The Varnam playbook | How Bengaluru-based Karthik Vaidyanathan reimagined Channapatna for the modern shelf

Two years ago, the instauration of a six-lane Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway posed an obstacle to the artifact shops successful Channapatna en route. Travellers nary longer stopped by to indulge successful impulse purchases. The brightly coloured handcrafted woody toys stood unsold. In spite of a GI tag, the request for the 200-year-old trade has been dwindling owing to deficiency of innovation and constricted entree to markets extracurricular the region. The communicative is not overmuch antithetic for Bidriware. Government initiative, self-help groups, NGOs, e-tailers — and craftpreneurs, successful the past decade, trying to reimagine the creation — person supported oregon sourced from these artisans, exhibited them astatine municipality pop-ups and bazaars, and retailed done societal media. One man, however, has reimagined Channapatna for the modern support and cracked the codification to make a palmy concern model.

In 2011, Bengaluru-based Karthik Vaidyanathan founded Varnam Craft Collective and, astir 15 years after, has grown it into a multi-crore business, with retail stores successful Bengaluru (Indiranagar, Jayanagar), Mysuru and Goa. But the displacement betwixt “a originative passionateness project” and a craft-based concern comes with its stock of upheavals and learnings, says Vaidyanathan, the brand’s main designer. He cautions: “one can’t enactment successful crafts from the viewpoint of commercialized occurrence alone.” Instead, helium says, “the larger Varnam becomes, the much interaction it volition beryllium capable to person connected the livelihood of the artisans”. Also, the delicate creation is to “not dilute the essence of the marque for the involvement of the business”. 

ALSO READ: Bengaluru-based Varnam Craft Collective launches the Snugglewalas

Growing roots, branching retired

The technologist turned communications specializer started Varnam erstwhile helium was successful his precocious 30s, with a idiosyncratic concern of Rs 2 lakh. He began moving straight with 7 artisan families successful Channapatna – Toy Town of India – to make amusive and functional takes connected this vibrant trade of woody and lacquerware toys. Think owls dangling arsenic festive lighting; a kuruvi, oregon sparrow, sitting atop a paper-roll holder; piggies transformed into coaster stands, bunnies into salt-and-pepper shakers and truthful on. For the archetypal 2 years, Vaidyanathan would popular up astatine trade markets crossed the state earlier customers tracked down his location address. “They bought Varnam stocks retired of my garage,” helium recalls.

Today, Varnam works with 30 artisan families successful Channapatna, and more than 300 artisan families crossed 11 different trade forms. “But we inactive aren’t a Fabindia,” Vaidyanathan quips. “Craft businesses aren’t thing that task capitalists give superior information to, contempt this assemblage being the second-largest leader successful the country.” The whispered world is that a trade concern is ‘working-capital intensive’. He says, “It’s our biggest struggle. We wage our artisan clusters instantly lest  they volition beryllium crushed.” His transparency has resulted successful “artisan clusters seldom leaving erstwhile included successful Varnam’s fold.” But keeping this concern signifier live isn’t ever sustainable, helium agrees.

In spite of nationalist designation and manufacture awards, Vaidyanathan says, “we inactive tally month-to-month – and we haven’t been successful the reddish lone successful the past 3 years.” They person had a 20% year-on-year maturation barring the COVID years. He attributes this to having worked agelong capable crossed industries and has had “his just stock of world checks” and to “a know-how honed from thousands of hours of going to retail exhibitions, interacting with sellers and buyers, the visiting artisans, getting baked successful the prima and learning the ropes of the business,” helium says.

Vaidyanathan prides himself connected being “unemotional” successful the work of the larger good. He unopen down the Chennai store aft 16 months of operation. “We realised this isn’t a marketplace for our products due to the fact that it didn’t acceptable into the worth strategy of spending connected real-estate, silk saris, diamonds, golden jewellery – things which are long-lasting and person a resale value,” helium says. “Phenomenal income during exhibitions successful the city” didn’t construe to the retail store. Instead, Varnam reopened Bengaluru’s Jayanagar store, which was unopen down “to forestall bleeding during the pandemic”.

Crafting commentary

The competitory market, crowded with copycat brands, called for changes successful the concern strategy. Varnam’s signature has been Channapatna crafts. Vaidyanathan has diversified his scope done a multi-pronged attack portion honouring his brand’s archetypal trade of choice. In bid to assertion ownership of his designs, helium began to reproduce Varnam’s motifs crossed a scope of products. Blockprinted textiles inspired by their Channapatna objects allowed Varnam “to determination into apparel and brushed home-furnishings.” This determination to grow helped “create a memorable marque identity.”

Vaidyanathan knew that customers wouldn’t instrumentality for Channapatna crafts alone. “We marque committee games with Lambadi women embroiderers, make jewellery with the artisans of Bidri and truthful on. But Varnam’s signature – the Channapatna trade – makes a beardown quality successful each of these artisan collaborations: arsenic pawns successful the embroidered game-mats oregon the bidri work is inlaid into a Channapatna lacquer turnery. “Channapatna volition ever beryllium astatine the bosom of Varnam but we make things astir it. It besides introduces our lawsuit basal to antithetic crafts of the country,” helium says.

World-building

By 2027, Vaidyanathan aims to turn Varnam into a Rs 5 crore business. In August 2024, helium got a Rs 2 crore effect money from 2 angel investors-cum-designers Geeta Dipali and Hemant Suthar. It fuelled Varnam’s largest maturation burst till date. With that they took connected a “capital, labour and logistic intensive project”. This month, Varnam launched ‘Snugglewalas’: “a postulation of [12] anthropomorphic characters who bring to beingness the antithetic trade traditions of India.”

Vaidyanathan has leaned into his storytelling acquisition from his years successful selling and vigor to infuse “emotion” into Varnam’s signature motifs. In a sense, helium is turning them into toys again. “I’ve had this clarity: toys with a twist. Toys aren’t conscionable for kids – everyone likes being playful,” helium enthuses. “This starting point” has been the singular driving unit down Varnam’s identity and finds crystallisation successful Snugglewalas. “A parrot successful a block-printed cushion screen tin beryllium seen successful a panja weave dhurrie and past successful the crewel embroidery of Lambadis – and slowly, its quirks volition emerge. Say, for instance, that it is simply a superstitious bird, and loves greenish chillies. We’re hoping this world-building volition enslaved these motifs to the brand,” helium says.

The Snugglewalas – The Storytellers of Handmade India is connected amusement successful Bengaluru till October 24 astatine Sabha, Shivaji Nagar and successful Hyderabad from November 13-17 astatine Crafts Council of Telangana, Banjara Hills.

The writer and writer is based successful Bengaluru.