No one could understand the secret of this weaver who, coming into existence, spread the warp as the world; He fixed the earth and the sky as the pillars, and he used the sun and the moon as two shuttles; He took thousands of stars and perfected the cloth; but even today he weaves, and the end is difficult to fathom. Kabir, The Bijak of Kabir Way back in 500 BC, legend has it that Amrapalli, a courtesan and a lady of exquisite beauty and charm wore a fabulous semi-transparent saree! It was the first of its kind. The King already succumbed to her charm could only be bemused by the reaction the garment generated in his court. This great technical feat was achieved by the capabilities of - the weavers , true masters of their craft. Searching for the origin of Handloom will take us right to the dawn of Human civilization! Fragments of woven cotton and bone needles have been discovered at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, the ancient seats of the Indus Valley Civilization. The Rig-Veda and the epics of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana dwell upon the craft of weaving at length. Indian cottons and silks were exported in huge quantities, causing concern among the Romans because their wives could not have enough of these beautiful fabrics! Fragments of cotton fabric were also found in the Egyptian tombs at Fostat. China too was another big importer of Indian fabrics in ancient times. Silks were exported to Indonesia in the 13th century, India also exported a lot of cotton and chintz to Europe and the Far East before the advent of the British East India Company. With the coming of the British, the fabrics being woven, lost much of their intricacy and beauty. Traditional Indian motifs were dropped in favour of large wallpaper like designs including absurd images of helicopters, aeroplanes, gardens, houseboats and palm trees etc. Pastel shades were incorporated which lacked the brilliance of Indian colours. The Indian 'zari' industry too, went downhill when 'zari' began to be imported from Belgium. The traditional silk and cotton too, was largely replaced by synthetic yarn. Today, Handloom sarees, are becoming a rarity being replaced as it were by faster and more productive powerlooms. But, the powerlooms just can t handle the delicate Silken thread , and what is often used in its stead are the artificial yarn-rayon, polyester etc. What emanates then is just a pale shadow of an art that, without intervention, may soon becoming extinct. Spun Gold s journey started with an attempt to create a shopping experience that embraced Silks in all its myriad forms. Our journey however brought us to the doorstep of many weavers , and we were compelled to rethink our philosophy to Handloom. The magic of watching the weaver at work ! The rhythm and coordination between mind and body to achieve the perfect weave and in the process, create a unique product. We hope you will appreciate and enjoy these works of art, and will join us on this journey of discovery and enlightment.