India is a place I hold dear to my heart. In 2013, I travelled to the North of India, to Rishikesh in the foothills of the Himalayas on the Ganga River. The town sits beneath the Shivaloca Mountains where the God Shiva watches over us. Shiva is known in the Hindu religion as "The Remover of Irrelevances".
I travelled there to try to heal, and release some of the immense grief I was experiencing after the sudden, tragic death of my beloved three-year-old son, Harry.
The healing process began on a cellular level, with daily meditation and yoga practice and 11 days of panchkarma (a traditional Ayurvedic purification treatment using thick oil). A rush of pain, grief, guilt, anger and sorrow seeped out of my pores. I felt I was holding my little boy’s hand for those two weeks, and swimming in the Ganga each day helped me accept my life without my Harry. It was a new beginning and I dreamt of starting afresh in the country. I even dared to hope that one day there might be another beautiful baby.
Happily, I manifested these dreams.
In 2015 I gave birth to another beautiful Son, Anster, who turns three this year. The experience flooded my mind with memories of my Harry, but also represented a new chapter. These days I spend more and more time in the Australian bush, which I adore.
When I embarked on this wonderful, creative venture with WHEATSHEAF, my journey came full circle. I found a supplier in Pakistan who is handcrafting my designs and bringing them to life! We are in constant contact, discussing every facet of design and manufacturing in detail to produce these beautiful quality accessories – special pieces, built to last and designed to grow old with you.
Craftsmanship and the integrity of our product is central to our vision. Our beautiful 100% Italian leather polo belts are hand-worked in by artisans who have been mentored in the old ways of leatherwork passed down through the generations for centuries.
Hand-stitched with kaleidoscopic colours in various designs - each belt is touched by expert hands, and is a celebration of specialist skills. We care about the health of workers and their communities, and use natural vegetable dyes. All leather scraps are donated to the local village, where they are repurposed.
These belts mean so much to me, as a creative spirit and as a mother, and it makes my heart sing that in producing them we are doing our bit to help support artisanal craft skills on the other side of the world. Everything is connected.
