gifts we love

Ghanaian artisan Christiana Asare designs and hand-crafts this pair of cotton and silk cushion covers as if they were wrapped gifts complete with big red bows. She strategically places the bows over a lovely floral pattern which results in a winning combination for any space. The covers come with stainless steel zippers and thanks to their wonderful colors and accents will spice up your everyday life.

Delicate embroidery is performed by hand in the aari style to decorate the front of these two Indian cushion covers. Designed by Saja, the cushion covers feature a composition depicting two deer in love, gathering beneath alabaster trees against a teal sky. Crafted of cotton, each cushion cover features a slit for inserting a cushion.

Precise geometric motifs alternate with birds in an exquisite design. From talented members of Women United for Artisan Development, the cushion cover is woven by hand on a backstrap loom. Cording defines the borders, and the back is solid red. "We love birds," the artisans confide. "This design was woven by women who live in Quiché, a forested region in western Guatemala."

Should one of the threads snag, they suggest you pull it back into place from the back of the fabric with a fine crochet hook.

Precise geometric motifs alternate with birds in an exquisite design. From talented members of Women United for Artisan Development, the cushion cover is woven by hand on a backstrap loom. Cording defines the borders, and the back is solid grey. "We love birds," the artisans confide. "This design was woven by women who live in Quiché, a forested region in western Guatemala."

Should one of the threads snag, they suggest you pull it back into place from the back of the fabric with a fine crochet hook.

Precise geometric motifs alternate with birds in an exquisite design. From talented members of Women United for Artisan Development, the cushion cover is woven by hand on a backstrap loom. Cording defines the borders, and the back is solid grey. "We love birds," the artisans confide. "This design was woven by women who live in Quiché, a forested region in western Guatemala."

Should one of the threads snag, they suggest you pull it back into place from the back of the fabric with a fine crochet hook.

Designed by Shashi Sehgal, this lovely set of bed linens tells a story of ancient life in India. Herders guided their flocks to graze in lush grasslands bordering the Thar Desert. For coverlets, the women created quilts of layered fabric, stitched by hand in a technique known as gudri-making or hand quilting. This set of quilt and two pillow shams is created in the same way of cotton voile.

The quilt is reversible and the motifs are created with block prints, applied by hand in blue on ivory. One side depicts foliage and flowers in a pattern named "Cool March," for chilly evenings in early spring. On the reverse side as well as the shams, neat rows of flowers represent the unbroken lineage of tradition handed down over generations. Finished with piping, the edges are scalloped and the stitching is done by hand.

A zipper at the bottom of the shams opens them to insert the cushions.