Hi & Vanakkam!

 

“Vanakkam” or “Namaskaar” as they greet friends and guests in India.

Putting together your palms, facing each other, in a slightly cone like shape, chest high and the finger tips just below chin level, is the welcome gesture that accompanies the "Vanakkam". Add on a pleasant smile. You then have India's classic welcome ensemble.

”You can take the Indian out of India but you can’t take India out of the Indian”. This is so true of all of us immigrants, right?-about anybody who is born & grows up in one country and then migrates & lives in another. I’m sure you know what I am saying. 

My wife & I have been out of India nearly half our lives now, but hey, there is a lot about India that I still cherish. India to me is a fountainhead of history, culture, rituals, colors, dance, food, and a million other things. India draws people from all over the world who want to experience that exotic cocktail that is India.

So, now that we are based in Toronto in Canada, we thought it would be great to share the artistic creations of India with the western world and launched Artikrti on Etsy, the portal for handmade products. The warm welcome that we got there, prompted us to launch our own website and here we are.

Thank you for letting us share this milestone of Artikrti's launch into the big wide [virtual] world, with you. Btw, if you'd like to say Vanakkam or Namaste back to us and wish us luck, do check out our blog here or our Pinterest or Instagram pages. We hope to share some interesting things and times with you in the future. If you like what you see, we certainly would welcome a 'Like'.

If you share our passion for India or even if you are just a shade curious about India, join the conversation- here on our CultureConnect Blog or our Pinterest or Instagram pages. If you choose to pick up a bauble or some bling or a piece of art, that would be awesome. Join us in taking India to the world.

 

 

 

KRITI & ARTIKRTI 

The beauty of the art, craft, clothes & accessories of India have always captivated me- so diverse, like as though each region is a different country. I can’t help it. [After all these years, I still love my wife most in the sarees that she used to wear to work when I first met her☺, more than anything else that she wears].

I also looove the aspect of taking something that is traditional and giving it that contemporary twist. I am passionate about that ethnic touch to beauty- in a woman and in the world around her. Hence, you'd be surprised by ethnic Indian designs and motifs on contemporary products for the global, urban girl. I would love to have the rest of the world to enjoy and savor that design twist. That’s why, Artikrti.

For centuries, India's artists and craftsmen & women have tried to capture India’s vibrancy, paid tribute to it, celebrated it, in their ‘krti’.

Krti or 'kruthi', in Sanskrit, means 'creation', starting with the ‘creation of the world’ we live in. Inspired by this cute little word with such a huge, profound meaning, we decided to call our artistic creations as Artikrti. That’s really how Artikrti was born- out of love for something that is deep inside. When you see, appreciate, touch, feel & emotionally connect with our ethnic works, we are hoping we will be able to build a bond with people like you.

The eye is Artikrti's graphic identity, our logo. It represents the artist's eye, firstly. The eye is also symbolic of a woman's beauty, in India. Hence, Artikrti's eye [In India's colors of green, white and orange] symbolizes both the creator's artistic eye and the customer's appreciative eye.

We bring you art, craft & couture- more accessories than couture- things that would add a different touch of beauty to your personal beauty and your beautiful home. 

Artikrti is India’s art, craft and ethnic chic for the lady and her home.

ARTIKRTI- THE ESSENCE OF INDIA

India is a fascinating confluence of people, places, and practices. Sights, sounds and song. Colors, culture and couture. 

To some it is a cocktail of folklore, festival and food. Mantra, myths and mystique. Tradition, tantra and trigonometry. 

To others it is an eclectic canvas of art, ahimsa and allure. Heritage, history and holiness. Philosophy, prayer and purity. Enigma, enlightenment and the erotic. 

India is all this and more. 

Artikrti was born to celebrate this psychedelic mix- through India’s art, craft and ethnic chic. 

Our mission is to take this diversity of India and get the world outside to experience it. Add a shade of beauty that’s different, to each woman’s life- to her personal beauty and her home. 

If you are reading this, thank you.

We feel humbled by your interest. Like all Indians, we believe, being a host is a privilege...... that the guest blesses the host with.

Hope you do visit us again.

EMPOWER  THE WOMAN & SUSTAIN

The artist and the artisan...they are a vanishing breed in today's increasingly urban world.

And that is true of the minakari jeweller [in the picture above] or the bastar brass artisan or the bandhej tie & dye worker or the kalamkari painter, in India.             

A generation of talent is silently leaving us, without creating and mentoring future talent. However, there is hope...there are scores of NGO and non-profit organizations that are doing commendable work, to not let this happen.

Commerce needs to add to their efforts. Because, there is nothing more motivating for a creative artist than an admiring, well-paying customer. And, it is here that Artikrti hopes to lend a hand. In its small way, Artikrti hopes to add value by taking their work to the global stage & reach out to India-lovers the world over and present their artistic creations.

Every piece of work that you find on Artikrti is an authentic original from the source of that art or craft- be it a tie & dye fabric for a skirt or an embroidered patchwork wall hanging or a colorful tote bag. By creating this online marketplace for their works of art, Artikrti hopes to bring fair value to their labor of love. And it is you, as the discerning customer, who finally makes it happen.

Apart from bringing a fair value for their work and creating a market, as a measure of giving back, Artikrti also supports key women's work groups in South India to help nurture and spread the talent. Our focus will be educating women, because a woman is a family's fulcrum. Empower her and you empower her family and her next generation. My mom, my grandmother, though each was from a different era, was just that. As Artikrti blossoms, we will identify other non-profit Indian organizations we ought to support and you will hear more when we have made a constructive contribution and set-up partnerships to give back more. This will be a start.

Artikrti's vision is to create an academy which will train talent, foster creativity, empower the creator and sustain the art. That academy will be in memory of my late mother, who was a talented artist and painter herself. One day....