Traditional Mizo Puan
Puans are the traditional clothing of the native people of Mizoram. There are many kinds of Puans, and each colour, motif and design has a traditional and cultural significance to the Mizos.
They are worn around the waist with no belts or rope tying them to your waist so requires practice and skill to make sure they stay up!
We are MizBIz, the home of unique, luxury hand embroidered, one of a kind cushion covers that are found nowhere else.
I have lived in Britain for over 15 years, but originally I am from the far North East Indian state of Mizoram. Mizoram literally means “Land of the Hill People”. It is a very remote state cut off from most of India being sandwiched between Bangladesh and Burma.
For many years I have wanted to start a business showcasing some of the products of Mizoram and have finally done it and started MizBiz.
Mizoram is famous for its handloom industry. The traditional attire of the ladies in Mizoram is the “Puan”, a hand embroidered material that you wrap around your waist, like a skirt. The Puan’s are exquisite, beautifully unique and hand made works of art.
It has long been my desire to bring some of the beautiful handloom items from my homeland to a wider audience, and at the same time promote my state of Mizoram and support the local handloom industry there. Being so geographically disadvantaged Mizoram is one of India’s poorest states, so I wanted to do something to help
the local economy.
It occurred to me that the fabulous handloom Puans could be transformed, I thought they could be utilised to create incredible cushion covers. The result is what you see on my website.
These cushion covers will be hand made using incredible skills. Unique and one of a kind, no two patterns will ever be the same, you will never see them in anybody else’s home and most certainly not in Britain’s or any high street shops. They will have many different patterns with the most amazing vibrant colours.
All of my cushions are limited edition items, with only three of each being created initially, and once they are sold, they will be replaced by new and different but equally uniquely patterned creations. This will guarantee the exclusivity and uniqueness of each piece. If you buy three of the same item, you can be guaranteed that no one else categorically, will have the same piece.
At the same time these cushions will be ethically sourced and hand made, environmentally friendly with minimal carbon footprint, as no heavy machinery is used in the production, using skills passed down from generation to generation, on ancient looms and most importantly supporting my homeland.
This isn’t so much a business, it is more of a personal quest to share the skills of the Mizos with the wider world and ensure the incredible skills of my people do not die out.
In addition to the cushions, we aim to gradually diversify to other items uniquely created from the handlooms, including throws, shawls and blankets in similar vibrant and exclusive patterns, which will definitely not be found on the High Street.
