Reduce visual clutter, increase functionality and store away in plain sight with these wicker baskets that take storage far from “trunk above the cupboard” situation. To make it all infinitely better, they can be bought directly from the makers who uses eco-friendly ways to make them, employs local craftsmen, is a family run business and comes at an incredible price point. In short, and like I said, they truly are just wicked good.
And while we are at our admiring best, allow me to introduce you to Daisy Life who is making it all possible! More about this brilliant brand later in the blog.
Wondering how I got to the point so quickly without mentioning dinosaurs and dynamite? Oh well! It’s a conscious decision. Unlike yesterday, where I had taken it upon myself to digress just to you know make a point for people who don’t want to read, I won’t talk abot dragons and dinoaurs and how the big bang happened and how the first bread was made. Today, we chisel our discussion and give you just the meat because you have been a good girl. Or a boy. So a great pointer wise boons about wicker baskets followed by the brand who is making it all possible follows- take out your notepads and note away!
We fair you see!
Reason 1: Lets you know the maker and hear stories about how it all started
I have said this before and I say it again, what elevates a product from it being just a product to one that becomes a source of joy, is the connect with its maker. The stories behind it. The ideas behind it. It is only then can one truly appreciate the value of a product. And when I say value, I don’t mean the price of it. The value of it! It’s absolutely mandatory to look at things from a perspective of value and not price.
It helps you make better choices in life.
When I spoke to Deepa, an International Business post-graduate from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, Pune, who is a consumer insight, communication & marketing researcher by profession- and has been an on-ground researcher in sourcing, buying and merchandising for her own business since 2012, she told me how her great uncle started Daisy Life in the 60’s.
Shifted in time of partition and settled in Tripura, her great uncle recognized the bamboo crafts already prevalent in North East and saw huge opportunities, because using everyday essentials made of bamboo was in vogue before everything plastic hit us.
Her story reminded me of my own grandmother who fled the atrocities and settled in Kolkata and brought back with her lots of bamboo utensils. I have grown up seeing a few of these on the wall and a few in her kitchen and they always stirred pre-partition discussions.
Somewhere there was an instant connect! We also got talking about how her father joined the business after retiring from the Army and she spearheads the brand now, scaling it up.
How admirable to keep a family business alive, which involves handicrafts in a time where handicrafts are slowly dying. We are exporting the lot to giants to be sold in big tags in global homes and are instead embracing materials that do not define us.
Reason 2: Lets you buy directly from the makers!
I must say that in a world full of products, to stand out and silently appeal to one on Instagram via insta ads is commendable. I see a lot of ads daily and most of them are just factory made rubbish. There was a certain honesty in Daisy Life’s ad that truly pulled me in. Nothing fancy but a few bamboo baskets full of money plants and fruits which instantly took me back to a display from the distant past. And with that I remembered everything.
Rashmela, 2009
It was Rashmela- a huge, annual fair that happens in Coochbehar in November- and habitually I was drawn to the stalls with beautiful wicker displays. I have already been introduced to the world of chic wicker baskets thanks to Pinterest and the few international blogs that literally shaped my understanding of home decor- oh, it wasn’t a fad when we started writing online. We were writers with interests. We weren’t bloggers and influencers, and what we wrote literally went out to the cosmos.
I got talking with the lovely ladies and was amazed at the throwaway pricing. And I have seen a few with huge price tags abroad by then so clearly asked them why. The reason was clear. No one quite invests in them in India and most of their products are exported. They were selling with little margin over what they export it for. Wrong in so many levels. Who should get paid was the ones who were sitting there for hours making and transporting them. Who is getting paid instead? The ones who are marketing it right. It was time the makers became the marketers. And I am glad Daisy Life did that!
I didn’t have a voice then with 2 blogs on wordpress. I do have one now and here I am saying loud and clear- look at using crafts in your home, if possible from makers. Look at buying from the makers so we can cut out on the gold lettering on ribbon cost.
Reason 3: Natural, Organic, Handmade, Sustainable
I don’t have to tell you much about this because frankly these are the buzzwords lately. And a very important buzzword I must add. Because it’s time to choose natural materials that can be harvested and decomposed with minimum footprint and plastic is not it. Choosing natural is not a luxury or a lifestyle choice anymore- it’s necessary.
Reason 4: It’s never out of fashion
I don’t know about you but the very touch of natural materials like wicker, bamboo, jute or clay takes me back to nature, and things that can do that never quite go out of fashion. Natural material provide the much needed warmth to your home that one often finds in nature- this is also probably why a lot of us are steering towards natural material in home and fashion, or by extension have plants. It’s evocative of a place we want to get lost to.
In addition, they are the perfect dose of vintage fashion for your modern home. I mean how cooooooool (with multiple O’s) will it be to ditch the weird plastic bag and carrying a basket instead? It’s like transporting back to a gorgeous era with a switch!
Last weekend, we had a picnic on a hilltop and it was incredible to climb up with a basket full of grapes
Reason 5: Increases functionality, reduces visual clutter all the while looking chic
Carrying food out for your next road trip or storing a few extra pillows or even hiding your cat’s or child’s toys can be immensely bettered with these wicker baskets around. Plus, with lids on, you can legit use it as a coffee table and they look lovely!
I do. And this is not just for styling
And it’s time for me to introduce you to Daisy Life
A Pune and Tripura based wicker and bamboo homeware brand that’s giving us the joy to use natural materials from the comfort of our home. Earlier, I would go to either in Bandra west, opposite lucky Biryani or to Andheri west to buy wicker and bamboo products and they would of course sell me at a premium but being someone who likes wicker, I would buy them anyway.
But I guess, Daisy Life is clearly a better place to buy your sustainable wicker baskets, homeware and utilities. For all the reasons I quoted above and the fact that Deepa is an exceptionally sweet person who is now hands on to few of our custom orders. You’ll see!
Get Started! Follow them here :
Website: https://www.daisylife.in/
Instagram: Daisylife.in
Must get that tea! See yall laters.