Cotton Chainstitch Embroidery Floral Cushion Covers (Pair), "Blue Cockatoo Garden"

"I was born in Srinagar. Kashmir is famous for beautiful and creative works of art. As a child, I became fascinated with Kashmiri embroidery and I eventually graduated with a degree in fashion design. I want to promote Kashmir's arts and crafts, which have been dwindling due to political unrest. My dream is to open my own gallery to display my work.

"My father is my inspiration. He has been involved with our regional art since 1994. When we moved to the capital, we had to leave our family workshop behind. It was a very difficult time but, with hard work and dedication, we managed to overcome it. We created a place for ourselves here in this beautiful world of arts and crafts.

"Initially, it was very difficult and I found it challenging to learn the craft. With my father's guidance, I was able to master our art. Now I work with my father, who runs the workshop while I design.

"I usually use cotton fabric, although it sometimes depends what shoppers want. The embroidery is done with wool or silk threads. We use AZO-free colors, which are bio-degradable.

"A lot of my inspiration comes from nature. My designs are mostly floral or based on animal or bird motifs. I love to experiment with different colors and use a lot of colors in all my designs. Coordinating them to get the best match is the most exciting part of this work.

"My father and I have participated in various exhibitions in India and have sold our designs to people in the UK, US, Canada and Australia.

"I'm currently helping a number of artisans who collaborate with me and would like to create jobs for women and people with disabilities."