How I came up with the Furniture Names

I initially considered changing the name of my collection, "The alchemy of our fibers," to something in Nagamese or another tribal language. I wanted a one-word name, but I realized that a single word couldn't capture the many layers and nuances of the collection. Finding a metaphoric or poetic translation was challenging since I don't know the language, and there are few translation resources online. Another aspect of Nagaland is that there are many tribal languages, around 13-14 of them. Nagamese is the language that unifies them, but it has many mixed words, variations, and has evolved over time. It would be unfair to randomly pick a tribal language, and to choose Nagamese, I had to double-check my sources.

To get a better understanding of the language and culture, I spoke to several creative people from Nagaland, including Licca, the curator behind the Heirloom Naga Gallery. I found her insights particularly interesting, and I plan to work with her to refine my briefs and incorporate her cultural expertise into my project. Here are some snippets of the suggestions I received and the people I spoke with :

Vilo ( the photographer)

Imti ( the textile assistant and weaver herself )

Licca ( art curator )

Inchan ( social media manager )

At the end , I decided to keep these two names -

Müra - the ottoman

a typically low stool made by cane, its form resonated with the legs of my furniture.

Birah - the bench

a long wooden bench in Nagamese is called Birah.