Malakar Shola Flower LED String Lights

The shola plant grows in the wetlands of Bengal and Odisha, and the Malakar community, whose origin folklore traces to a craftsman conjured by Lord Shiva to make a wedding crown for him, have worked its soft white pith for centuries. Each flower on this string is hand-cut and assembled from shola, petal by petal, by artisans carrying one of the most delicate craft traditions in eastern India. The lightness is not accidental. It took generations to achieve.

Shola craft begins with the pith of an aquatic plant, carved and shaped into forms of extraordinary lightness, flowers, garlands, ceremonial objects, by the Malakar artisans of Bengal and Odisha. This LED string brings that craft into everyday domestic life, each bloom hand-assembled and mounted on a two-metre strand of warm fairy lights. The effect, when lit, is of something hovering between material and air.

Drape it across a mantel, along a bookshelf, or frame a window with it. The flowers catch light without competing with it. Off, they read as a garland of white blooms against whatever surface they rest against. The shola pith is as light as it looks, almost weightless in the hand.

Shola Pith Craft · Malakar Community · Bengal · Hand-Assembled Flowers

Care Instructions

• Wipe with a dry, soft cloth.
• Do not immerse in water or use liquid cleaners.
• Remove wax residue with a soft cloth while still warm.
• Polish metal surfaces occasionally with a soft brass cloth.