Partnering with Parvai

An Invitation to Make

Over the last ten years, one of the most encouraging things we have learnt is that there are many people who want to participate meaningfully in the world of Indian craft. Some arrive with an established business. Some are designers or retailers. Some are women entrepreneurs beginning something of their own. Others simply have a strong point of view, an instinct for beautiful things and the desire to build a business around work they genuinely believe in. What they may not have is access to the people, infrastructure, technical knowledge and production systems required to turn that intention into something real. This is where Parvai can become a partner. We have spent a decade building a working model around producing craft from the ground up. We have learnt how to move from an idea to a technical brief, from raw material to sampling, from sampling to production, and from production to a finished product ready to reach a patron. We have built relationships with makers, invested in infrastructure, developed systems and accumulated practical knowledge across weaving, printing, dyeing, tailoring, jewellery and other forms of artisanal production. We are happy to share this infrastructure with people who genuinely want to make.

Why We Partner

We believe the craft world grows stronger when more thoughtful people participate in it. There is no reason for meaningful craft production to belong only to a small circle of established names. A woman beginning her first enterprise, a designer developing an independent label, a retailer wanting to create an original collection, or an entrepreneur with an entirely different perspective can all bring new energy, new patrons and new opportunities to makers. Our intention is not to make another Parvai. It is to help you build something that is recognisably yours. We are particularly interested in working with entrepreneurs who want to move beyond the conventional model of buying and reselling finished craft. We want to help create more producers, people who participate in what they sell, understand their materials and processes, build relationships with production and take responsibility for the products that eventually carry their name. You do not have to arrive knowing everything. What matters to us is curiosity, seriousness, respect for the people involved and a genuine desire to learn how good products are made.

Your Identity, Our Production Partnership

Every entrepreneur brings a different perspective. Your customer may be different from ours. Your understanding of colour, proportion, price, function or market may be entirely different. We see that difference as an advantage. Our role is to help translate your perspective into production. Parvai can support the journey through design development, material selection, technical development, sampling, costing, production planning, artisan coordination, quality control, finishing, tailoring, documentation, branding and packaging. Where appropriate, we make our production environments and processes visible so that you understand not only what is being produced for you, but how and by whom. We approach these collaborations with discipline. Craft may be handmade, but the business around it must be professional. Requirements are documented, specifications are agreed upon, costing is understood, production is planned and responsibilities are clearly defined. We believe professionalism protects everyone involved, the entrepreneur investing in the product, Parvai coordinating its development and the people committing their time and skill to making it.

Our Production Network

Over the years, Parvai has invested in relationships and production infrastructure across several important craft regions, including Kancheepuram, Molakalmuru, Bagru, West Bengal, Kerala, Ajrakhpur, Maheshwar and Bhuj. These relationships give us the ability to develop products across different materials, techniques and price points while remaining closely involved with production. Our capabilities include handwoven saris, woven and printed fabrics, dupattas, home textiles, table linen, ready to wear clothing and jewellery in brass, silver and gold with precious and semi precious stones. We can also coordinate tailoring, finishing, embellishment and other processes required to take a product from development to retail readiness. We work predominantly with natural materials, including mulberry silk, ahimsa silk, cotton and linen, with material specifications determined according to the requirements of each project.

From an Idea to a Product

A partnership can begin with something as developed as an existing design brief or something as simple as an idea. You may know exactly what you want to make. You may have references but need help understanding what is technically possible. You may know your customer and price point but need assistance developing the right product. Or you may want to explore a particular craft and understand what it can become for your business. Our design and production teams work with you to turn these starting points into a workable collection. We consider material, construction, technique, production capacity, quantities, costing and the intended customer together. Once the direction is established, technical briefs and samples allow us to test and refine the product before moving into production. This is collaboration rather than catalogue sourcing. The objective is to develop something appropriate to your identity, your patrons and your market.

