Postcard from Islamabad - Pakistani Handicrafts - colour and yet more colour

Photographer in Pakistan

I was lucky enough to attend a handicraft fair at the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad on Sunday. I was expecting to see some traditional handicrafts but I was not expecting to see women demonstrating delicate needlework or to see some wonderfully modern textiles on display. I stood for some time and watched a Kashmiri women embroider a shawl. She worked so quickly and deftly and she seemed amused by my attention and numerous questions.

At the fair were handicrafts from across Pakistan: silk rugs; bronze vases, carved slate, pottery, trinkets and more. I would love to visit the places where some of these handicrafts are made and see the processes used for each one. For now I was happy to browse the stalls and get an idea of the variety of traditional handicrafts made across Pakistan.

In case you are wondering I bought one shawl but I could have bought so many more!

My one purchase - detail from a beautiful woollen shawl with hand embroidery of leaves and flowers from Kashmir