Branding ethnic art

Anjalee Wakankar and Sanjiv Chatterjee, promoters of Kaaru, have a very simple business model. Mass production and mass consumption is not their cup of tea.

Instead, reach out to a small educated group of consumers interested in traditional designs and willing to pay a premium for the products.

Delhi-based Kaaru promotes fine arts, architecture and design, with a focus on showcasing crafts from artisans from villages across India.

Besides designing interior spaces, Kaaru's product range includes furniture, trays, coasters, vases and sundry desk and kitchen accessories.

Kaaru, set up in 1998, has been experimenting with designs and trying to find a feasible business module. Both Wakankar and Chatterjee plan to open their first store in Delhi next month.

"Over the years we've been developing traditional designs that would find acceptance in contemporary life," says Chatterjee.

"Neither the government nor individual venture capitalists are willing to invest in R&D for designs. And risk-taking clients are also missing," adds Wakankar. Both of them want to promote sustainable designs that reflect the culture of its source.

Kaaru's aim is to ensure a minimum of 500 artisans across the country earn at least Rs 5,000 a month. "We are here to run a business. And we're sure that in the first year of our store's operation, we'll be able to do a turnover of Rs 15 crore," says a confident Wakankar.

The optimism stems from the fact that at their first exhibition in 2001 in London, 75 per cent of their products, worth £ 40,000 , were sold while their show inTokyo in 2003 got them orders worth $60,000.

Their first exhibition in India was held last month at Delhi's India Habitat Centre (IHC). "I don't think galleries consider our products as art and refuse to give us space," says Chatterjee explaining the reason for the delay in holding an exhibition in India.

Besides pumping the money earned from exhibitions back into the business, Kaaru takes up interior design projects. Till date the company has done the MacArthur Foundation rooms at IHC, the conference rooms of the Ministry of Finance, among others.

Kaaru products will be marketed under two brands "" Kaaru and Ek. While Kaaru will be used for high-value, limited edition products, desk and kitchen accessories will be sold under the Ek label.