Exclusivity and Your Identity

Products and designs developed specifically in collaboration with you are reserved for your business in accordance with the terms agreed for the project. We do not believe in developing an identity for one client and casually reproducing it for another. Private label and branding support can also form part of the partnership. Labels, tags, packaging and other retail requirements can be developed or coordinated so that the finished product reaches you under your own identity, ready for your store or distribution. Our role can remain largely invisible. The purpose of the partnership is not to place Parvai in front of your customer. It is to help you become a more knowledgeable, confident and capable producer of the work that carries your name.

Transparency and Access

We believe that if you are going to put your name on something, you should be able to understand how it came into existence. Our production partnerships therefore include meaningful transparency around materials, techniques, production stages and the people involved. We document the development and production process where appropriate and encourage our partners to learn. For serious, long term collaborations, this can also mean visiting production environments, meeting people, studying processes and developing a much deeper understanding of the craft with which you are building your business. The intention is not merely traceability. It is participation.

Minimum Production Quantities

Our minimum quantities reflect the practical realities of artisanal production rather than conventional factory manufacturing. For woven products, the current minimums are 9 Kancheepuram saris, 54 metres of Kancheepuram fabric and 18 Molakalmuru saris. For printed or embellished textile products, minimums generally begin at 25 saris, 25 dupattas, 50 metres of fabric, 50 units per ready to wear style, and 50 units for bedsheets, table linen and napkin sets. Minimum quantities may vary depending on technique, loom requirements, raw materials, design complexity and the nature of the proposed project. These are therefore starting parameters rather than a substitute for discussing the actual production requirement.

Production and Payment

Once the range, specifications, quantities and broad costing have been agreed with our design and operations team, a 75% advance is required before detailed technical development, sampling and production preparation begin. The remaining 25% is payable before final dispatch. Production schedules are established according to the craft, quantities, raw material requirements and existing production commitments. Because artisanal production involves real people, looms and processes rather than an endlessly expandable factory line, timelines are planned realistically and communicated at the beginning of each project.

Why This Matters to Us

We do this because we do not see craft as an industry built by isolated businesses competing to own it. Craft has always been a community activity. Its strength comes from many people doing many wonderful things together. Someone grows a fibre. Someone spins or prepares it. Someone builds a reed. Someone sets a loom. Someone weaves. Someone dyes or prints. Someone designs. Someone stitches. Someone invests. Someone creates a business around it. Someone communicates its value. And finally, someone chooses to bring the finished object into their life. Every thoughtful participant makes that circle a little stronger.

We want to see more women and men build independent businesses within this world. We want more entrepreneurs to know their makers and processes rather than simply operate as middlemen. We want more labels to create their own products instead of depending entirely on reselling what already exists. We want makers to have more clients, more interesting work and more opportunities to improve. And we want patrons everywhere to encounter an increasingly diverse, intelligent and beautiful expression of what handmade India can be. There is room for many identities here. There is room for different aesthetics, different price points, different markets and completely different ways of seeing. That plurality is something to celebrate.

For us, partnership is another way to promote, protect, develop and participate in craft, while creating economically meaningful opportunities around it. But beyond all of those serious objectives is something much simpler and happier: the extraordinary pleasure of making. Human beings have always surrounded themselves with things made through imagination and skill. We believe there is tremendous joy in continuing to do so, in creating beautiful objects, building meaningful businesses, meeting remarkable people and discovering what human hands and minds are capable of when given the opportunity.

Begin a Conversation

If you are an entrepreneur, designer, retailer or business interested in becoming an active producer of craft, we would be happy to hear what you are thinking about. You do not need to come to us with a finished collection. A clear intention and a willingness to participate seriously in the process are enough to begin the conversation. Write to us at enquiry@theparvaishop.com with your name, contact number, business or store name, location, an outline of what you would like to produce and any initial questions or references you would like us to consider. Once we understand the broad requirement, our team will arrange a video conversation to discuss the idea, production possibilities, quantities, timelines and the next steps.

Come with your own perspective. We will help you find a way to make it.