With New Labels Only, I have been everywhere in the world at the comfort of my own office. But Asia has always been a hard market to enter and find the latest product to show to you. With Asia’s humongous size, you’d think finding the latest labels is easy but boy, it’s really hard.

I have had the chance to showcase Klasse 14 and No Monday watches which are from Hong Kong but that’s about it from Asia.

Now I have the opportunity to show you Kantala from Sri Lanka!

Kantala was started by Vikum and Nadishan. Both ambitious and wanted to create their own ventures they went out to seek the perfect idea.

Being an avid traveller, Vikum returned from his travel from Egypt inspired by how Egypt’s rich culture and crafts were integrated into contemporary goods and services, thereby creating value for the country and its people.With that in mind, he wanted artisans secure a sustainable livelihood and protect Sri Lanka’s traditional crafts.

He persevered with his findings and belief and was led to a village outside Kandy. There he was amazed by the potential of 300 year old handwoven hana mat had. He knew straight away the search was over.

Vikum Shared his findings with Nadishan and after two years of hard work trialing and finding the perfect handbags and clutch bags, Kantala was founded!

This is another great venture founded through travelling and exploring the world. Remember Patara shoes?

How it’s made

The bags are made by traditional artisans of Henavala. This production method has been around for 300 years and legend has it that over 300 years ago two brothers presented a hand-woven wall hanging to the then king of Sri Lanka’s last royal kingdom, Kandy and the king was so impressed with their work he bestowed upon them a royal deed settling them in the village of Henavala.

Today, descendants of the original settlers carry on the hand-woven craft with pride, passion and precision.

All of the products are made out of fibre from Hanna Plants. The Hanna plant yields the core material used to create all of our products and Kantala itself is named after the Sanskrit word for the Hanna plant. The fibre is extracted by hand, dried, dyed and ready to by woven into the hana mats which is then turned into these gorgeous handbags and clutches.

The logo is then engraved in upcycled coconut shells and fastened by fibre material from pineapple leaf rather than leather. Kantala has been approved and verified by PETA Approved Vegan.

Helping to preserve the Last Generation

Mr Dharmadasa, the grand master of Henavala, and his team of weavers are quite possibly the last generation of hana mat weavers in Sri Lanka. After 300 years of producing hena mats, this could be the end of such a wonderful tradition, but Kantala is helping to prolong it and also providing a base for the artisans of Henavala to carrying on showcasing their life long craft and skills while still maintaining a good income.

I would highly encourage you to check Kantala Indiegogo page and they are nearly fully funded. There are amazing saving and there is only 14 days to go.

I would love to get my own Kantala branded handbag and you can get yours now at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kantala-handbags-inspired-by-traditional-artisans-fashion-vegan#/

I really hope you like this latest post and I would love which Kantala Clutch bag you like the most? The orange one that the begenning is the one for me!

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