Crafting keepsakes from your special day’s flowers

CHENNAI: When Bhuvaneshwari got married in 2023, she couldn’t bring herself to throw away her wedding flowers. “They weren’t just decorations..they were part of a day filled with emotion, colour, and memories I wanted to hold on to,” she says. Instead of pressing them in a book or letting them dry and fade, she did something different. She printed them onto fabric and turned them into a saree, a shirt, and a kurta. “These are pieces I can wear, feel close to, and keep forever.”

That idea soon grew into something bigger. House of Murah is the brand she started to transform people’s special flowers into clothing using eco-printing. This natural technique captures the delicate shapes and colours of leaves and petals.

Bhuvaneshwari has always been drawn to colour, texture, and creativity. “Even as a child, I knew I wanted to be a fashion designer,” she recalls. However, like many, she chose a safer path and pursued a career in engineering. “But that path didn’t last long. After a few years, I left my job and took up fashion designing. But it was after my wedding to my college best friend, Suriya, that everything changed,” she shares.

“I’m old-school. I love letters, flowers, and things with meaning. When my husband gave me flowers for the first time, I tried to save them.” She first tried preserving them with resin art, but after a few months, the colours turned yellow and cloudy. That’s when she remembered eco-printing. “I had heard about it before, so I decided to try it with my wedding bouquet.” The result amazed Bhuvaneshwari and her husband, too. “He encouraged me to start a business. But I wasn’t sure anyone else would care, but when my first order came from a friend, I just knew,” the designer tells us.

Eco-printing is not like regular dyeing or tie-dye. “It’s a slow, mindful process,” she explains. Flowers and leaves are placed directly onto pure silk, then steamed gently so their natural colours and shapes transfer onto the fabric like soft, delicate impressions. She sends the finished fabric to clients, who can then have it tailored according to their needs. “We also customise based on what customers want.”

“These aren’t everyday clothes, they’re memory pieces. Most people wear them for anniversaries or special occasions, then keep them safe like heirlooms.” She shares detailed care instructions to help the fabric last for years.

Timing is crucial when it comes to preserving flowers. “We need the flowers as soon as possible, ideally the same day or the next. After that, they start to wilt or develop fungus, and we can’t use them. For clients outside Chennai, we ask them to dry the flowers before sending,” explains Bhuvaneshwari.

The response to her work has been wonderful. “I get messages every day saying this is the most thoughtful gift they’ve ever received. What I’ve noticed is that a lot of men reach out wanting to surprise their fiancées or wives with something special,” she smiles.