our story

creating chattra

chattra bolsters and cushions are thoughtfully designed in collaboration with master textile artisans of India. We're inspired by the culture, spiritual practices, art and architecture of yoga’s birthplace, and craft our small-batch collections in ethical workshops dedicated to preserving India’s textile heritage. 

We don’t rush the process. It can take months to design a single wood block, carve the motif, color swatch. Making our fabric is a meditative practice: hand-held blocks rhythmically and precisely print small sections, row by row, along lengths of canvas, sometimes requiring two passes for a single design. Our screen print fabric is created in small batches, using traditional time-intensive mesh and blade methods to transfer images to cloth. Embroidery designs are drafted on tracing paper then pin pricked for sample stitching. We add details like bar tacking & piping, reinforce-stitched strap points, top-rated YKK zippers. Our tassels are hand-made by a women’s collective. In the US, we finish our zafus, neck cushions and yoga bolsters with top-quality buckwheat hull and cotton fill. 

our journey

chattra founder Ann and her family lived and traveled in India for many years. Ann was taken by the beauty of India’s art and architecture, intrigued by the calm and chaos of its culture, moved by the devotion and spirit of its people and their traditions. She practiced a lot of amazing yoga and developed a passion for textiles. These passions combine in chattra to offer yoga and meditation practitioners purposeful beauty and inspiration for their sacred practice spaces.

Sanskrit for parasol, chattra symbolizes dignity and protection. In Buddhism, a chattra tops stupa monuments and often represents the Buddha. The playful and profound elephant-headed Hindu deity Ganesha, remover of obstacles and Lord of Beginnings, often carries a chattra.

giving

We appreciate the chance to partner with projects and people that give. Our Harmabee Arts Nepali Prayer Flags are designed and stitched by survivors of human trafficking. We donate props to yoga and meditation classes for under-served communities and recovery programs and supported Yoga Dana Foundation’s efforts to offer yoga in prisons, juvenile centers and homeless shelters and for people with disabilities. During Covid we’ve made donations in support of food security: Haley House (http://haleyhouse.org/) is a volunteer-run soup kitchen in Boston and our friend Jeremy in Jaipur is delivering food and water to families of the historic block print village of Bagru, Rajasthan. We also gave to KhalsaAid, a Sikh non-profit supporting medical organizations across India assisting Covid-19 patients. We have given to the amazing Matthew Shepard Foundation supporting lgbtq+ youth. During National Suicide Prevention Month, we collaborated with interior designer Amy Kartheiser on a POP-UP collection benefiting her education and awareness non-profit Under the Same Sky. We'll keep at...we love helping organizations who help, especially community-based efforts.