This Fashion Revolution Week (19th – 25th April 2021) we wanted to introduce you to some of our talented artisans, who are behind some of our most beautiful products! For this post we are putting the spotlight on our Keya dress from our Artisan Studio collection and two of the amazing artisans who created them, here are their stories…
Rakhi Devi is 30 years old and has worked in Noida (Uttar Pradesh) for a year and a half. Her husband, Rajeev Kumar also works as a checker in one of the garment factories in Noida. Her parents passed away when she was young, so she was raised by her elder sister and completed high school in Begusarai (Bihar). She came to Noida with her husband to find work, and soon became a mother of two children. Having some qualification, she decided to start working and Rajeev helped her to get a job in one of the garment factories.
Rakhi joined as a helper in the finishing department and used to work as a thread-cutter. Her eagerness to learn helped her in learning the skills of packing too. During working hours her children stay with her mother-in-law, she wants to provide good education to her children and feels self-esteem is one of the most important values to her.
Anil Kumar Rajput is 30 years old and a woodblock printer artisan working in the Monsoon supply chain for a year and a half. He came to Jaipur (Rajasthan) from the small town of Chaksu. He is married and has three children; his two children attend school, and one is still a toddler. Anil is a graduate and also has a technical diploma in electricals. When he wasn’t able to get a job working in electronics, he decided to join his older brother in one of the printing units and quickly learnt the skills of woodblock printing.
After some time, his brother Janki opened a separate unit in the name of Janki Creations and asked Anil to join him. He happily joined and soon started managing the unit and now lives alone in Sanganer. Whenever it is less busy at work, he visits his family and kids. Anil’s future plan is to have his own house in the city and wants to provide a good education for his children.
The dress that Rakhi and Anil have been working on is this beautiful Artisan Studio Keya dress. Made from woodblock prints in bright summery shades and organic cotton fabric, this design is made for adding to a forever summer wardrobe. One to love season after season.
Shop Artisan Studio >
Working with craftspeople in faraway places is a complex process with lots of challenges. But it’s always been an important part of who we are and what we do. Our continued commitment to using handcraft helps sustain skills and livelihoods, as well as adding something special and unique to our collections.
A member of our Monsoon team personally visits our artisans, to watch our beautiful product come to life and get to know the people behind the intricate craftsmanship. We’ve worked closely with our ARTISAN suppliers to introduce worker handbooks where artisans can track the number of pieces they’ve worked on and, in turn, keep a record of their wages. This helps create transparency in the supply chain, letting us know who is making our clothes, and allowing us to make sure that the artisans have been fully paid for their beautiful work.
