It all started...

On my first visit to India in 2001, my now mother & father-in-law took me to their printing workshop and introduced me to what would become my great love affair with the art of producing handwoven and block printed textiles.  My education and work background had prepared me in part for this journey.  I studied graphic design, fashion illustration and advertising as an undergrad.  I've worked as a decorative arts merchandiser at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and other institutions, and in New York as a set designer for both films & print catalogs. When I moved to New York in 2004, I decided to add sewing and pattern-making to my repertoire and attended classes at FIT.  All of these skills have proven useful in developing my collections for juli raja hand built.

With each trip to India, my apprenticeship and involvement with the family business grew stronger.  Working with master tailors and understanding the intricate processes of weaving, dyeing and printing fabric led me to create garments for my first label, Kanishka's of Kolkata new york.  As my skill set and customer base grew, my decision to rename my label  juli raja hand built was a natural one.  I now have a "hand" in every piece of fabric or clothing that I produce.  It all came together when I met and then married into the Raja family.

Kanishka’s was started in 1969 by Nandita & Dilip Raja, with a goal to provide employment to artisans whose craft adds richness to their designs and to work with weaving communities to guarantee the preservation of centuries-old traditions. For 4 decades, Kanishka’s has been creating and producing a storied line of textiles and sarees from their workshop and design studios in Kolkata, India. 

Our handwoven textiles are just the beginning of what makes juli raja hand built unique. Figurative and ornamental patterns that I design are cut into wood blocks and printed in our workshop.  In addition, my collections draw upon more than 2000 original designs created by Dilip Raja over his 40 year career.

Much of my creative process involves de-constructing, reassembling and re-imagining these extraordinary fabrics.