‘It's about supporting livelihoods and living heritage’

“When I moved back to India in 2009, I was concerned by the mall culture taking over and homogenising the local character. I was motivated to create a place that would serve as a reminder of the unique local identities I wanted to promote and protect.

That led to the birth of ARTISANS’, which continues to be driven by this goal of sensitising the consumer to the story and the context of the artisan and their community. 

I owe it to my education in design which pushed me to think of solutions for larger socio-economic problems from a 360-degree perspective.  

As a social enterprise, we go beyond the product - the technique, design and material used - to talk more about the individuals and the communities where these arts and crafts were born, how they once thrived and now struggle to survive with the onslaught of mass production, cheap imitations and replicas masquerading as originals. 

We were the first to launch the artisan entrepreneurs from Kutch in western India, who in a bid to keep alive their tradition, have begun to design for the urban markets. The feedback they receive from ARTISANS’ is an important part of the design cycle. Likewise we’re mentoring women from a village in northeast India who lead the design development by guiding them on costing and market-readiness of the products.  

ARTISANS’ is about creating a marketplace to support livelihoods and the living heritage in as sustainable a manner as possible.”

Read our Weekend of Good in Mumbai guide for more Mumbai travel tips. 

Find about more about ARTISANS' here.