The Power Of Embroidery

Rinky Gupta, Embroidery Artisan at Nirmaan Collective

Hand embroidery is a hallmark of the MarketPlace brand, present on every piece of clothing we make. The reason is two-fold: embroidery has a rich history in India and it's also a learnable skill that can be done by women at home. By including embroidery on every garment, MarketPlace maximizes the work and income it can provide to the artisan community. The stitches themselves are chosen for their elegant simplicity, allowing new artisans to learn them quickly and start earning money immediately.

"I had learned some basic embroidery in school, but I had never worked before," explains Rinky Gupta, who joined the Nirmaan Collective 1.5 years ago. "We get so much training that it's easy. I never considered it a talent before, but today I am earning because of embroidery." MarketPlace's appreciation for the multi-faceted benefits of embroidery is celebrated in this Savani Sampler Shirt, whose artful design is based on the embroidery sampler swatches produced by the artisans as they develop the stitches for the year's clothing line. The shirt is a fitting symbol of the mission of MarketPlace: every aspect--from the organic fabric down to the individual colorful stitches--is the work of women creating clothing by hand and, in the process, creating better lives.