Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and yet soft enough for portions to be scraped away with available tools. Carving, as a means for making sculpture, is distinct from methods using soft and malleable materials like clay or melted glass, which may be shaped into the desired forms while soft and then harden into that form. Carving tends to require much more work than methods using malleable materials.

Inlay is a decorative technique of inserting pieces of contrasting, often colored materials into depressions in a base object to form patterns or pictures that normally are flush with the matrix. In a wood matrix, inlays commonly use wood veneers, but other materials like shells, mother-of-pearl, horn or ivory may also be used. Colored stones inlaid in white or black marbles, and inlays of precious metals in a base metal matrix are other forms of inlay. Master craftsmen who make custom knives continue a tradition of ancient techniques of inlaying precious metals; additionally, many new techniques which use contemporary tools have also been developed and utilized as well by artisans.

Both these art form has endless possibilities and we have worked along with several artisans who have excelled in this field and also some unique artisans who have excelled in this field but have decided to take some un-conventional medium to depict their skills.

We primarily see Carving & Inlay skills using wood and stone as medium. Beside these conventional one we are bringing you rare “Slate Carving”. Also, Bidri Work of Karnataka is a rare form of carving and inlay where metal is inlaid over metal to give the artifact its destined designer look.