Our Artisans
The backbone of team Mirali is our artisans, the weavers and thread spellers, who help us give life to our ideas in singular creations.
Each piece of clothing from Mirali echoes our handloom heritage spanning over twenty decades as all our fabrics are sourced from the Saliyar weaving community of Balaramapuram. The story of this weaving hub in Thiruvananthapuram goes back to the reign of King Balarama Varma of Travancore (1798-1810), who brought these weavers from the Valliyur district of Tamil Nadu to Kerala and helped them settle down with land and provisions to weave for the population here. For this community of peerless craftsmen, their adeptness in maneuvering threads of yarn into awe-inspiring creations is a legacy that has been handed down through generations, as precious as an heirloom. However, the times have been hard on them, with powerlooms and cheap factory-produced clothing taking center stage in the market. By directly engaging with these craftsmen, we hope to showcase this legacy of our culture in our clothing while playing our part to prevent this community and their skill from becoming the forgotten remnants of a faded past.
The fabrics from the loom, then take shape as outfits of unmatched perfection in our studio, at the deft hands of our thread spellers. At Mirali, each outfit of ours is a mindfully put together labour of love. When you choose us, you’re choosing to be ethically ethnic by supporting and promoting these artisans and their skill.
Each piece of clothing from Mirali echoes our handloom heritage spanning over twenty decades as all our fabrics are sourced from the Saliyar weaving community of Balaramapuram. The story of this weaving hub in Thiruvananthapuram goes back to the reign of King Balarama Varma of Travancore (1798-1810), who brought these weavers from the Valliyur district of Tamil Nadu to Kerala and helped them settle down with land and provisions to weave for the population here. For this community of peerless craftsmen, their adeptness in maneuvering threads of yarn into awe-inspiring creations is a legacy that has been handed down through generations, as precious as an heirloom. However, the times have been hard on them, with powerlooms and cheap factory-produced clothing taking center stage in the market. By directly engaging with these craftsmen, we hope to showcase this legacy of our culture in our clothing while playing our part to prevent this community and their skill from becoming the forgotten remnants of a faded past.
The fabrics from the loom, then take shape as outfits of unmatched perfection in our studio, at the deft hands of our thread spellers. At Mirali, each outfit of ours is a mindfully put together labour of love. When you choose us, you’re choosing to be ethically ethnic by supporting and promoting these artisans and their skill.
