Home to a rich culture and heritage, India boasts of a number of handicraft arts and styles. However, a lot of them are seeing the end of the day.
This sector is in desperate need of revival, and working towards the same are a few zealous entrepreneurs who are working in different capacities in taking Indian handicrafts to the world. Here’s a listing of 7 of them.
1. Daisy Tanwani- Pinklay
Daisy Tanwani started Pinklay, a self-funded and homegrown lifestyle brand, that aims to expand the reach of Indian handicrafts and get them in limelight. The brand does this by re-inventing conventional handicrafts, keeping in mind its traditional roots coupled with modern designs.
Employing over 400 artisans working on 3000 orders a month, Pinklay offers handcrafted kidswear, womenswear, home décor, and furniture products.
2. Neha Rungta- Kopai-Paar
Kopi-Paar is a self-funded startup, established by Neha Rungta that works with artists and upskills them, in a bid to make them specialized. They make handicraft items so as to sell to a customer online or offline. Presently it is working with 35 artisans.
The brand is extremely mindful of the environment and has undertaken projects like the ‘Kantha Blanket Project’, where old sarees are turned into blankets and bedsheets using Kantha style of embroidery.
3. Maneet Gohil, Sanchit Govil, and Albin Jose- Lal10
The online wholesale marketplace for rural MSMEs in India, Lal10 has a total of 30,000 SKUs, right from apparel and accessories like handbags, to home décor items like lampshades.
The brand’s mission is to bring light to artisans’ lives, and thereby the name Lal10.
The brand has connected artisans with well-known labels like Zara, Taneira, Anita Dongre, FabIndia, and Wills Lifestyle.
4. Akanksha Kanwal Shukla and Pushkar Shukla- Beatitude
Beatitude offers some of the best handwoven designer sarees, dupattas, stoles, and even jewelry. Started by Akanksha Kanwal and her husband Pushkar, the couplepreneur started by working with artisans and weavers who were paid much less than what they deserved.
So far, the Pune-based brand has worked with more than 215 weavers and 700 artisans across various states in India, providing its 3.17 lakh clientele base with a blend of traditional and modern weaves.
5. Ankita Jaiswal- Brio Art & Cafe
Through her café and gallery ‘Brio Art & Café’ at Ramada Lucknow, Ankita has been instrumental in providing employment to over 250 artisans, craftsmen, and women, be it from Moradabad who work on brass creations, or from Agra who makes marble and craft statues, and even women artisans from Kannauj who work to embroider silk cushions and curtains.
6. Nitika Gupta-Pine Cone
Pine Cone aims to bring the lesser-known crafts of India to the forefront. A bootstrapped startup by Nitika Gupta, Pine Cone wants to bring back to life the fading arts and crafts of the country and use them into making contemporary home décor products fused with Scandinavian aesthetics.
Their turnover last year was INR 9 lakhs and the brand plans to achieve 10 times the growth.
7. Smaranika Mohapatra
Maavni Designs was started by Smaranika Mohapatra in a bid to promote handicrafts from Odisha. Maavni, is a manufacturing and ecommerce company that works with artisans to make and sell home decor products, apparel, and accessories, with the sole aim of providing a stable income for artisans.
With monthly average orders of 300 to 500, the startup ships products to customers over the world, right from Singapore to USA.
