I attended a fashion show put on by Mehera Shaw at Ten Thousand Villages in St. Paul and was impressed by the beauty, quality and style of the collection presented.
Mehera Shaw was founded by Mark and Shari Keller in 1999. Shari designs and produces fair trade, natural fiber clothing in vibrant and feminine styles. The apparel features vintage, nouveau classic and Asian-inspired designs.
Mehera Shaw uses small-scale, traditional methods of production and works extensively with cottage industry artisan groups in the Jaipur region of North India. The company uses hand block printing, embroidery and hand-looming. All garments are designed and stitched in-house.
Shari Keller notes:
Our business is not only about beautiful fashion, it is about relationships: relationships with people and with the earth. We have relationships with the pattern masters, stitchers, quilters and hand block printers.
Whenever possible, Mehera Shaw uses organic cotton in its collection. When organic cotton is not available, material is selected that has not been chemically treated after looming. Cotton fabrics include voile, corduroy, velvet, and silk blend. Eco-friendly azo free dyes or vegetable dyes are used to color the collection.
Mehera Shaw is a member of the Fair Trade Federation. The company guarantees and pays a fair living wage to employees. All employees have 100% health/medical coverage, including all household members.
Visit the Mehera Shaw Store in Minneapolis if you are in the area. I think you will be impressed with the fine detail work including pin tucking, pleating and crinkling, and with the vibrant colors and attractive designs of the pieces. We particularly love the tunic pieces and leggings for a current look.
Thank you to Shari Keller for providing information for this post and the photograph from the Mehera Shaw collection.
--Your friends at Birch
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