The Luxury Of Handwoven

As a designer working in the craft sector, Margaret Zinyu is helping to resurrect the traditional art of loin loom weaving in her home state of Nagaland.

How did you discover your passion for textiles?

MZ: Coming from a small town, Kohima in Nagaland, I was exposed to a lot of rich tribal culture and nature. As a child I was obsessed with materials from my surroundings and played with all kinds of different mediums, from sweet wrappers to dry colored leaves and flowers. I used to make small knickknacks which I proudly gave away as gifts.

When I finished school, I decided to enroll for a pattern and tailoring course before I joined junior college. Then I moved to Bangalore, and decided to pursue an Interior Design diploma while I was doing my BA. It was very time consuming but I stayed the course. By the final year, I was ready to pursue Interior Design, when I remembered a brochure I had picked up from a trade fair a couple of years before – it featured some beautiful furniture. That was my introduction to the National Institute of Design. The time was right – I secured admission and my exploration continued at NID. It was really a journey of sorts – I started with all sort of materials as a kid, then went on to tailoring, and interior design (I love doing the upholstery and furniture). I thought I would do Industrial Design at NID, especially Furniture, only to realize 3D geometry wasn’t for me! I found my own niche with materials in the form of textiles. In retrospect, Textile Design fits and accommodates all the many little things that I am passionate about - working with craft, technique, color, trend analysis and forecast, forms, materials and texture details.

Tell us about your journey in design.

MZ: It was all about self discovery! Being the eldest of four children, I was independent and very often had to learn a lot of things on my own without supervision; I was my own problem solver.