India Craft Week

Our Craft Masterclasses at India Craft Week have created meaningful impact, especially among young entrepreneurs who are increasingly looking at the craft sector as a space to innovate, build, and contribute.

Over time, we have seen this inspiration translate into intent—with many choosing to explore crafts not just as an art form, but as a viable enterprise.

However, inspiration is only the beginning.

As soon as one starts the journey, the realities of the sector begin to unfold—operational complexities, market uncertainties, sourcing challenges, and financial pressures. In this process, many entrepreneurs find themselves pulled into daily ex*****on, where creativity slowly gives way to survival, and the original vision begins to dilute.

The unique challenge in this space is that most craft start-ups are creative at heart, driven by design, aesthetics, and purpose. Yet, they are equally required to navigate the business side—pricing, positioning, supply chains, and market access. This duality often creates confusion, where neither creativity nor business is fully optimised.

Adding to this is a significant gap in the ecosystem—there is limited access to structured insights, reflections, and informed conversations. While access to artisans exists, market intelligence, business frameworks, and strategic guidance remain scarce, often leading to costly trial-and-error over time.

Recognising this, Craft Village, through its own journey of building enterprises, curating platforms, and engaging with the craft ecosystem at multiple levels, has developed practical insights and grounded learnings.

These are not theoretical ideas, but experiences drawn from real challenges, real markets, and real outcomes.

It is this body of experience that we aim to share—so that the next generation of entrepreneurs can learn faster, avoid common pitfalls, and build more sustainable, meaningful craft enterprises.

In 2018, we started India Craft Week with a belief.

A belief captured in our tagline — “Good Stories Untold.”

Our founder, Iti Tyagi, always believed that across India — and across the world — there exist countless stories that have never truly reached people. Stories not written in books, not archived in museums, but lived every single day by artisans, designers, and cultural communities.

Craft has never been just about products.
It is about stories. Experiences. Cultural milieu. Narratives of identity. Generations of wisdom.

India Craft Week was envisioned as a platform where craft stands shoulder to shoulder with design and art — where the handmade is not seen as peripheral, but powerful.

From forgotten techniques to living traditions, from rural ateliers to global platforms — we have witnessed how craft carries memory, resilience, and innovation within it.

And this is just the beginning.
We are revisiting our journey.
We are reflecting on our impact.
We are ready to tell more stories.
Because the world deserves to hear them.

More to come.

India Craft Week stands as the world’s 4th largest Craft Week,
creating opportunity and visibility for millions of artisans across India.

Over the years, it has become a powerful testimony —
that Craft deserves the same platform, respect, and spotlight as Art and Design.

From master artisans to emerging makers,
from dialogue to marketplace,
from heritage to contemporary innovation —
the journey has been meaningful.

It is now time to revisit our initiatives,
reflect on the impact created since inception,
and shape the next chapter.

More will follow.