From handwoven textiles to bespoke decor, homegrown craftsmanship is stepping into high-end retail – raising questions about how its true value is calculated and whether Indian buyers are ready to pay
Why does a handwoven cushion cost several times more than a machine-made one? Or a handcrafted rug command a price that could buy a roomful of mass-produced furnishings? The answer isn’t just that it’s handmade. It lies in the hours of labour, the artisan’s skill, the complexity of the technique, the quality of materials — and, increasingly, the story behind the product. Yet for a shopper standing in a store, discerning what justifies that price tag remains a challenge.
India boasts an extraordinary wealth of craftsmanship: From Banarasi weaving and Kashmiri embroidery to hand-knotted carpets, block-printed textiles and intricate metalwork.
The human element gives handmade crafts their value, says Jaya Jaitly, founder and president of Dastkari Haat Samiti, which promotes traditional crafts and artisans. “Handloom and handicrafts should be valued far above machine-made work because the human element is the most important thing in our world.”
A price for craft
While the artistic value of a handcrafted object may be hard to quantify, Jaitly believes the economics of pricing are straightforward. “Pricing is an automatic mechanism. You calculate the cost of the raw materials, transportation and packaging, as well as the cost of getting the product to the place where it will be sold.”
The selling channel also matters. A product sold directly by its maker carries a different cost structure than one passing through wholesalers and retailers. Once basic costs are accounted for, a reasonable profit margin must be added. But Jaitly highlights one distinction as especially crucial: “In the early days, people used to think that their labour was their profit. So, you had to explain to them that their labour is a cost, not a profit.”
This goes to the heart of the pricing debate. If an artisan spends days creating an object, that time and skill must be compensated as a core production cost; profit comes over and above that. “Now, they are beginning to understand this, and that is why crafts are becoming more expensive. People then ask, ‘Why is craft so expensive?’ It is because there is an entire history, heritage and value system behind it.”
The challenge, then, is not to impose a uniform price on handmade products, but to establish a fair and transparent framework for calculating their cost.
Indian craftsmanship must be valued by the same standards as international luxury, says Suparna Handa, managing director of Sarita Handa, a premium Indian home furnishings brand.
“The hours spent making a piece matter, but so do the years it takes an artisan to acquire that skill,” she says. Pricing, Handa believes, reflects design, materials, technical complexity, skilled workmanship and finishing. Exclusivity alone does not justify a premium. “Small quantities alone do not establish luxury. The piece must justify its price through its design and execution.”
Consider three pieces from Handa’s collection: the Lily Crane cushion (priced at Rs 17,350) requires 18 hours of detailed adda embroidery; the Arena five-seater sectional sofa (Rs 5,28,300) takes 120 hours of hand-crafting; and the Nomad textile artwork (Rs 11,100) incorporates traditional Central Asian Kilim motifs. For Handa, transparency is key — consumers need to see the materials, technique and expertise behind each price tag, while ensuring that luxury premiums directly support the artisans behind the work.
Seeking luxury status
A European luxury label commands a high premium without question. Why, then, must an Indian handcrafted piece — requiring equal skill and painstaking labour — still justify its price tag?
Manish Saksena, business lead at Aadyam Handmade, an Aditya Birla Group initiative that works with traditional weaving communities, believes the answer lies partly in how India has historically perceived its own crafts. “It is a legacy issue,” he says. “We relegated our handcrafted richness post independence to more critical issues that faced the nation and its rebuilding. Then came globalisation that made everything western more aspirational.” But he believes attitudes are changing. “The resurgence and pride in India and Indianness is what will redefine this going ahead.”
Can Indian craftsmanship command the same luxury premium as its international counterparts? “Definitely there can be a luxury attributed to handcrafted. By the very definition that it is made by hands and with someone’s soul and passion gives it that stature,” says Saksena.
He, however, cautions against equating all handicrafts with luxury. “Crafts are very diverse and they should cover the entire spectrum of utility to affordable to luxury for its true purpose and value.”
Consider three pieces from Aadyam Handmade that show why certain handcrafted items command premium prices. A Rangkat Jamdani saree from Varanasi, priced from Rs 1.4 lakh, takes up to six months to produce through intricate patterning and demanding weaving techniques. “This is truly a piece that can give you goosebumps in its craftsmanship and meticulous design,” says Saksena.
Aadyam’s revival of fine Varanasi hand-knotted carpets — boasting over 200 knots per square inch — offers another case in point. This density enables intricate detailing, though the technique is rarely practised at such finesse today. A small rug in this category costs around Rs 80,000. Meanwhile, Pochampally double-ikat sarees, typically priced between Rs 80,000 and Rs 1 lakh, derive their complexity from yarn preparation rather than just weaving. According to Saksena, tying the yarn to create the desired pattern before it reaches the loom can take nine months, while weaving each saree takes another 20 days. The technique demands precise alignment as the pre-dyed yarns interweave.
These examples reveal what retail price tags rarely show: Much of the work occurs long before a piece takes shape. The six-month journey of a Rangkat Jamdani saree, the high density of a hand-knotted carpet, or the months required to prepare double-ikat yarn aren’t immediately obvious to someone viewing the finished product.
Is growing pride in Indian craftsmanship translating into a willingness to pay for it? And are consumers beginning to value homegrown luxury alongside international brands?
For Handa, heritage provides the foundation, but it cannot be the sole selling point; the product must also deliver on quality, comfort, durability and service. Equally important is communicating the process behind the piece. “When someone understands how an embroidery is developed, why a particular technique requires specialist skill and what goes into its finish, they have a clearer basis for judging its value,” she explains. “The strongest future for Indian handmade luxury is one in which customers recognise both the object’s quality and the expertise behind it, and are willing to pay appropriately for both.”
A question of marketing
Are Indian handicrafts marketed as effectively as they deserve? And who is more willing to pay for them — Indian or international buyers, younger consumers or seasoned connoisseurs?
Jaitly of Dastkari Haat Samiti sees an encouraging shift domestically, particularly among younger buyers. “I am happy to see young people coming in large numbers to all our bazaars. This indicates that crafts are not just for older people from another era,” she says. But a more intriguing question is how the same piece is valued across different retail environments. “Today, I see the same product being sold at a bazaar like this and, at the same time, in a luxury goods shop for perhaps five times the price.”
This raises a question: Are consumers paying for the artisan’s skill or the luxury environment showcasing it? Jaitly believes Indian crafts reach a broad audience despite fragmented marketing. “There is no organised marketing, but everyone, whether NGOs, people like us or government institutions, is promoting crafts in their own way.”
Before paying a premium for a handcrafted product, buyers should look beyond the label. Ask what materials and techniques were used, how much skilled labour was involved and whether the piece is entirely handmade or combines machine processes. Consider if the design is exclusive, the production limited and the execution worthy of the asking price. For high-end home furnishings, quality, durability, maintenance and after-sales service matter as much as the intricacy of the craft.
A Rs 17,350 embroidered cushion, an Rs 80,000 hand-knotted rug,and a Rs 1.4 lakh handwoven saree represent vastly different purchases — and their prices cannot be judged by the same yardstick. Yet, buyers deserve to understand the workmanship behind each. Ultimately, the true value of the handmade should be evident not just on the price tag, but in the skill of the hands that created it.
