The ongoing annual eight-day Silk Expo at Hotel Marrion, which kicked off last Sunday, showcases a collection of exclusive handlooms and handicrafts for sale. Weavers from all over the country have put up stalls stocking a large range of silk items in various categories like sarees, salwar sets, scarves and shawls.
The exhibition’s uniqueness lies in the fact that here, weavers become an integral part of the show. They come with their products, interact with the customers and sell their products. This enables them to understand the changing requirements of the customers and they work accordingly for the next season. These sellers are mostly weaver families where every member is into the business.
While the sarees and dress material are being sold in the range of `1000 - `10,000, there are a few stalls selling even jootis, chappals and sandals between ` 300 and ` 500.
The exhibition, organised by Hastashilpi in collaboration with GoCoop, an online shopping portal for handlooms, has silk woven from four types of cocoons, Eri, Mulbari, Muga and Tassar. Abhinanda, the founder of Hastashilpi said, ‘’Our motive is to develop co-operatives and connect weavers from all over India and promote handlooms.’’ The profit goes to around 2000 weaver families and they have SHOs to support their profession. “The difference between this exhibition and those being sold at retail outlets is the price label. Private companies take products from here and sell them at 200 percent profit in large showrooms. But in expos like these, the weavers and customers are benefitted,” he added.
While some weavers represent cooperative societies, the others come on their individual capacities. Mohammad Zubair, a weaver from Uttar Pradesh, dealing with Resham silk, says he earns 30 percent profit after sharing the stall rent. Hastashilpi has organised around 60 expos by now and another is on the anvil, scheduled for December. The expo will conclude on Sunday.