#### A celebration of the independent designers and artists

A week back, we organized the first edition of the QREOH Indie Festival. It was an event to showcase the independent designers and music artists of India. When we started QREOH, one of our primary missions was to help Independent Designers showcase their work. The festival was our first attempt at creating the awareness offline. It was a very different experience for us as a team as we are a tech-savvy lot and knew very less about managing events. But it was a fun experience.

So, who were awesome people at the festival?### The Designers

431-88 was started in 2012 with the idea of bringing luxury sportswear to the forefront. The clothes are crafted for the modern woman who loves her comfort and gives equal importance to what she is wearing during the day and what she wears when she goes out. With its relaxed aesthetic and urban look, each collection consists of separates that can be worn numerous times in different ways.

Airphish is an illustration studio by Smriti Choudhary (Pinksoda). Her inspiration comes from everything aquatic & aerial and her obsession with detail. She loves to make birds swim and fish take flight. All her designs start with hand-drawn illustrations which are then hand finished on unique products, so each item is slightly different and has a lovely handmade feel.

Alyen Foning is the name of a Goa based design label that believes in the power of Mother nature and the skills of local artisans in creating contemporary clothing and lifestyle products. It is also the story of like minded people coming together in collaborating and creating to celebrate, empower and give back to society in small, yet conscious ways.

Beehive was started by Pankaj Narain, an alumnus of NID. The purpose has been to explore wood as a medium. Based in Delhi he works with lots of indigenous species of wood. He also works with various traditional craft artisans and tends to give the craft a modern outlook. The intention is to make the user enjoy the beauty of wood grains.

Doodlage is a blend of sustainable and exclusive high street fashion. This upcoming fashion label aims to merge innovative designs with sustainable technique of clothing to make fashion not just chic,but also eco-friendly. Divisha and Kriti, the Doodlage designers, work at re-designing, re-constructing and re-cycling good quality second hand clothing and industrial waste. Doodlage make sure every product has its own identity — just like you!

Example Clothing is about heritage, humor and our quest for eternal youth. The ‘great brains’ at Example are rooted in a mix of fashion design, textiles, graphic design, films and photography. Always re-interpreting classic references into the modern, the designers Moutushi and Rituraj are inspired by idiosyncrasies; the little oddities that pique our interest in all people and cultures.

JOLI — Proudly Made In India was born in a land of modernity and challenges, dynamics and paradoxes, where everyday life always turns out to be an adventure. The french duo behind JOLI, Liane and Jonas, are deeply attached to the idea of promoting 21st century Indian craftsmanships and taking part in the collective effort of modernization of the techniques and working conditions of the people involved in the making of every “Joli” piece.

J O Y was started by Joyeeta Kar, a fashion graduate from Pearl Academy, New Delhi and a trained stylist from Naba-Domus Academy, Milan. Joyeeta’s line of clothing is easy and playful with a hint of androgyny. Simplicity and quality are the two key factors in her design.

Lacquer Embassy was born out of a desire to realise the aesthetics Nikhil Sharma cultivated throughout his travels, life experiences, and his own experiments in style. The label aims to encompass the fusion of the relaxed elegance of youth and luxury with a definite sense of modern aesthetics.

Sayon is dedicated to creating exotic handcrafted products that become conversation starters. Sayon reimagines products in different forms, materials and meanwhile solving some issues. We create tailored products and showcase individual personality.

Silknots designs are inspired by motifs and techniques inherent to the north eastern states of India, adapted to a contemporary context. The joy and priority is to produce purely hand woven, hand crafted exclusive stoles and scarves. Preeti, the designer who started Silknots, specialize in textures and weaves that have been developed on traditional handlooms. Each stole has a unique design and colour.

The Photographers

Srinivas Kuruganti has focused on the lives and relationships of people in communities that face both economic and social hardships in India. His photography documents the daily lives of manual laborers, from the ship-breaking yards of Bombay to the coal mining villages of Dhanbad. The Dhanbad series in particular highlights labor and living conditions when extreme industrial pollution from mining transforms the workers’ ancestral lands from fertile fields to a barren landscape.

Tenzing Dakpa photographs his friends and peers. The familiarity between them translates into intimate portraits that capture mundane moments of daily life. Tenzing chooses the language of portraiture- whether of individuals or of spaces- as for him, the process of making these portraits, the dialogue with the subjects is one of intimacy.

The Musicians

The Outliners — This high energy four piece soul rock band has been together since 2010. With a unique blend of styles ranging from Indie, folk, punk rock, psychedelic rock and 90s grunge, the sound of Outliners is recognizable with its intensely catchy melodies, groovy bass lines, warm vocals, and old school grooves thrown into a soulful mix. All the musicians have played with Bands like Kolorfools.

Anne Hepburn Smith A lyric coloratura soprano and Atlanta** **native has performed throughout the United States and Italy, traveling to San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, and Florence. In 2013, she was a first round finalist in the **Classical Singer Competition. **The same year, she was selected as a **Fellow **and attended **The CoOperative Program **at Rider University, where she worked closely with respected coaches Nova Thomas and Laurie Rogers.

Tritha — Born in Kolkata, Tritha started training in North Indian classical music at the age of five, and never stopped. She is currently a student of Santanu Bandyopadhyay from the Bishnupur gharana.

Equally at home with Indian Classical music as with Bjork and Janis Joplin, Abida Parveen or Aretha Franklin, Tritha has forged her own unique, inclusive sound and has already gained critical and popular acclaim for her songs, several of which were used by the Magnum Agency, France, for their movies on “Women changing India” last year.

Featherheads is a motley collective of artists and musicians. Its creative inspiration and musical influence is rooted in the rich culture of the musicians’ tribal heritage. Based in Delhi, North East India is the place they call “home”, as did generations of their ancestors, who forged the sacred traditions and rituals still practiced today. The vision is to resurrect and honour their unique tribal customs and traditions , using music and art as a bridge to the masses.

We had food and refreshments by Jugmug Thela, Olio Bistro and Paprika. We had a lot of fun organizing the event and we hope to continue doing them often. Thanks for coming to the event and supporting our partners and us.

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