What started as a tiny seed of thought has today grown and flourished into a movement across various artisan communities in the country. There are hundreds of skilled weavers, hand block printers and embroiderers who are enlisted with Vermilion Lifestyle, who have found a way to improve their lives by core determination, hard work and access to a clientele base that understands and appreciates the value of their handcrafted products.
Vermillion Lifestyle, a purpose-based enterprise, focuses on providing sustainable livelihood for artisans based in remote rural areas. It emphasizes on promoting traditional crafts and developing a market for handmade home furnishings. While they have a wide range of home furnishings, one of their biggest verticals is handcrafted bed and table linen.
The Journey of Vermillion Lifestyle
It began when a documentary film maker, Vikas Verma, for his work, visited the interiors of the country where the resources were scarce but grit was abundant. The people did not have privileges of a modern society but had a heritage of priceless traditional arts and crafts. Be it earthen pottery, dhokra figurines or hand stitched furnishings, talent was aplenty in multifarious forms. He spent innumerable hours capturing these exquisite handicrafts on camera and always wondered if these artisans would ever get their rightful place in a technology-driven world. While he moved on wherever his work took him, these artisans remained bound to their habitat and craft.
Next, when he got a chance to meet these artisans, it was with his wife when they went on a short getaway to Rajasthan. While crossing villages in Rajasthan, they 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.
They 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 their family and friends. They knew everyone would love their gifts, but what they were not ready was for the deluge of requests and enquiries for more of those products from their social circles.
That got them 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.
Vikas with his wife, 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, the couple took it upon themselves 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.
Vermilion Lifestyle, not only aims to produce and promote traditional textile crafts, but also do it in a sustainable manner. The production processes utilise little water and almost no energy as all the processes are carried out by hand. While reducing the carbon footprints, this organisation finds ways to utilize minimize wastage. In its own small way, it helps in conserving the natural resources and contributing to the race against climate change.
Vermillion Lifestyle, over a period of time, has become a trusted name and one-stop-shop for a wide range of home furnishings, catering to aesthetes with a penchant for handmade crafts.