Founder of Shilpkriti India, Mrs. Deepti Mohanty at the outbreak of Covid, envisaged ‘Shilpkriti India’ as a medium to lend an empathetic hand to the struggling artisan community that was terribly hit by the pandemic. Lock-down had brought about the break-down of the entire productive and financial machinery bringing the entire craft ecosystem to a halt. The profound image of the Lord of Kriti -Shiva, metaphorically exalts the underlying spirit of “creation” in the logo as well as the name of the brand.

To help the artisans of the state of Orissa, the team dived deep into the issue to generate solutions. Besides redundant business activities during the pandemic, the other major challenge that they identified was cannibalization of the handcrafted product market by cheap replicas and knock-offs.

The brand is laying special focus to strengthen the impoverished community of Flexible Brass Fish- makers of Bellaguntha. While working on the design interventions, they are striving to accomplish GI (Geographical Indicator) for this craft.

With the intent of using technology and AI to address the challenges, Shilpkriti India was launched as an initiative to provide a digital platform to the rural artisans and their crafts which have the potential to get worldwide recognition. Acting as a bridge between the potential customer and the indigenous artisan so as to help them to generate revenue without having to look for physical markets to sell their products. Internalizing the spirit of Government of India – Vocal for Local, the brand is working for the artisans at the grass-root level for creating an Atamanirbhar Bharat.

One major trailblazing undertaking by Shilpkriti India is the concept of attaching a unique traceability core to the craft product to validate the craft and its authentic creation journey. With their spear-heading efforts of promoting skills, sharing diversity, and engaging in cultural collaboration, the brand is set-on carving a niche for the indigenous crafts of India among the international community of buyers through their e-commerce platform.