About Us

Our Inspirations

Our earliest inspirations were the people (both men and women) in the family and neighbourhood who would make pretty things from their hands; the kind of stuff we would never get to see in the market. We are inspired by all those mothers who compete with each other in knitting the best sweater for their children and which results in a win-win situation for all. We are inspired by artisans who take pride in what they create, the way they do it and stick around in their hometowns and profession despite financial constraints. And we are inspired by the fact that there is a big market where we can help them reach without them having to shift their base.

We have also been inspired by a few organizations and people in and outside our country who have done the groundwork, which enables us today to start this venture.

• Dastkar - http://www.dastkar.org
• Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay - She was a Gandhian and a social reformer who is most remembered for being the driving force behind the renaissance of Indian handicrafts, handlooms, and theatre in post-Independence India, and for upliftment of the socio-economic standard of Indian women by pioneering the co-operative movement in India
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyay
• Crafts Councils of India - http://craftscouncilofindia.org/cci.html - The various state councils have been a great source of knowledge to us, they have provided us with leads that helped us reach the artisans directly, and their database has been a real treasure house.
• Ebay Inc. - http://www.ebay.com - ebay has shown a new way of retailing to the world, and has been one of our inspirations to use technology to bridge the gap between  the producers and the consumers. Malyada in her 9 year career in the technology world, had worked on projects for eBAY - one of the biggest online retailing sites. She saw firsthand how e-commerce can be successfully made to bridge gaps between the buyer and the seller by eliminating a lot of layers. She also realized that the world was full of people like you, who believe in the beauty of handmade things and are concerned about the ecological affect of their lifestyle, and that Internet offers a superb medium to reach out to you easily.
• Novica Inc.- http://www.novica.com - The first site from which Ramya started retailing her products. Working with novica helped us understand the challenges that widen the gap between the artisan and the customer. The internet helps, but currently it does not scale, as most of the artisans live in very far flung areas with no access to internet, and even if they do, they are currently not educated enough to make use of it. Their next generation is now growing up though, and has access to technology and education. We aspire to enable them to use it to become independent.
• AFWWA - Air Force Wives Welfare Association is the core welfare organization, for the ladies of the Air Force. AFWWA was formed on 28th October, 1970 as a registered body to provide assistance to the families of deceased / disabled/ retired / serving personnel of the Indian Air Force. One of the core areas of work involves making and marketing handicrafts of the different regions where Air Force Bases are situated. Ramya in her 5 year stint at the Air Force, learnt a lot about the handicrafts of the various regions through the AFWWA shops she visited all around the country.