A social enterprise. An authentic platform for pure craft.
The India Craft House is a digital platform for some of the world’s oldest and most intricate craft forms. We started this social enterprise close to 10 years ago in order to preserve, showcase and share the talent of India’s artisans with the world. We hope to be able to raise the dignity of the Indian artisan in our own way and kindle an interest and support for an unsurpassed legacy of craft that spans millennia and spreads across the length and breadth of the land. It is our effort to curate an undeniably unique selection of traditional art and craft translated into a range of beautiful, contemporary products.
Established in 2010, Gurgaon, India.
We are headquartered in Gurgaon, India near the capital city of New Delhi. Our objective has always been to empower our artisans to deliver sustainable products of the finest quality. We devote ourselves to these causes. Each of our products are handcrafted and unique. Each product tells the unique story of the artisan who made it.
Celebrating a heritage. Home to some of the world’s oldest craft forms.
With a legacy of craft that spans millennia and some of the forms dating as far back as to the era of the Indus Valley civilisation, the fantastic world of India’s crafts people remains unsurpassed in its beauty and extent. “Craftsmanship in India comes naturally to hundreds of thousands of its unlettered people who weave myths, legends and simple daily experiences into different forms of creativity that can change shape from day to day, yet maintain their consistency for centuries to enrich their lives. There are many different worlds contained within the geographical boundaries of India. The world of its craftspeople, with their hand made goods and textiles, spans millennia and spreads across the length and breadth of the land. To hundreds and thousands of Indian artisans, fusion of utility and aesthetics comes naturally…”
Promoting fair trade.
Supporting the artisan.
Ensuring fair prices that are mutually agreed with our artisans, while providing support with ideas and help to direct their immense talent in staying contemporary and relevant to a changing world. Our cost and price models are worked out equitably between us and our artisans. Our partners and associates work tirelessly to assist artisans in increasing their skills and improving their practices through assistance with production methods, working conditions, business practices and product development. We endeavour to provide all our partners, artisans and craftsmen access to a larger marketplace and a fairer price for their products, not just by promoting what they make, but also by helping them with ideas and designs to innovate and create relevant craft products that appeal to changing tastes and modern preferences, to help them find wider markets.
Rewarding partnerships with a deserving force
Over the years, we have cultivated relationships with over 2000 artisans directly and through our associates. Our primary mission is to empower the Indian artisan and lift up a community of people who are typically left behind. By choosing to directly support artisans, craft-based organisations and social causes, we help create a cycle of demand that nurtures hope, trust and long-term relationships. We work with artisans, craft-centric organisations, NGO's self-help groups, social enterprises and enterprises deploying craftspeople. We also seek to promote other charitable organisations engaged in socially impactful causes.
Supporting eco-friendly choices
Creating awareness for craft is inextricably linked with promoting ecological choices with a few exceptions. The Indian crafts practitioner is perhaps the greatest conservationist who strives to live in harmony with his environment. While, we do our best to promote eco-friendly choices to the best extent possible, there are a few exceptions where helping livelihoods may take precedence, simply due to our commitment to help every craft form and every type of artisan from our hinterlands.
Craft conservation as a collective effort
Helping Craft remain a sustainable, viable livelihood alternative for craftspeople and their next generations is a tremendous challenge facing the sector across the country. A large variety of beautiful, rural craft does not make it to the popular markets and stores, remaining limited to local town centric sales and periodic exhibitions in larger cities. A vast number of artisans are still struggling with livelihoods. Perhaps the most important objective we hope to achieve for these artisans, is in terms of being able to reach new markets and create new age, contemporary products setting into motion a cycle of repeat orders and purchase. This in turn would help in making craft a lucrative work option for the younger generations of these artist villages.
Driven by a belief.
Let’s choose to make the difference.
We at The India Craft House (TICH) are people who bring diverse things together. Timelessness and modernity. Indigenous crafts and world trends. Artisans and business. Incomes and fair trade. Freedom and protection. Love and commerce.
It is ironic that the country with arguably the richest craft heritage has among the most deprived craftsmen. It is to help make a dent in this reality that TICH came into being, taking on the task of bringing the many contrasting realities of India’s handicraft universe to work together in the digital space.
We are a small band of people who are passionate about both Indian craft and its craftspeople. We love the fact that each piece our artisans create is one of a kind and completely unique. We know that our artisans too are unique, each one a treasure trove of authentic, original legacy and tradition. We are obsessive about protecting both.
You could call us a social enterprise with a heart.
We travel to forgotten villages to discover hidden crafts and craftspeople. To build support for all-things-craft, we work with like-minded folk - NGO's, self-help groups, craft-centric enterprises and others who support similar causes.
Our linkages are directly with craftspeople and craft centric organisations, breaking with the tradition of middle men. We endeavour to work with our artisans to contemporise traditional designs to enhance their appeal.
We invite you to partner with us. Like most things craft, the success of our enterprise will take two kinds of people.
You and us.
Sona Puri
Co-Founder