A New Look for Pink Chai: Inspired by Phulkari

You may have noticed that things are starting to change a little here at Pink Chai. I’ve been making some updates to the look of the site, as well as the navigation and content flow behind the scenes for a few weeks now. Since I’m a one woman show it may be a few days before everything is perfectly in place, but we’ll get there. 


pink chai living

The biggest change for me is the updated logo. The new Pink Chai logo is inspired by a phulkari flower. If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, my love of this traditional form of Punjabi embroidery will come as no surprise.  phulkari shopping amritsar{Phulkari shopping in Amritsar}

Literally translated phulkari means flower work. This style of embroidery is nearly 2000 years old, and was developed in Punjab. It’s said that women young and old would gather in the afternoon and work on phulkari dupattas together. It wasn’t unlikely for 3 or 4 women to work on one dupatta at the same time – especially if it was an intricate piece being embroidered for someone’s bridal trousseau. A small community was formed around the creative process of embroidering a phulkari. That is my vision for Pink Chai in the coming years – a community, a sisterhood of women who embrace and celebrate their roots and want to hold onto them for future generations. phulkari{A girl can never have too many phulkaris right?}

I’ve shared before that I was feeling restless about the content and direction of this blog, and I’m happy to say that spending a few weeks revisiting my favourite poetry and stories from Punjab was just what I needed to get my spark back. As I enter my 6th year of blogging (holy cow), I see Pink Chai as a digital guide for embracing and expressing culture in the everyday. I want to help you showcase your culture in your home, your celebrations, and your style with ease. 

In the coming weeks I’ll be adding new features and sections to the site. Some of the areas we are developing are; home & decor, parenting (especially tips for sharing language & culture in your home), entertaining, reads, and more desi DIYs! I’ll also be sharing behind the scenes looks at how we embrace culture in the Pink Chai house beyond celebrations. how to make phulkari flower{Trying to teach myself the art of phulkari – I’ve got a ways to go!}

It’s been two years since I made the official switch from fashion blogger to cultural writer (is that a term?) and there are three things I’ve learned I’m most passionate about preserving through this journey; Punjabi food culture and traditional recipes, arts and crafts, and the language and literature of Punjab. My hope is, the content I create here on Pink Chai will support those goals in a small way. 

If you have any ideas or suggestions for how we can make this community stronger and, a better resource, leave me a comment, send me an email (raj@pinkchaimedia.com), or reach out to me on social media – I’d love to chat!

 

 

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6 Comments

  1. February 10, 2016 / 6:07 am

    Loving the new look and I look forward to the new ideas of passing on our traditions to the next generation!

  2. February 22, 2016 / 2:38 am

    You have a wonderful blog there! Stumbled upon it while searching for block printing and I have actually gone through almost all of your posts! Each of them are written from the heart and loved your photographs also. Keep posting 🙂

    • February 22, 2016 / 10:32 am

      Thank you Angela, that is so sweet!

  3. September 30, 2016 / 11:47 pm

    Home Decoration and jankiphulkari
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  4. October 14, 2016 / 11:16 am

    “A girl can never have too many phulkaris right?”
    This statement struck me because really, I can never be content with 1,2 or even 5 – I want to have it in every color and every embroidery!

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