Business

‘Karomi'- the brand that reflects Hand-Crafted High Quality Handloom Textiles produced by Rural Artisans

The beginning of a new path. Tell us briefly about the journey called Karomi.

"Karomi" is one part of the Sanskrit phrase "aham karomi" which means 'I do'. It stands for commitment to work.

Karomi was initially started as a sole proprietorship firm under Sarita's singular guidance during 2007. In 2009, as the business began to grow, a need was felt for a more sustainable business leadership, which is when Sarika - a chartered accountant- came into the picture. Karomi was then converted to a partnership firm.

Karomi's journey as a concept in hand-crafted and hand-made textiles, it was an idea that had been carefully nurtured for years. Even so, not much was clear at the time it started, save for the fact that Karomi's allegiance would be to textiles; to working with rural and urban artisans and it's pledge - to produce 'quality handicrafts' in handloom weaving and hand-block printing, with a special emphasis on quality.

In 2008, Karomi participated in the International Gifts Fair held in Greater Noida. Therein, we were able to captivate the interest of some national and international buyers. We started working with them on small orders and gradually with more confidence, progressed to larger orders and even more buyers.

Fabindia became one of our major buyers. Our growth in the handloom sector has been slow and steady. The Crafts Council of India, especially Delhi Crafts Council has also played a major role in our development in this sector. Encouraging us to participate in their annual sari exhibitions, they have truly been our mentors and benefactors.

From strength to strength, let's discuss the innovation that you achieved with weaves.

At Karomi, our strength lies in design innovation. As far as design inspiration for a collection is concerned, it can be very generic or something very specific. Sometimes, it is a desire to simply explore yarns and twists and blends and that can lead to a collection. At others, it could be a desire to work within the parameters of a certain palette, then again certain times it's the old Indian/Chinese/Egyptian/African, cultures and civilizations that form the basis of inspiration. But at the end of the day, the basic hallmark of all that is produced at Karomi is a blend of the old with the new. "Traditional" is what inspires us and the challenge is always to present it within a contemporary context.

At Karomi, we fancy ourselves as being the fabric makers. Our collection is characterised by a use of various types of yarns - silk and cotton. We do have a preference for hand-spun yarns as they tend to lend a rustic feel to our work.

Although earthy, the palette is nevertheless vibrant and the myriad use of colours in any piece gives our collection an age old romance. One sees an extensive portrayal of different kinds of patterns in our saris.

The Tree of Life is a recurrent theme. These patterns are incorporated into our pieces by way of a traditional weaving technique unique to Bengal. This technique is referred to as Jamdani. It is a highly labour intensive, not to mention, a skill driven technique. It is always our endeavour that the love and care taken to bring each piece to life is vividly evident to our customers.

Karomi specialises not just in weaves but in hand-block printing as well. We run our own block printing unit. Our hand block printing is characterised by the unique 'print over print' or layering technique. Our printing is not a simple process. Our fabrics go through a rigorous ritual of dyeing, roller printing and then hand-block printing. Even at the stage of block printing, we use various methods to impart texture to our design...creating an interesting play of dry and solid. The final product is such that it gives a feel of having been painstakingly layered, wherein each layer stands out on its own and also lends to the richness of the next layer.

Karomi at present has received many appreciations. Did you ever imagine such success?

Actually, quite frankly, Karomi did not start with any specific strategy or plan, it was a labour of love. We wanted to create and we did. We had this strong belief that as long as we remain true to our work things will, as a matter of course fall in place. Fame and glory were never part of the picture.

When we created the first few collections, they were all stoles, all texture driven with all kinds of yarn blends in much muted colours. We were quite sure we were headed for the export market. The response that we received from buyers at the IHGF, 2008, further reiterated our belief. But that was not to be. That was the year of global recession and our products were handmade, definitely not in the same price bracket as machine-made goods. Quite mystically, that same fair brought us a horde of domestic buyers. We began to work with them. Our palettes slowly changed from muted to earthy bright. Our work became more patterns driven. Not just stoles, we began making saris and dupattas and yardage as well. We began to participate in some select exhibitions and with it came a certain measure of fame, success and appreciation.

You are reinventing weaves, what were the challenges that you have faced till now?

Honestly, one faces challenges every day in this field. It's an unorganized sector, there are far too many processes of production involved, too many people, too much interdependence and everything is hand-done from start to finish. Our greatest challenge however, is to ensure good quality of work.

In the past few years, due to various reasons, there has been a severe decline in the workmanship of craftsmen in general. This has resulted in the markets getting flooded with very generic, bad quality work. "Handmade" has become an excuse to produce poor quality.

The only way in which we have been able to counteract this trend is to encourage skilled craftsmen with extra incentives. Also, the markets today are such that you have to be constantly innovating to stay on top of the game. That puts a lot of pressure on our design team. On the one hand we are dealing with very basic manufacturing facilities - a 2 shaft, 4 shafts or at most a 6 shaft loom - on which you can only do so much in terms of weaves and design innovation and on the other, you have to deal with the challenge of being constantly copied.

You take pride in specifying 'handmade'. How problematic was it for you to keep maintaining this trend in all these years?

We take a lot of pride in specifying "handmade". Remaining true to handmade has not been a problem at all, it is our USP, the reason for Karomi to be born. We also feel that there is considerable interest in hand-woven textiles. There have always been and always will be patrons of hand-woven fabrics. Today, amidst a certain section of society, it is a matter of pride and joy to be dressed in hand-woven fabrics. Over the years, it has been heartening to see more and more people warming up to our products.

From your personal experiences and associations, tell us about the weaver situation in India?

More and more weaving communities are moving further and further away from their rich culture and tradition. Primarily, this is a direct result of rampant industrialisation and more and more village people moving to cities.

Then there is the fact that even today, despite the appreciation, hand-made products in our country are expected to sell cheap. Even more important is that though customers are interested in handloom weaving, they are more often than not, not very discerning as far as "quality" is concerned. There are very few patrons for quality products as quality comes at a price.

As a result, more than anything, the traditional heritage of true craftsmanship is rarely to be seen. Those weavers that are still engaged in the act of weaving are more interested in getting the job done, than doing it right. Jamdani is a traditional weave of Bengal. It is a skill driven technique. Though our contemporary patterns are a far cry from the far more intricate patterns that the forefathers of our weavers have woven, we receive constant complaints from our weavers that our designs are difficult. It is a regular uphill battle for us to ensure quality.

Weaver situation in India is not too good. A lot of people have moved away to alternative professions. Those who are still in it are not encouraging their children to continue in this line. Until and unless, we, as a people, learn to appreciate their hard work and be willing to pay accordingly, situation is not likely to improve.

Also, yarn prices have shot up like crazy in the past few years. What was available at Rs 1250/- per kg is available at Rs 4300/- per kg today. Be it silk or cotton, all yarns have become super expensive. With no intervention from the government to regulate yarn prices, the craft sector has really been hit because ultimately, all prices reflect in the final price of the handmade product and when the piece becomes so expensive as to be cost prohibitive for the customer, craft suffers.

Karomi has won awards too. How do you define your successful moments?

It is always a matter of great pride when one is appreciated by being conferred an award. One of our products was recently conferred the UNESCO award for excellence in craft. But merely achieving an award is not success, success is every moment of every day, when one knows that through one's endeavour one is helping sustain many livelihoods and craft in particular.