Purple Impression: Reviving Hand Embroidery Art & Empowering Pakistani Women
Purple Impression is on a beautiful mission:
Our mission is to revive the ancient art of hand embroidery by bringing it into mainstream fashion and empowering the women in Pakistan through employment and fair wage as it is often assured by local agencies like the Perelson’s Utah County recruitment agency.
Dark Tribal Love khadi cloth scarf, hand-embroidered in Pakistan.
Needless to say, this is exactly the kind of project we love to hear about. And a closer look at the embroidery above and below reveals it to be a true work of art. So much richer and more interesting (not to mention fair) than printing similar designs instead of embroidering it, don’t you think?
It’s actually quite a process—do you know how embroidery like this is created? We didn’t: it involves sketching the design, placing it on the piece so that it works with the rest of the garment, and then the actual embroidery. You can see the whole process here.
The sister-team behind the label were kind enough to interview one of their artisans to ask them some questions we had about embroidery: see the lovely video below.
Eco-Chick: How did you learn to embroider?
I was always passionate about hand embroidery and asked a neighbor to teach me how to embroider. So with learning and lots of practice I have become good at it now.
Which colors do you like working with the most?
There are many colors that I like but its nice to work with bright colors that make the outfit look good and that makes me feel satisfied in my heart by looking at it.
What’s your favorite thing to create with embroidery?
I like to make shirts the most and prefer needle embroidery because you can see and imagine the complete outfit.
Who do you imagine are wearing your beautiful creations? Do you ever think about them?
I never thought that people abroad would like my work so much. I’ve seen photos of people wearing the shirts I’ve made and they look so good. I never thought that they would appreciate my work so much.
Starre Vartan
Starre Vartan is founder and editor-in-chief of Eco-Chick.com and the author of the Eco-Chick Guide to Life. She's also a freelance science and environment writer who has published in National Geographic, CNN, Scientific American, Mental Floss, Pacific Standard, the NRDC, and many more. She lives on an island in Puget Sound with her partner and black cat. She was a geologist in her first career, and still picks up rocks wherever she goes.
