Profile: Sana . – Only Natural Design Competitions

Sana .

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN

I’m Sana, a textile designer with a background in psychology, driven by a deep interest in people, spaces, and the emotional connections we form with our surroundings. My work lies at the intersection of storytelling, craft, and material exploration, where textiles become a medium to express memories, identities, and collective experiences. Having studied at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, I developed a strong foundation in design thinking, research, and sustainable practices, all of which continue to shape my creative process. My approach is intuitive and human-centered often inspired by everyday life, rural communities, and the textures I encounter while traveling or working closely with artisans. I enjoy blending traditional craft techniques with contemporary aesthetics, allowing my work to reflect both timeless traditions and personal narratives. One of my recent projects involved creating a series of hand-knotted wall art rugs that explored the themes of belonging, community, and individual emotion, using unconventional knots and sustainable yarns. What I see around me often informs what I create whether it’s a fleeting moment of connection, a shared meal in a village, or the patterns formed by light and shadows in nature. My work is a continuous journey of observation and response, where design becomes a way to archive feelings, memories, and interactions. At the core, I believe in creating pieces that not only speak visually but also carry a deeper sense of meaning, rooted in context and care. Through my evolving practice, I hope to continue working with craft-based communities and contribute to projects that value sensitivity, slowness, and cultural continuity

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Buniyaad

Category: Interior

Competitions: Home Competition 2025

Buniyaad is a collection of six hand-knotted wall art rugs that emerged from a deep personal experience of living in a village and observing the quiet beauty of collective life. The word Buniyaad, meaning foundation, reflects the grounding values of community, belonging, and emotional interdependence that shape rural culture. This project seeks to translate those values into visual and tactile narratives through the medium of textile. At the heart of Buniyaad is a strong commitment to sustainability and material honesty. Each piece is made using only natural fibres, primarily locally sourced Indian wool and Raw Material Return yarn—a recycled material repurposed from previous weaving waste. These choices reflect a conscious move toward circular design and a desire to celebrate the inherent textures and irregularities of natural yarns. The making process was rooted in co-creation with artisans, where the traditional roles of designer and maker blurred into a shared process of exploration. Working on vertical looms, we experimented with unconventional tapestry-style knots, layering fibres to create richly textured surfaces. Each rug captures a specific moment or emotional fragment whether it’s the warmth of shared chores, the solitude of dusk, or the vibrancy of communal gatherings. Rather than striving for uniformity, the rugs embrace imperfection, spontaneity, and depth qualities that mirror the organic rhythm of village life. Through this project, I aimed to honor not only the stories of people and place but also the hands and relationships that shape the fabric of craft. Buniyaad is both a tribute and a conversation: between designer and artisan, material and memory, rootedness and reinterpretation. It is an attempt to preserve and reimagine the emotional architecture of community through the language of handmade textiles