SUJATA SHAH

“Fabric is my passion,” quilter and designer Sujata Shah tells us. “I was brought up in India and our rich textile heritage has always captured my imagination.”

But despite her love of fabrics, Sujata was not a sewer. She says, “My mother and older sister were both keen stitchers, yet I had no inclination to follow suit, though I did notice what they were doing. And when we had garments made by local tailors, I liked to watch how they worked, stacking the cloth and cutting out freehand. But I never dreamt these memories would later influence my own textile practice.”

STATESIDE

In the mid-1980s, as a young bride, Sujata left her home city of Mumbai for America. On arrival, before travelling on to where they would be living in California, Sujata and her husband went on a sightseeing tour in New York City.