Always attracted to fashion and textile design, Smita Paul discovered the world of handloom while on assignment in India as a freelance journalist. Long after her article on the Indian silk industry was written and published, Smita found herself continuing to research the textile traditions of India, as well as the artisans and the companies involved with designing and producing traditional fabrics and designs. After years as a freelance journalist, Smita decided to pursue her interest in handloom full time, creating Indigo Handloom in 2003. Smita formed Indigo Handloom not just to celebrate the beautiful fabrics produced by centuries-old weaving practices, but also the weavers themse...

Always attracted to fashion and textile design, Smita Paul discovered the world of handloom while on assignment in India as a freelance journalist. Long after her article on the Indian silk industry was written and published, Smita found herself continuing to research the textile traditions of India, as well as the artisans and the companies involved with designing and producing traditional fabrics and designs. After years as a freelance journalist, Smita decided to pursue her interest in handloom full time, creating Indigo Handloom in 2003.
Smita formed Indigo Handloom not just to celebrate the beautiful fabrics produced by centuries-old weaving practices, but also the weavers themselves, most of whom struggle to support themselves and their families with a living wage. Despite a surging Indian economy, weavers, farmers, and other members of the rural poor are faced with worsening economic conditions; indeed, since 2006, government sponsored subsidies for handloom associations (many of which supplied raw materials, micro-loans, and marketing and design assistance) have virtually disappeared, leaving many artisans without the guidance and financial support they need to pass on their talents to the next generation.

Smita’s mission: to attract international attention to the beauty and quality of Indian handloom, thereby stimulating rural development through entrepreneurship. Smita designs beautiful scarves, fabrics and clothing - all made with handwoven cloth.

By contracting directly with the weavers themselves, Smita helps create burgeoning entrepreneurs—artisans who finally have a market through which to sell their wares and the means to feed, clothe, and educate their families.

In keeping with Smita’s dedication to traditional artistic practices, the fabrics of Indigo Handloom and her own private label, Smita Paul Design, incorporate the traditional motifs of the regions in which they’re produced. Whether it’s the woven embroidery of jamdani from West Bengal or the dying technique of ikat from Orissa, Smita collaborates with her weavers to create a beautiful mix of the old and the new, bringing generations-old practices into a modern, creative, and sophisticated vernacular.