But it was just the beginning.
The lessons learned as an individual living in a place dominated by a community mindset have been numerous and continuous. I can't tell you how often I find myself thinking, "Enough, I'll just do it myself!" when faced with the frustrations of finding the right person or material or making my idea clear (speaking in a second language does me no favors). The discouragement builds and I feel certain it would be easier to figure it out on my own. But it's always a dead end and that thinking immediately limits possibilities and alienates people.
In the winding journey of working through or building connections, trusting the generational knowledge of artisans, and, yes, taking time to celebrate festivals, the richness and beauty of how this culture functions comes to full display. It's worth it every time, and I am humbled afresh realizing how shortsighted and wrong I am to think I could create this on my own.
Bye for now!
Analise
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