Tisser with Sedonner

Tisser has added partners in its milestone , Sedonner 

The pronominal French verb se donner literally means "to give oneself" or "to give to each other" and is also used in many idiomatic expressions.

https://www.facebook.com/SeDonnerClothing

Thank You

Tisser thanks all the friends for the likes and queries. 

With an humble beginning from two products in January 2014, Tisser boosts of 150 plus products under its umbrella in June 2014 and wishes to move ahead to 1000 plus before 2015.
Your constant encouragement is appreciated. The catalog which just highlights limited sample products ranges upto 75 pages. 

The handicraft sector in India is amazing and the biggest in the World.

Lets promote the handicrafts , artisans and their livelihoods together!!! Keep Watching the Space !!

https://www.facebook.com/TisserIndia

Tisser Wants To ....

Create an umbrella brand that:

·         Is synonymous with quality handmade products from India.

·         Helps move handicrafts up the value chain, so that consumers are proud ofowning and buying TISSER products.

Empower craftspeople by:

·         Training them in design and quality techniques so they create products, which can compete in today’s markets.

·         Creating a quality process for each kind of handmade item. Such a process, which can be used for reference by all artists, will ensure uniformity of quality and easy replication.

·         Helping them reach a stage where they can function independently, with minimal support from us.

·         Creating a platform where the artisans can directly interact with the customers and educate themselves on what will work and what will not.

·         Creating a support infrastructure for the artisans, so they can escape loan and interest traps.

Promote the value of handmade items so that:

·             Consumers worldwide think of handmade items as the preferred choice

·             Customers come to understand the benefits of handmade products, the passion and effort it takes to create them and the individual attention given to crafting each piece.

Preserve and protect the craft tradition by:

·         Documenting the various art forms of India, with a view to creating a database that will be used by future generations.

·         The handicraft sector is the second largest employer in India after agriculture.

What is Tisser all about .....

Tisser aims to weave an exclusive rural boutique for products that are made from traditional techniques, skills and hand-based processes in rural India to support sustainable economic development of the artisans and weavers from the weaker sections and support human development by helping the girl child education. 

Tisser will weave a network of rural products across the globe whereby products from multiple countries would be explored and made available on wholesale rate to the retailers at one place. 

Readers .... pl suggest any products which need support for including in Tisser Network.

Tisser would link products from across the country and outside the country directly coming from the rural producers to modern urban markets, thereby creating a base for skilled, sustainable rural employment and preserving India's traditional handicrafts in the process. Tisser’s products are natural, handcrafted, contemporary, and affordable.

How does Tisser Work

Tisser has two broad categories of work. In the first category, we work with master artisans, who have a family tradition of the craft, and provide them with financial, quality and marketing assistance. In the second category, we provide services ranging from skill identification, training, design and development, quality control and marketing. As Tisser grows, we hope to invest more in the second category of work where we provide the gamut of services initially, and move the artisans to the first category where design inputs, along with quality and marketing assistance would suffice. We believe that quality handiwork, provided it is designed well for the current lifestyle, is capable of generating enough income to sustain economically self-sufficient groups of artisans.

Most of the artisans that we work with are not educated,  but they have a younger generation, which has a relatively better access to technology and training. A fair wage, appreciation of the craft and market reaching them at their homes, rather than them having to go out and look for jobs, would go a long way in convincing them to take up the craft as their vocation. Coupled with their education, they can reach the market directly and use Tisser’s inputs on a need basis.

Over the last few years, professionally I have gotten in touch with artisans at their homes, and sometimes in local exhibitions all across the country. The handicraft sector is the second largest employer in India after agriculture. Many of the traditional handicrafts have been awarded the geographical Identify, like the Mysore Silk. In most cases, Tisser start a project by visiting these places and arranging a first-hand meeting with the artisans. In some cases, inspired by the stories of a particular craft, Tisser have gone in search of them, sometimes successfully, and sometimes in vain. We have also ended up with a few unexpected finds. 

The respective government office of Panchayat Raj and the Rural development Department, through the livelihood mission have been a great source of help , as I have been working with them through the World Bank for almost five years now.

We design the products keeping in mind the art practiced by the artisan involved (be it embroidery or weaving or any other) and apply a good understanding of the process involved in the craft, and then give the artisans few samples to make. Once the samples are ready and approved, more pieces of the same type follow. 

The samples also help us in creating a quality sheet for the product, which specifies every single step that needs to be completed and checked before the product is declared as ready. So far we have been working with traditional designs and functionality, but lately we have been venturing into designing new stuff and imparting training to broaden the skills of the artisan.

Variety of Handcrafts in India and with Tisser

The craftsmen use different media to express their originality. The diversity of the handicrafts is expressed on textiles, metals – precious and semi-precious, wood, precious and semi-precious stones, ceramic and glass.

