Vermilion Lifestyle - The Brand Story
It all began with a short getaway to Rajasthan, when we came across this community of women artisans who were trying to support their families and eke out a living with their intricate patchwork, appliqué and kantha embroidery skills on a variety of linen, including bedcovers, runners, cushion covers, sarees, kurtas and dupattas.
Braving extreme temperatures, these women huddled together in verandas of their homes for close to 8-12 hours every day to work the magic with their fingers and create exquisite products with their hand embroidery.
We were immediately drawn to the vibrant colours and the rustic charm of the products and ended up buying a lot of stuff to gift to our family and friends. We knew they would love the gifts, but what we were not ready for was the deluge of requests and enquiries for more of those products from their social circles.
That got us thinking. Clearly, there was an affinity for these products and the people who were making them also seemed like they could do with a little help in terms of finding the right patrons for their ware. There had to be a way of creating a bridge between the two.
We revisited the village several times after that and saw how little the women had to get by, but despite all the hardships they seemed determined to overcome the odds.
Inspired by their grit and determination to live a life of dignity, we took it upon ourselves to help these women artisans adapt their traditional skills to suit contemporary tastes, organise them as self-help groups and link them with national and international markets.
What started as a tiny seed of thought has today germinated and burgeoned into a movement across various artisan communities in the country. There are hundreds of skilled weavers, handblocked printers and embroiderers who are enlisted with Vermilion and who have found a way to improve their station in life by the sheer dint of their hard work and access to a clientele base that understands and appreciates the value of handcrafted products.
Thank you for being one of them!