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Swedish retail major IKEA, in an effort to encourage handicrafts, has collaborated with Bengaluru-based Industree Foundation and Rangsutra.
The company, under its limited-edition collection named ‘HANTVERK’, meaning ‘handicraft’ in Swedish has collaborated with similar social enterprises based in Thailand and Jordan as well.
In India, IKEA has collaborated with Industree Foundation, a non-profit organisation which builds sustainable livelihoods in the creative manufacturing sector and Rangsutra, a non-profit organisation that works to bridge the gap between rural artisans and global consumers in order to develop sustainable livelihoods and revive India’s rich craft heritage.
Industree has worked on handwoven baskets made of sustainable banana fibres and are priced at s ₹399, ₹499 and ₹599. The Indian range inspired by the traditional Scandinavian birch bark baskets are handmade by Kavitha Nagaraj, a basket weaving artisan working for Industree.
While Rangsutra, on the other hand, has worked on handmade cushion covers which come with an interplay of warm earthy shades of red, blue and white. The cushion covers are priced at ₹799 and ₹899.
Neelam Chhibber, Co-Founder & Managing Trustee at Industree Foundation said, “It’s a great opportunity to work alongside IKEA in creating such beautiful collections. We got to work with an IKEA designer to come up with these unique products. This collaboration has helped our artisans to grow and earn a livelihood for themselves, which makes them financially independent. With IKEA we have had a long-term association, this being the seventh collaborative collection. The best part about HANTVERK is how we got to marry modern Scandinavian design aesthetics with local Indian manufacturing sensibilities.”
Sumita Ghose – Founder and Managing Director, Rangsutra, said, “The Hantverk collection enabled the handloom weavers and women artisans to get the much-needed work in their own villages. It was also an encouragement for other artisans who showed increased interest in working at the village centres instead of migrating to the city in search of work. The artisans feel proud and happy that products made by them are reaching homes around the world.”
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