When craft is a style statement

RANGSUTRA’s first store is in the midst of Saidulajab’s byzantine lanes in Delhi, jostling with cafes, offices and homes. In a store devoted to style, craft and colour there’s lots to browse. Try a gossamer sari with an embroidered blouse, or slip into a stylish kurta, or perhaps a dress. There is also a melange of home furnishing including bright cushions and cool chikankari curtains.

Rangsutra’s Delhi store now has a sibling with a sunny ceiling in Bikaner called Abhivyakti. If you happen to be in the vicinity, stop by. It’s just in front of the Urmul Dairy and Trust offices and ably supervised by manager Basanti.

So is Rangsutra on an expansion spree? “Our members have always wanted retail outlets,” says Sumita Ghose, founder and director of this unique company whose shareholders are rural  artisans. Back in 2006, a thousand artisans, mostly women, put in `1,000 each and became angel investors of Rangsutra, India’s only crafts company.

“We have expanded our outreach to include artisans from Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, thus growing in strength to over 2,000 artisans, 80 percent of whom are women,” says Ghose.

Rangsutra links artisans to markets, and builds their skills so that their incomes increase. Traditional skills are helped to upscale with new designs, fabrics, machines and quality checks. Artisans are organized into clusters. In Kashmir there is the Noorari producer company in Srinagar and in Bandipora there is a weavers’ cluster which is becoming famous for tweed and kaani weaving. In UP’s Hardoi, Rangsutra works with chikankari artisans, helping with design and marketing.

“Fab India came in as an investor and took our handcrafted products to the market. We now have an enduring partnership with IKEA, thus enabling us to take Indian crafts to the world,” says Ghose.

A big believer in sustainability, Rangsutra encourages upcycling. It works with artisans of ralli, a traditional craft in which bits of leftover cloth are stitched together in geometric designs to make attractive quilts. 

You’ll find upcycled products at the Bikaner store and artisanal products made by those learning a new craft skill. There are garments with embroidery, applique, and tie and dye prints like bandhani.

For Diwali new collections were introduced in stores and online. One is called Pardis and the other Kaanch. There’s also an assortment of garments to choose for the man in your life.

Rangsutra is also helping to revive India’s forgotten wool manufacturing tradition. It has two ‘desi oon’ clusters. One is in Rajasar in Bikaner and the other is in Bandipora. For the winter, jackets and coats made with traditional wool in spiffy designs can be bought online and an exhibition is organized every year in December in Delhi. Wrap yourself, this winter, in the warmth of a garment from Rangsutra.

Contact: +91 8432019901; www.rangsutra.com