The overall categorization is as below :

Textile based handicrafts: Hand printed textiles including block and screen printing, Batik, Kalamkari (hand printing by pen) and Bandhani (tie and die) are used in products ranging from bed-covers to sheets, dress material to upholstery and tapestry. The famous embroidered articles of silk and cotton often embellished with mirrors, shells, beads, and metallic pieces are also found in India.  Embroidery is also done on leather, felt and velvet etc. This segment of the industry accounts for almost half a million strong employment in addition to a large number of designers, block makers, weavers and packers involved in the trade.

Clay, Metal and Jewelry: Tribal, terracotta, wood, brass, copper, bronze, bell metals etc. are used for a variety of wares and in a variety of finishes. Scintillating ornaments are available in a wide range of patterns, styles and compositions. They are made from precious metals, base metals, precious and semi-precious stones; these ornaments have traditional, as well as modern styles.

Woodwork: Wooden articles from the ornately carved to the absolutely simple. One can find toys, furniture, decorative articles, etc. bearing the art and individuality of the craftsman. India is known particularly for its lacquered wood articles.

Stone Craft: The intricately carved stoneware made of marble, alabaster or soapstone, etc., inlaid with semiprecious stones carry on the heritage of Indian stone crafts.

Glass and Ceramic:  Glass and ceramic products are a fast upcoming segment in the handicrafts from India. The age-old production process of mouth-blowing glass instills a nostalgic feeling. The varied shapes of ceramic and glass in a number of colours, would appeal to Western aesthetics while retaining the Indian touch.

As of now Tisser has inroad in : 

Women’s Clothing : Sari, Dupatta & Stole (Maheshwar, Chanderi, Tassar, Kalamkari and Ikat ), Crochet skirts and tops .

Artifacts : Goat Leather Craft : Lamps, Wall clocks, Wall hangings, Plasti - Clay flowers & Pots, Dokra & Metal Utility Items.

Accessories : Jwellery ,  handbags , pouches ,  Linen : Crochet and Lace.

Supporting the Handicrafts ....

We like and we purchase these products, however we never think what is the price the poor weaver sells this to middle man and what price we are paying for this. Why don't we directly purchase from the one who makes it? How? I want to solve this how by creating a network for urban community to buy rural products and directly support the social cause. Tisser aims to create this product network. It works with the original artists, artisans, handicraft makers on designs, product development and brings these products directly to the consumer through online network. The proceeds from sale are used to support girl child education of the artisans/weavers. The Self Help Group movement will be most benefited by this.

Weaving on Tisser leads to beautiful ethnic designs in Chanderi Maheswari and Tussar (Kosa) Fabric. This exclusive collection of hand weaved Dupattas , Sarees and Scarfs come directly from the weavers loom. Dupattas and Sarees can also be customized as per the requirement in terms of colour scheme and pattern. The products are lower priced since they come from the weavers. However if you go and see the situation of these weavers, they look like a bonded labor, totally exploited by the middle man. The weaver community is so poor that even after having the skill they can’t purchase raw material, neither can they market the product. I am creating stakeholders. The weavers weave for themselves. The products are marketed by Tisser and all proceeds go to the girl child education of the weavers’ daughters in Chanderi. A paid up capital of two lacs has been supported for this cause. Products have been purchased. 

The innovation piloting has started. Bulk and retail orders have started pouring. It’s like helping them respectfully.

I have been working with SHGs through the National Rural Livelihood Mission. I visit the rural areas regularly and have witnessed how rich is Indian rural community in traditional art. I live in urban Mumbai and see my friends wearing the hand woven saris and using the products to decorate the households. However they purchase through the available shops and on a very high price. The real art and the people attached to the same are dying in extreme poverty hence want to create this unique network to support the art in a respectable way. “You purchase the product and through proceeds we support the art and the artist” is the slogan. It has started with two products from handwoven fabric duppatta & sarees from Chanderi and Maheshwar. The new products to be added include tribal jewelry from jhabua, terracotta jewelry made by Self help group members from wardha, Tusar sarees weaved by the weavers from bhandara. 

There is a tremendous amount of enterprise in the rural world. What is lacking is the market connect and also identification of the value additions needed by the consumer i.e. market research. From my limited experience in the Livelihood program, interaction from field practitioners and also the various analysis in the innovation forum which was recently held, this is the kind of partnership and support rural India needs.  

This is definitely the way ahead.

It's a great idea to encourage the idea of "teach by showing and learn by doing".

Many of my friends are interested to support but don’t know how to do. Further I can’t ask people to just support anybody for girl child education and so on. Hence I have decided to work on products, which urban people like to purchase. Since I am working with the Livelihood Mission , I have access to SHG groups and products. I have started with three famous products which are popular and sell like hot cakes. Tisser has 100 Plus products now.

The idea is that you purchase the product and I use the proceed for the respective weavers’ girl child, hence it’s a win-win. Consumer gets the product, weavers can get money for product and I get the margin for the social cause