The biggest challenge with Indian handicrafts is that these crafts in their purest and original form have limited application in daily lives.  Craft in its purest avatar has limited uses and hence remains a traditional art form and seldom goes beyond finding a place as a display piece. Secondly, given that the crafts are traditional, most of the crafts have an earthiness to them and may not blend seamlessly with the contemporary tastes of the consumers, again limiting their usage. Most patrons buy for the love of the craft but are challenged to blend and use them in their day to day lives. It may be fair to say that these handicrafts lack practicality.

The problem becomes deeper as lack of practicality limits the adoption and thereby affects the earnings of the artisans forcing them to give up their skill in search of daily livelihood. Over the period, the art form dies out, as most of the artisans move on in search of daily livelihood. 

There is a way out.  The solution lies in creating practical applications of these crafts which can be used in daily life. At ‘Just by Hands’, our endeavor has been to bring in design intervention and create practical day to day use products which blend in the traditional art forms, thereby bringing art and crafts in the daily lives of the consumers. 

The millennial consumers are showing clear preferences towards products connected to the roots and yet are clear about their styling and fashion. Interventions like the one mentioned above lead to a creation of some of the most stylish and trendy products which incorporate the traditional art forms. This trend is giving a new lease of life to some of the most traditional arts and crafts and may be the only way to keep the traditional arts and crafts alive. As woke consumers, there needs to be a conscious effort and seek out such products with a purpose. That may be our two bits in this fight to keep alive the arts and crafts of India. #artsandcrafts #tradition #moderndesign #indiancrafts #trendy #fashion #justbyhands #handcrafted #supportartisan #buyhandmade #purpose #wokeconsumer #responsibleconsumption