LURU HOME BATIKS: INSPIRED BY INDIGO

February 3, 2012 Marisa Marcantonio

Luru Home, a new textile and accessory company was formed by two friends with a passion for an ancient artform and fabric. Formed by two Connecticut-raised friends based in China, Luru employs Chinese women that create batiks using original, thousand year old techniques and indigo dyes. Graphic geometric circles, dots, florals and linear patterns from hand cut stencils with a naturalistic, fresh tone keep this ancient craft alive.
The young founders, Liza Serratore and Claire Russo, met when they were 15 and have been creative influences ever since. The recent college grads were seeking global adventure after graduating from college in 2009, so they headed for Asia to teach in international schools. Liza ended up in Shanghai, teaching third grade Language Arts, and Claire, a great artist, ventured to Northern Thailand where she taught I.B. Art.
In June 2010, they met up in Shanghai, where they chanced upon a local fabric workroom that created exquisite hand-dyed pieces using indigo and a soybean resist. The technique been a Chinese mainstay for ages. Yet the more they researched, the more they learned about the Nankeen dyeing’s precarious situation amidst an increasingly mechanized textile industry. In response to this, Liza shares, "we founded LuRu Home to not only bring patronage back to these deep blue printed cottons and linens, but also to bring this incredible process to the world marketplace. "
Living in Shanghai, the gals work with two of the remaining six families who continue to practice the traditional production of these fabrics. Claire manages creative production, and Liza focuses on business development and marketing. Two small studios dye their cloth, and their intern helps with the language barrier. This duo made a striking debut at the Gift Show. I hope you will seek out and support their beautifully creative designs.