The Indian Karigar | Partnership with Nagaland Artisan Collective

The Indian artisan, colloquially called the ‘Karigar’ in India, uses heirloom techniques passed down through generations to breathe life into our products. Their handiwork creates home goods that skillfully combines traditional elements with new contemporary designs. 

Through our new blog series, we want to highlight the partners we work with and provide further transparency to our wholesale and retail buyers about the women, artisans, and enterprises behind the Casa Amarosa products they are purchasing.

Artisan Highlight: Vekuvolu Dozo from Dimapur, Nagaland 

For our new collection in 2020, we decided to explore a technique from a different part of India -- a small state in eastern India called Nagaland. This region is known for its rich handlooms and gorgeous landscapes. We partnered with an artisan collective whose goal is to create weaver led micro-enterprises in Nagaland and the surrounding regions. Allowing the artisans to have direct contact with the designers-- empowering them financially and exposing them directly to contemporary markets.

We directly worked with weaver Vekuvolu Dozo to develop and weave new pillows for our 2020 collection. Vekuvolu grew up in Phevopisu village in Nagaland and is a mother of 5. The income opportunities from weaving have given her the confidence to explore entrepreneurship. 

Although she inherited the craft from her mother (a common practice in Nagaland) but never really practiced it on a regular basis. After going through a financial crisis, she finally enrolled with an artisan collective in 2019 which provided her educational sessions. She is now an independent artisan entrepreneur and is successfully making the most of her craft skills. Beyond that, Veku has been able to enable 4 full time and 5 part-time weavers that work for her as associate artisans!    

Product Highlight: The Kohima Pillow

Our in-house designer worked in tandem with Vekuvolu to bring a chic, one-of-a-kind, handmade pillow to life using a loin loom. Each strand of yarn was handpicked to form beautiful geometric patterns, using designs which are rooted in tradition, culture, and mythology

Our Kohima pillow will launch later this month for wholesale orders at the Faire Virtual Summer Market, Aug 26th-27th with Net 60 terms and Free shipping. Stay Tuned!