A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERIES

Wake to the early warmth of the day and further discoveries to hopefully be revealed. The new day journey begins back into the throng of the everyday Jodhpur traffic; a gentle swaying of movement, avoiding contact of both the oncoming and passing traffic….

Our first stop today is with a long time supplier, now father and son, whom we arrived a little early, allowing time to explore the ‘boneyard’ and warehouse. The heat today felt the hottest of the trip so far, reaching every pore and much water to be taken on …. It wasn’t long before a familiar and welcome greeting was shared and time to find the ‘price’. Again, a range of items found – fabulous old door cabinets/bedsides, an extraordinary ornate antique glass wall cabinet, trunks, ‘pump’ tables … and an array of smaller pieces. Always delighted to visit here and show a mutual shared support to this family affair. Our customary leaving photo was taken and back out onto the desert tracks and off out into the hinterland to meet up with a further supplier (met for the first time lat year).

Excited to be visiting here, as we have had a lot of previous correspondence regarding items they make and source and where we would find an extraordinary breadth of hand painted doors and panels… just making choices from the countless doors and panels stacked up against one another takes a moment or two (and more besides), while what to leave, even harder. It was incredibly hot and sweltering in the ‘showroom’, Russ taking to a chair, flan blasting next to him, while pouring water over himself in an attempt to cool …. The heat of Rajasthan was permeating each of us. It was here too that we would be stocking up on an exceptional and individual range of hand carved mirrors, large and small, double/triple arched, quartered, multi-panelled, decorative, coloured, original and both eye-catching and striking – delighted to be bringing these home and showcasing such craftsmanship.

We didn’t find anything particular in the bone yard other than an extraordinary antique hand carved ‘bleached/natural’, mirror frame, I fell in ‘love’ with and you just have to buy (very expensive). Further outside a range of finished furniture could be found (much of it in preparation for the Delhi show and it was here that we first laid eyes on an exquisite cabinet, whose quality and design we hadn’t yet discovered. Again, an extraordinary, individual piece (‘Tree of Life’), we thankfully bought – absolutely stunning. To the side could be found the high skilled painters, predominantly women, producing the most exquisite work; simply breathtaking.

A fabulous and productive visit from a supplier offering us a range of unique, individual items we just don’t come across in this quality and style; an absolute joy. Further leaving photos taken, we were back on the dusty trail, this time deciding to take lunch while we could work out our total CBM and what more we required to fill the last container.

Lunch involved a mix of foods … having enjoyed local cuisine since arriving a few took to returning to something traditional, in this case, pizza and a remarkable looking ‘red/orange’ coloured spaghetti… the like had never been seen before alongside a tall glass of ‘Oreo’ milkshake and Lasse. Nice to have had a cooling moment and to find we still had some 9CBM to find…. Back on the road.

With lots of new roadworks taking place, we had to divert through the side alleys (bumpety, bump ….. keeping lunch in), before finally arriving to a further longtime supplier. Split over two sites, it was apparent we would have no difficulties filling the remainder of the container. This particular supplier provides us with all our ‘Buddha’ furniture…an extraordinary range of sideboards, cabinets, coffee tables, bedsides, TV cabinets …. while were able to find further fabulous 3/4 drawer cabinets and a glorious multi-glass corner cabinet. Alongside a number of smalls and some exceptional, very old and beautifully coloured single old teak hand carved Parat bowls (stunning)

We couldn’t have wished for more from the day that has bought us such an extensive range of items, none of which are currently in the shop – exciting days ahead. Farewells taken and with the busy road ahead we set off with the sun setting, haze enveloping and heat tapering … I think a cool beer awaits.
Thank-you for reading the blog.