Toy makers at Channapatna Lacquerware Craft Complex on Tatekere road.
John W. Lewman Toy Designer www.toymakerpress.com
Publishers of fun to make wood toy projects and plans
Channapatna toys are a particular form of lacquerware made specially in the town of Channapatna using wood and colored with safe vegetable dyes in simple and colorful forms. We were there on a Saturday morning to see how they were made. Our starting point was the Lacquerware Craft Complex on Tatekere road. A workshop here has been setup by the KHDC as a common facility centre where anyone can use the lathes for a monthly rent of Rs.90. A bunch of people were busy working at their stations when we went.
Each bench with eight stations/lathes is powered by a single motor and distributed with belts which can be engaged and disengaged by a easy flip of the hand. There were four such benches but only three of them were in active use while the other gathered cobwebs. The bunch were working on different things: bangles, curtain holders, wheels for a toy car, parts of a keychain and more, and they told us that they only work on only one type of piece the whole day.
Keeping their finished products in locked boxes under the benches, they tell us that most of what they make goes to the Cauvery Emporium while they manage to sell a small percentage to other shops in Channapatna. They get their wood and lacquer from the town market and use their own set of tools to make the toys at the craft complex. And they have been doing this for most of their lives: Dhasharatham who was that day making the beads that go to cover a car seat tells us that he has been working with wood for the past 30 years, 10 years in a private factory and then 20 years at that complex. Samajulla who was about to leave for lunch volunteered to take us around the area to have a look at a few more workshops. Read More.
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