Traditional yet chic, Homesake designs handicrafts by working directly with artisans
Each and every home is unique and has a personality, just like the people inhabiting it, believes Homesake.in, an online store for contemporary hand-crafted home décor.
For Co-founder Avi Jain, the idea was to arrive at that perfect blend of traditional Indian handicraft techniques and modern designs. Inspired by contemporary lifestyle as well as the years gone by, their home décor products are manufactured using traditional hand-crafted techniques.
This has assumed importance in the modern day, as the handicraft industry has become obsolete and has earned the dubious distinction of not aligning with the market demand of the masses.
Homesake.in gains brownie points for appreciating and supporting artisans in working for the revival of long-lost art forms. The founders believe that it is their business model that gives them the edge over their contemporaries – products are directly sourced from artisans and are made available at the best price possible.
Apart from home décor products ranging from antique glass craft, royal craft metal, and drizzling crystalware, to table and wall mountings, votive and t lights, there are candle stands, hurricanes and photoframes too to choose from.
The business model
Homesake.in is currently operating on a C3 platform – content, community and commerce.
“Through our research and surveys, we found that in India, art and craft as a culture is inherent in the very DNA of the country. So we wanted a platform where people could come and share these ideas. Also, when content and commerce are gelled together, it becomes better for the customers, as they get value as well as products. We are still working a lot on technology,” says Avi, adding that the artisans provide a lot of technical and design support to improving the craft products.
With no middlemen or resellers involved, Homesake is able to maintain transparency in the business and can offer better quality and best prices.
"We have unique product offerings; contemporary handicrafts, with designs inspired by modern lifestyle, manufactured using long-lost traditional hand techniques. This gives a new voice to handicrafts and artists, and also puts India in global markets in a unique light,” says Avi.
Homesake is also working on launching India’s biggest crowd-sourced home décor magazine.
On the investment front
Homesake is bootstrapped now. In the initial days, they did raise a small amount of funding from family and friends. The company started with a capital investment of Rs 25 lakh and has successfully completed more than 1,000 orders. The average order value at Homesake.in is Rs 1,000 – Rs 1,200. As customization is what the company aims at, it took them almost one year to curate and design the products of the desired quality.
Competition galore
With home décor adopting the e-commerce route, Homesake surely has competition. For one, there is Livspace founded by Anuj Srivastava, Shagufta Anurag and Ramakant Sharma.
Pepperfry, Goodearth and Pure Living are other competitors in the same space. However, their exclusive work on designs, and getting things manufactured directly by the artisans without any middlemen is Homesake’s speciality.