Weaves & Crafts of Eastern India
A wide range of handwoven and handcrafted collections from the eastern regions of India.
From the softest Bengal jamdanis, to the famous Tant, the rich Baluchari silks that embody Indian epics, to the intricate Kantha embroidery of West Bengal, to the geometric designs of the Sambalpuri Ikat of Odisha and much more showcased on one platform.
Shop Swadeshi to suit your taste while supporting our weaver and artisan community.
Nakshi was incorporated in 2012 to provide necessary support & training to the artisans to develop a sustainable and inclusive business model that develops and promotes indigenous crafts skills and creativities. It relentlessly works with artisan clusters across India and offers a range of exquisitely designed authentic handloom and handicraft products created by the unparalleled craftsmanship of artisans. The collection of Nakshi includes sarees, ready to wear for women in cotton, silk and cotton silk. Each and every product that customers buy from Nakshi supports the livelihood of artisans across the country and thus helps revive and promote this rich tradition and national heritage.
Rajib and Ranjana Saha are from the Phulia district of West Bengal and specialise in the Jamdani technique of weaving. Coming from the family of National Awardee late Ramanand Basak, they are very passionate about handlooms.
The Baluchari sari traces its origins to 500 years ago and in west Bengal. The name came into existence because the weaving of these sarees started in a small village called Baluchar in Murshidabad district of west Bengal. The word Baluchari itself means sandy river bank – referring that the village was on the banks of a river: in this case the Bhagirathi. Due to natural calamities, the weaving set up was moved to Bishnupur and grew tremendously during the british rule.
Angosobha is a master weaver from West Bengal who established his own organisation in 2016 with an objective to provide marketing support to weavers and provide authentic Bengal handloom products to customers. His journey began working with a handful of weavers but in four years, his network expanded and today there are 200 weavers working with him. Coming from a place dominated by weavers, he understood that the only way he can support them is by connecting them to the market at large. And it is his effort that has helped many weaver families to sustain economically. He also provides weavers with design inputs to make them more contemporary. His main products are sarees in cotton, linen and silk.
Heeya is a social enterprise that currently works with 100 women artisans in the Kamrup District and about 50 women in Jorhat district of Assam. The organisation works towards the revival of rare craft traditions that are on the verge of extinction through design intervention using traditional motifs, colours, and patterns reinventing them in the global context.
Heeya has worked to create a cluster of handloom production mostly with cotton and Eri silk sarees in the Kamrup and Jorhat districts through infrastructure improvement, skill development and mentoring. In the process, women weavers have built new skills, have access to a new market and have improved their income generation.
Sasha is a Kolkata based, Fair Trade Organisation registered in 1987. It is built on principles of equity, transparency, social justice and environmental concerns.
Sambalpuri Fab, an artisan enterprise was started by Ranjita Meher in early Jan 2021, This initiative took birth during the pandemic. Ranjita was keen on supporting the marketing of sambalpuri craft products through the new age marketing - Online E-commerce.
Ranjita grew up in a family, where Sambalpuri Ikat craft has been practised for generations. She learnt the skills of design, tie & dye, and weaving from her National Awardee brother Sri Krusha Chandra Meher.
Post marriage, Ranjita moved to Bargarh and started Sambalpuri Fab. Through this venture, she is supporting 30 weavers in the Jhilminda cluster by marketing their products through online & social media. She still continues to design the motifs for sarees and dupattas, which is then processed further by the artisans and weavers at the cluster.
Narendra Tanti is a master weaver working with 20 artisans and weavers in Kotpad Odisha since 2018. Kotpad is a special handloom variety in which the yarn is dyed by women from tribal families in an entirely organic, manual, labour-intensive and long-drawn-out process. The dyed yarn is then woven into sarees, dupattas and stoles on pit looms by male weavers in typical tribal motifs with solid borders.
