Pune gets its own hub of art, handmade papers and paintings where you can watch works at display and buy customised products, too
If you’ve always been curious about how paper is made, this is the right place to step in. At this art hub, one can witness this process along with the painting involved, to eventually how it reaches the showrooms as a product. For the ones tempted, you could also purchase customised handmade products such as a handy wallet, a beautiful lampshade or small knick-knacks like envelopes.
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Handmade Paper Institute, Pune (HMPI) recently announced the opening of its showroom and art gallery in the city, Papertells. Apart from creations by renowned artists, the open-air gallery is slated to feature paintings of upcoming artists too. The eye-catching aspect will be that all paintings will be on handmade paper that will be manufactured and supplied by the institute itself. The platform will primarily encourage tribalart and support economically underprivileged artists as well.
Chitra Mete, Director of Papertells shared that they want to make it a must-visit place for all visitors in the city. “We want to make this a place where people can come and enjoy handmade paintings along with being able to buy and sell them,” she adds.
Mete further conveys, “Being associated with HMPI, we wanted to create a platform for upcoming artists who are serious about their craft and need support in terms of going all out. Our audiences will get an opportunity to experience and witness great art forms from across the country here.”
The one-of-its-kind destination serves as a handmade paper production centre, showroom for retailing paper as well an art gallery under the same roof. The first few things that one notices as soon as you enter are the charming walls and ceilings, which are made of simple paper pulp. The paintings and showpieces lend a good ambiance to the whole hub notching one’s expectations when it comes to their art works.
The quality of the handmade papers is quite exceptional which again can be customised as per one’s requests. For varied textures, the use of rose petals and silk threads is also done. Their attention to detail is exemplary, which also includes changing the width of the paper as per one’s requirement.
We found out that the unit was declared a sick unit by the government, few years ago. However, thanks to the private management that has stepped in, the revenues are looking upwards in the past few years. After a survey of the store, we can conclude that the watercolour paintings on hand paper are its main attractions. For souvenirs, one can get a paper priced between Rs 10 to and Rs 2000 depending on the quality of paper and the request for customisation.
Mete concludes our visit by saying, “This initiative is very close to my heart and I am happy that our efforts towards the gallery have paid off.”
On: 9 am to 8 pm (Sundays closed)
At: Papertells, near Agriculture College, Shivaji Nagar.u00a0