Ruchi Tripathi and Jaya Bhatt are textile designers and co-founders of Indigene. They met at NIFT Delhi, but they laid the foundations of their work far beyond the classroom.
Ruchi’s career with Urmul, Fabindia and Rangsutra took her into some of Rajasthan’s most remote regions, where she worked closely with women practising bandhej and traditional embroidery. Jaya began with Seva Mandir in Udaipur and later worked across handloom, handicraft, and fair-trade initiatives in India and the United States. Between them, they came to understand textiles at every level, from the hands that create them to the markets that value them.
In 2011, after years of exchanging ideas, they founded Indigene with very little capital and no formal business background. Their early collections at the prestigious Dastkar exhibitions led to a first wholesale order from Fabindia. Nearly 15 years later, Indigene has developed a distinctive identity, bringing multiple Indian craft traditions together in contemporary clothing, supported by relationships that have endured since its earliest years.
Key themes emerging from our conversation:
- Recognising the Possibility of a Strong Partnership
- The Himmat, Finding the Courage to Take the Plunge
- A Mother’s Lesson in Patience - and Its Influence at Work
- The Dream of Seeing People Wear Their Creations, Co-Creating with Artisans
- Taking an Entrepreneurial Leap Without a Business Background
- Building Indigene as an Experimental Lab - One Step at a Time
- The Support of Partners Who Believed in the Journey
- Building a Life Around Work They Truly Enjoyed
- Learning to Leave the Designer’s Ego Behind: First Build Trust, Then Bring the Design
- The Warmth That Bridged Two Very Different Worlds
- The Indigene Signature - Bringing Many Crafts into One Garment
- Artisan Partnerships at the Core - Sustainability Through Continuity of Work
- Their Partnership Equation - Spontaneity, Structure, and Checks and Balances
- Putting a Fair Price on Craft—Balancing Livelihood and Viability
- Helping Customers Understand the Value of Handmade
- Growing Their “Business Legs” - Mentoring That Helped Them Think Beyond Design
- Deepening Empathy, Building Courage and Learning to Push New Limits
- Being Able to Hold Ambition and Contentment Together
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