Gurugram: DLF's Horizon Plaza hosts day one of Artisanal Market

Khanna said that her aim is to curate an array of small businesses, which are committed to making healthy, organic, preservative-free products, in order to push customers towards a healthier lifestyle
Customers browsing through organic products at the event. (Photo| EPS)
Customers browsing through organic products at the event. (Photo| EPS)

Buzzing with customers picking up their weekly groceries from stalls decorated with glimmering red stars, snowflakes, and wreaths, DLF's Horizon Plaza hosted the first day of the Artisanal Market on Friday.

First conceptualised in 2019, this market - organised by DLF and curated by Puneeta Chadha Khanna - is usually a one-day affair, set up on Saturdays during winter every year. For Christmas, the market has been extended, and will continue till 4 pm today. 

Khanna said that her aim is to curate an array of small businesses, which are committed to making healthy, organic, preservative-free products, in order to push customers towards a healthier lifestyle. "My whole idea is that you buy everything you need for a week, directly from the people who make it," she shared, adding that she loves the community that the market has developed.

A community fest

Simran Makkar, a management consultant from Noida, runs Donna Pastaia (started in July 2020) as a side business with her friend Kamna Chaudhary. Creating handcrafted artisanal pasta, Makkar aims to make pasta’s nutritional value "as good as a roti".

She has been a part of these markets since 2019. "The community we have here feels like a family. I use products from the other vendors. This is also my weekly shop," Makkar shared.

There are around 50 stalls at the market, including Kumaoni Blessings, offering artisanal cheese; Artisanal Meat, cooking up delicious Christmas food; and Atulyakala, India’s first lifestyle brand run by people from the deaf community, among others. 

Gurugram resident Kaveri Cariappa has been visiting these markets since 2019. She shared that she loved that the market was "out in the sun" and enjoyed being able to "pick up fresh produce, and meet so many interesting people. I have made friends here". Her favourite stalls include Kumaoni Blessings and Artisan Meats.

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