Jiyo celebrates 10 years with Junoon handcraft fair in Mumbai

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Apr 1, 2019

The luxury handcraft brand Jiyo is celebrating its 10th birthday by hosting a pop-up craft market with panel discussions at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai. The six-day fair began on March 31.

From March 31 to April 4, Jiyo’s Junoon pop-up shopping and panel event is taking place in Mumbai with the aim of promoting India’s artisans and heritage crafts comprising fashion, art, homeware, and gift items. The fair features the work of 70 craftspeople from six states across rural India who have collaborated with 20 designers to create over 3,000 products that are on sale in the 20,000 square foot venue. Featured products include silk ikat textiles, needlework, nature-inspired accessories, and leather lamps. 

On April 1, a block-printing on fabric workshop and an embroidery workshop took place as well as a conversation with Suki Dusanj-lenz on the theme of “Who made my clothes?”. Each day of the fair has a full schedule of interactive events and a number of celebrities including Anita Dongre, Jaya Bachchan, Nandita Das, Shabana Azmi, Shobhaa De, Konkona Sensharma, and Aditi Rao Hydari will take part in the panel talks. 

“The market for India’s skill has still not evolved enough to sustain livelihoods for millions of our skilled poor,” Rajiv Sethi, head of the Jaya He art programme, told Vogue India about the reasons behind the fair. Jiyo hopes that the showcase will introduce more shoppers to craft products and open up a discussion about the topic.  

Jiyo, launched 10 years ago, has three main product lines: the rural products market Jiva, affordable range of handcraft products Jaani, and luxury boutique and export line Jiyo. The brand works with artisans in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.