Artisans, Chennai’s curated handloom and craft exhibition, returns for its third edition after a two-year break. Fifteen designers are on board, covering saris, salwars, jewellery, gifts, and deity clothes—a festive edit timed deliberately for the run-up to Deepavali.

Artisans, founded and curated by Devi Goyal and Vijaya Lakshmi Tummala, has not held an edition since 2023, but the appetite for another never went away.

The selection this time spans handloom weaves from across India— kota from Rajasthan, paithani from Pune, kalamkari, Banaras silks, and Andhra saris from Andhra Pradesh, —with one weave per state chosen through a rigorous screening process. “We just don’t randomly pick designers. There’s a lot of screening happening and we decide who we want to pick,” Devi says.

Preety Singh of Sonchiraiya is among the designers who has returned to the show after a successful edition previously. The Rajasthan-based brand is known for its Kota saris—handwoven, revival-driven, and exclusive to the point where Sonchiraiya operates a physical store only in Kota. “We don’t participate generally in any exhibition like that, being a premium brand in the luxury space. Curation from Devi’s side is such that you can’t say no to this. You don’t want to miss such a place where you will see the good customers, those who value craft,” Preety says.

She also points to a shift in Chennai’s appetite for textiles. Kanjeepuram remains the city’s default, but Kota is gaining ground. “I haven’t seen a customer from Chennai who is buying just a single piece from us. It’s always a minimum of five or six pieces,” Preety adds.

For Devi, the return of familiar faces alongside new designers is exactly what she had in mind. Both old and new are coming together for this edition—the best of what Artisans has built, and what it is still building.

Open to all. September 20-21. 11 am to 8 pm. At The Folly by Amethyst, Royapettah.

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