THE STORY BEHIND THE CRAFT
Colour pressed onto spinning wood
Kaveri Gowda
Honnavalli, Ramanagara, Karnataka
Representative photo: MaximusPrasad · CC BY-SA 4.0 · credits
Meet the maker
Kaveri Gowda
Lacquered wooden toys
“Children put toys in their mouths. So we use only colours we would eat from.”
Kaveri (a fictional demo maker) designs every toy and does the final lacquering herself.
Kaveri runs a small workshop of four lathes with her brother. She designs the toys — rattles, stacking rings, little figures — and does the final lacquer by hand, pressing a stick of coloured lac against the spinning wood until the surface glows.
Visit profile- Making time
- About 3 days
- hours of handwork
- 8
- Materials
- Ivory-wood (Wrightia), Lac, Natural pigments
- Origin
- Ramanagara, Karnataka
- Craft
- 11 years of practice
How it is made
Step by step
Seasoned wood is turned on a lathe. While it spins, a solid stick of coloured lac is pressed against it; friction heat melts the lac into a glossy, even coat.
- 01
Seasoning
Ivory-wood is dried for months to prevent cracking.
- 02
Turning
Shapes are cut on the lathe with hand-held chisels.
- 03
Lacquering
A stick of coloured lac is pressed onto the spinning piece.
- 04
Polishing
A dried screw-pine leaf burnishes the surface to a shine.
Tradition & history
Lathe-turned lacquerware
Karnataka's lacquered toy tradition is known for rounded, child-safe shapes and bright natural colours.
Materials
Ivory-wood (Wrightia tinctoria), lac, plant and mineral pigments.
Sourcing
Wood from licensed local suppliers; lac from forest-produce markets.
Impact & fair price
How this price is made
The workshop employs four people from the village year-round.
Maker's share (estimate)
- Materials
- ₹260
- Labour (8 hrs) × ₹120
- ₹960
- Listed price
- ₹1,400
An estimate from material cost, hours and margin — not an official market price.
Own this piece
Lacquered Wooden Toy Set
₹1,400
Colour is pressed onto the spinning wood as a solid stick of lac — the heat of friction does the rest.
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THE STORY BEHIND THE CRAFT
Lacquered Wooden Toy Set
by Kaveri Gowda · Ramanagara, Karnataka
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Reviews
- K
Karthik (demo)
My daughter loves these. Great to know the colours are safe.
More stories
Lacquered Wooden Toy Set
₹1,400