Vibrant, colorful, boldly patterned, full of texture, beautiful in their imperfection, truly unique and embedded with rich cultural stories, this is why I fell in love with indigenous artisan crafts and textiles. I continue to be inspired by the potential of world crafts to influence our taste levels, aesthetic choices, and influence consumer buying habits away from fast fashion into more socially conscious and impactful products.
This journey to discover and learn everything I can about artisan crafts, and to figure out where these crafts fit in the current fashion and retail landscape, has taken me to some of the most remote regions of the world where tribal cultures are intact and indigenous crafts are still practiced unchanged from previous generations. These crafts, though very traditional by nature, have intrinsic modern appeal and enormous potential for applications in contemporary fashion and interiors.
Creating with artisans gives me the greatest pleasure and satisfaction, it is remarkable that even without a common language, we are able to share our passion for materials. We laugh, smile, share ideas, experiment and over many years have developed lifelong friendships. I have deep respect for the artisans cultural heritage, share their passion to explore and access new markets for their work and continue to be moved by the remarkable skill in their hands as I watch before my eyes the most basic of raw materials transformed into stunning textiles, natural fiber plant weaves and hand block prints.
Artisans, though very keen to sell their products in new channels, have great difficulty doing so. I have observed time and time again, the willingness of artisans to move their work forward, but very little opportunity to break this cycle. To achieve this, the artisans have to ensure their products are relevant to a western consumer and connect with current lifestyle trends. They must then find advocates who can connect and sell their work into new retail channels, while at the same time understanding the unique business problems and opportunities of the artisan sector - a very difficult and complex problem.
This is why I founded “Partisan Creative”, to advocate on the side of the artisans through a dual mission of design partnership and providing access to premium sales channels. Partisan’s work is through direct design collaborations with global artisans to adapt traditional materials & motifs into new product applications. Current projects in India, Africa, South East Asia, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Europe.
Partisan Creative’s long term mission is the creation of an immersive, direct to consumer retail platform that in parallel to selling tells the stories behind the artisans work in a gallery setting that provides visibility for the makers.
