Santa Claus rowing a boat, elephants, hornbills, the Malabar red squirrel, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus - these are some of the Kerala-inspired Christmas tree ornaments made by Kochi-based company Memory Train, makers of curios, gifts and souvenirs of Kerala-inspired merchandise. “The idea is to showcase Kerala differently rather than the usual Kathakali and houseboat curios. We want to show its natural beauty, the landscape, and wildlife as 3D models,” says Megha Abraham of Memory Train. The company was set up in May 2023 by her husband Paul K John who designs the products.
While the ceramic and resin curios are made at their studio in Edappally, the porcelain pieces are imported. About the design-based venture, Megha says, “It is called Memory Train because we have a train of memories, it is never a single one but a series.” The merchandise has a dash of whimsy, especially the Christmas collection called Christmas in Kerala. The nostalgia-inspired collection of Christmas hangings, How’s it Hangin’ derives inspiration from travel, flora and fauna of Kerala. So there are a Nokia 3310 phone, a Walkman, telephone, postbox, KSRTC bus, typewriter, houseboat, Ambassador car, cassette tape and jackfruit, tender coconut and cashew too (the latter three native to Kerala). An elephant, hornbill and Malabar red squirrel make up a ‘white and gold’ Christmassy set. These are available in sets of three on the website. For those with more traditional tastes, there is a 12 piece Nativity set too.
Although most of the pieces are decorative, they have some utilitarian pieces such as the snake boat resin bookends, tusker-inspired mugs, and bowls shaped like broken halves of a coconut. “We want to include more utilitarian pieces in our collection,” adds Megha. For those looking for a contemporary souvenir from Kerala for their homes or as gift, Memory Train offers some quirky, offbeat options such as the resin wall piece of the water lilies for Malarikkal, the Kerala tharavadu, or the floating shaap. The brand will be adding more pieces to their collections.
Available on memorytrain.com, prices range between ₹1,500 - ₹7,000.
Hand painted and beautiful
Kochi-based Sossegada Studio is an ode to the ‘art of slowness’. Sossegado, a Portuguese word, means calm and quiet; feelings which founder Anie George hopes to express via her collection of hand painted ceramic baubles, which she recently launched. Watching her work is almost meditative as she painstakingly paints each ceramic bulb-like shape.
The ceramic baubles are sourced for Chottanikkara, and then painted by Anie and two artists who work with her, in her studio. Of choosing to make these pieces, she says, “I wanted to make something handmade and handcrafted!” These pieces are available as a single piece or a set of three. The versatile baubles can be used to deck up a Christmas tree or as tabletop curios. Anie, a graduate of Fine Arts from Stella Maris College, Chennai, had been working on similar art-related projects when she decided to launch her handmade collection. Apart from the typical reds and greens of Christmas, these are available in blue, grey, and white. “We are open to customisation and personalisation too,” she says.
Anie intends to diversify into hand painted wallpaper, tableware and home linen.
Available on @sossegadastudio on Instagram; a single piece costs ₹695 and a set of three ₹1,790
