Meet Karomi Crafts: Craft, Colour and Jamdani from Bengal
Karomi takes its name from the Sanskrit phrase meaning "I create." In the hands of sisters Sarita Ganeriwala and Sarika Ginodia, that intention has been realised with considerable purpose.
Founded in Kolkata in 2007, Karomi began as a small creative endeavour and has since grown into a collective of over 200 artisans. The studio is rooted in Bengal's handloom heritage, but it has never been content simply to preserve. From the outset, Sarita and Sarika have asked something more of the tradition, pushing Jamdani weaving into unexpected territory while keeping every stage of production entirely in human hands.
A Karomi weaver picks motifs thread by thread on a traditional pit loom, Bengal.
Jamdani is one of India's most extraordinary weaving techniques, each motif built thread by thread on the loom in a process that can take months from first dye bath to finished fringe. The textiles that emerge carry that time within them, in the depth of their natural indigo hues, the subtle interplay of handspun cotton and gicha silk, and the motifs that shift and catch the light. No two pieces are alike, and none could be produced by a machine.
Thread by thread: a spinner reels yarn on a traditional charkha in rural Bengal.
What makes Karomi's work particularly compelling is its spirit of collaboration and creative risk. The studio works with families of weavers, dyers, and spinners across rural Bengal, developing designs that are modern in sensibility without losing their connection to place and practice. Kantha embroidery and hand-block printing add further layers to a collection that rewards close attention.
Karomi Crafts & Textile, Chawki Stole (Natural). Handwoven by artisans in Bengal, this stole is made using the authentic jamdani technique, where each motif is delicately inserted by hand on a hand-picked warp.
Recognised with the UNESCO Award of Excellence for Handicrafts in 2012 and 2014, Karomi represents the best of what happens when design and craft genuinely listen to each other. Their work is available now in the Selvedge Artisan Goods shop, and we were delighted to hear from Karomi in our Five Minutes with a Friend series, where the founders share their inspirations and intentions behind the studio. Read the interview below:
Five Minutes with a Friend:
Sarita Ganeriwala and Sarika Ginodia, co-founders, Karomi Crafts
Portrait of Sarita Ganeriwala (left) and Sarika Ginodia (right). Photo: Alun Callender
What is your earliest memory of a textile?
My earliest memory of textile goes back to when I was around 7 or 8 years old. My mother had bought a beautiful silk fabric (which she referred to as “Chinese Silk”) for my sister and me. I still remember it had a really stunning imprint of flowers and fruits. I was so excited to have a dress made with this lovely textile and I wore it with such joy. In fact, as soon as my sister outgrew hers, I ended up wearing that as well!
How would you describe what draws you to textiles and the world of making?
I’d say that it’s almost impossible to have lived in India all your life and not be drawn to textiles – it’s so prevalent in our country and I’ve seen it all around me growing up. There are so many different indigenous waves from our land and there is something so enticing about the idea of being able to explore all of that.
Another reason I love working with textiles is because I really like doing things from scratch. To be involved in every single decision and process that goes into creating the final product. With textile there are so many different aspects – like the yarn, the fibre, the twist, the reed, the weave, to name a few – that you have the opportunity to engage with. Even after the fabric is woven you get to decide whether to turn it into a stole or a garment, or whether to add surface ornamentation, before it’s finally ready to be enjoyed by the world. I like the whole idea of being involved in making something from start to finish and textile gives me the opportunity to do that.
A weaver prepares the warp in a Bengal workshop, fine threads catching the light before the loom begins its work.
If you create textiles, where do you feel most inspired to work?
The closer I am to the craft, the more inspired I feel to work. That could be time spent in villages near the looms, or when I’m sitting with the embroidery artisans in my studio, or when I’m working with the block printing artisans in the printing unit. The space where the craft is being brought to life brings something very energetic and creative with it. I find that, there, the process itself becomes the inspiration and the simplest element can turn into something new and profound.
