Zigzag Paper Mache Trinket Tray

The Paper Mache Trinket Tray from Mela Artisans combines traditional handcrafting techniques and contemporary design, creating unique results. The perfect fit for any modern home, it will accent any space whilst telling a wonderful and unique story. Above all Mela Artisans supports local craft communities across India, helping them to continue practicing the traditional techniques they perfected over generations.

Indian artisans often struggle to maintain ancient production techniques in today’s fast-paced, mechanized world. By providing access to new markets, Mela Artisans allows them to gain a living, continue their craft and maintain their heritage. Mela Artisans also gives a portion of profits to projects that promote health, education and development in the local community. This helps foster local entrepreneurialism, creates fair trade, and supports a sustainable global market for artisanal goods. Every purchase of a Mela Artisans piece helps secure a future for the ancient artisanal techniques which created it.

Mela Artisans collaborates with craftspeople who work with wood, bone and brass – materials that artisans have used for millennia. Many of the workshops are run by young men, who inherited both the space and their skills from their fathers and grandfathers.

Wood carving has been practiced in India throughout history, with unique styles and techniques used in different regions. Two types of wood are particularly popular: sheesham (rosewood) and mango. Sheesham is a strong, dense wood, whilst mango is softer and more malleable.

Bone carving has an equally long history, and has been used to create many artifacts now found in museums worldwide. The bones used today are upcycled waste from slaughtered animals, a sustainable and economical practice. The pieces are cut, dyed and laid out to dry before use, as they have been for generations.

Brass has long been a favorite material of craftspeople around the world. India has a rich history of brass crafting, with many different techniques used. Artisans beat brass to shape it, cast it using natural materials and pound it with dyes, with amazing results.

Mela Artisans allows customers worldwide to fill their lives with beautiful, handcrafted pieces, each with a story to tell, just like this Paper Mache Trinket Tray. Mela Artisans’ sustainable artisanal market transforms both the homes of happy customers and the lives of happy craftspeople.