Chapter 3 of 6

The hands behind the card.

No one person builds a Vonderly card. Each artisan specializes in a quilling technique, and several work together on every card before it leaves our Jaffna studio.

The craft

Specialists in technique.

Our artisans specialize in quilling techniques rather than in any one picture. One is exceptional at placing fine lines. Another is fast and even at filling a shape. Another runs the chains and scrollwork that hold a design together. The skill lives in the method, and the method carries across every flower, bird, and border we make.

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Technique

Line placement

Setting fine quilled lines straight, evenly spaced, and true to the design. This control decides whether a card reads precise or loose.

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Technique

Filling

Packing a shape with coils and scrolls at an even density, so color sits flat and consistent with no gaps and no crowding.

∞

Technique

Chains and scrollwork

Running the linked scrolls, vines, and borders that frame a design. Consistent rhythm across a long run is what makes scrollwork look effortless.

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Technique

Coiling and shaping

Forming the base coils and shaping them into petals, teardrops, and curves. Every other technique builds on the quality of these shapes.

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Technique

Combing and husking

Complex shapes: loops formed on a comb, petals husked over pins on a board, and strips run through a crimper.

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Technique

Assembly and finishing

Bringing the separate quilled pieces together on the card, then a last pass over color, edges, and depth. The final hands before inspection.

An artisan is not locked to one technique. Most are strong across several, and the mix on any card depends on its design. What stays constant is the model: two to three artisans collaborate on every card, so no single person builds one alone. You can see the full sequence in how a card is made.

The team

The women who build them.

These are the artisans whose hands are on your card. We work as a studio, not a line, and the techniques each person is strongest in are listed beside her.

T. Nishanthy

With Vonderly since 2024

Nature and form specialist

K. Priyanka

With Vonderly since 2024

Figure and character specialist

S. Sharmila

With Vonderly since 2024

Coil and foliage specialist

S. Pirathasini

With Vonderly since 2025

Detail and miniature specialist
Vonderly's women-led team of specialist quilling artisans at their workspace in Jaffna, Sri Lanka

K. Sweetiga

With Vonderly since 2025

Nature and form specialist
Vonderly's women-led team of specialist quilling artisans at their workspace in Jaffna, Sri Lanka

U. Radhikala

With Vonderly since 2026

Content Producer

The work, in numbers

Time and hands are the whole point.

A printed card takes seconds. A Vonderly card takes a studio. These are the figures behind a single five-by-five-inch piece.

2-3

specialists on every card

~120 mins

average hand work per card

All women

artisan team

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In Jaffna

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How a Card is Made