What has sparked your imagination or inspired you recently?
The Bauhaus Movement of the early 20th century has always been a source of inspiration for a lot of my work. To me, geometry is a form of poetry. Lines speak to me – I love playing with geometric shapes, and that’s evident in the use of dots, circles, squares, and stripes in my work. There is something fascinating about these simple shapes that can tell such profound stories.
Karomi Crafts Waves Horizon Saree is handwoven in fine, hand-spun cotton using the traditional Jamdani weave. Naturally dyed in rich indigo, the saree features silver zari motifs that echo the quiet depth of the ocean.
What is your most treasured textile, and what story does it carry?
One of my favourite pieces is from a collection called “Waves” that we made during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s naturally dyed indigo, blended with a naturally dyed black and it has this amazing warp intervention in the form of lines in silver. The jamdani work on the piece is exquisite – tiny triangles and stripes that have been woven into the fabric with silver yarn to depict the movement of the waves on the surface of the ocean. It has a stunning movement to it, which I absolutely adore.
Where did you first learn your craft, and who shaped your early approach to making?
I’ve always been inclined towards craft from a young age, and there was a teacher at my school who encouraged me to look at it as not merely a hobby, but a career option. From there, it was of course my art college, and then my degree in textiles. However, I think most of my learning has come from the field, because I believe a classroom environment can only teach you so much in this industry.
I remember I conducted my first visit to a craft village back in the year 2000. There I met a very inspiring person named Rajan Basak, and we spent close to three hours together, discussing the weaves and possibilities of what could be created on a simple loom. I drew on that conversation a lot for my approach to making because it really opened my eyes to the world of possibilities that could come out of even the simplest instrument – the traditional Bengali pit loom.
Is there a piece of music you return to while you work, that sets the rhythm of your making?
Over the years I’ve found that there’s no particular piece of music that sets the rhythm for my making. Although I enjoy both Indian classical music as well as rock and roll, I don’t seek those out when I’m creating. I think the music that I’m tuned to is more the music of silence. That’s what I return to when I’m looking for inspiration and that’s a kind of inner music that helps me create what I do.
Before the needle follows, the pattern is drawn by hand onto the cloth — the moment where design and weaving meet.
What material or technique are you currently experimenting with or curious to explore further?
I’m very curious to explore the muslins of Bengal – the extremely fine yarns that used to define the textiles of the region once upon a time. I like the idea of combining that beautiful, fine, hand-spun cotton fabric with some of the other crafts of India like the applique of Kutch, Chikankari of Lukhnow, or Sujni of Bihar. It’s something that’s very close to my heart and I would love to delve deeper into it.
If you could collaborate with any maker—past or present—who would it be, and why?
I would love to collaborate with Issey Miyake of Japan. I absolutely love his work. I find his design approach simple yet very effective, eclectic, and extremely out of the box. He was an artist in his own right and he’s a big inspiration for me.
Sarika (left) and Sarita (right) with naturally dyed yarns in indigo and madder, the colours that define the Karomi palette.
What does a perfect day of making look like for you?
Currently we’re exploring prints in the studio, and the perfect day of making for me would be to come up with an idea, to get it right on paper, to immediately take it to the printing table, only to be totally surprised by the end result because it is so far removed from the initial idea, yet has a connection to it.
I’ve come to love this aspect of the printing process because I’ve realised that the specific table, the block used, the printer – the whole process – lend themselves so much to the final outcome that it is always unexpected. So the process of executing your vision to be pleasantly surprised by the end result is a perfect day of making for me.
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Further Information:
Discover more from Karomi at the Selvedge Artisan Goods shop.
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Image Credits:
Lead: Karomi Crafts & Textile, Barfi Stole (Indigo). Handwoven by artisans in Bengal, this stole is created using the traditional jamdani technique, where each motif is added by hand on a hand-picked warp.
All further images courtesy of Karomi Crafts, and as credited in captions.