New Beginnings

After a brief hiatus, I am back to my favourite place - the world of crafts. With a new year round the corner, it seems to be the right time for a fresh start. If it were possible I would have brandished a new look for my space this new year. But since my current 'non-craft' interests consume pretty much all of my waking time, I have to manage with just a new blog!

And what do I have to say in this blog? Its about something I plan to implement shortly. I would be opening up this space to craftsmen, artists, NGOs and co-operatives who need to access Craft consumers across the globe through the internet, but are unable to do it on their own for one reason or other. Yes, the sellers need to be the artists themselves or organisations working directly with craftsmen for their growth and development.

With this, I aim to take one step forward towards fulfilling my 'crafty dreams'. It is an attempt to bring the creators closer to the end consumers and thereby generate greater benefits at both ends. The ideal situation would have no interface between the creator and the consumer, but that is still a distant dream. Reasons are many, primary one being the fact that the rural artist community does not work in an organised or scheduled manner required by the urban need. They do not have inputs on the changing tastes and styles of the consumer. Hence, to a large extent, they need the help, guidance and inputs from socially responsible organisationshat can work at the grassroot level without exploiting them.

Kaira

Perhaps it will not be long before we have rural artisans selling their aretfacts directly on the Internet! Here is wishing a joyous New Year to the Indian rural artisan community and the handful of organisations across the country who are working for their upliftment.