Passage To India

Don't be fooled by the name of The Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair (IHGF), a semiannual trade show held in New Delhi, India, now in its tenth year. It is very much a sophisticated gift and home show, as we learned on our first visit last October. To the American mind, handicrafts might conjure up images of country-themed merchandise with a somewhat primitive look. To Indians, however, handicrafts covers the range of skills and techniques — many of them centuries old — used to produce textiles, metalwork, glassware, wood and stone crafts, and other products. The range of merchandise at the fair, from frames to lamps, ceramics, pottery, jewelry, lacquerware, and leather goods, is as vast as any seen at most American trade shows.

One company, National Handmade Industries, exhibited frames, photo albums, and other attractive accessories finished in "cotton leather," a leather-like fabric made from 100 percent cotton. Vasu Exports showed its line of wooden decorative accents such as candleholders, roosters, and desk accessories with a special antique finish that owner P. Vasudevan claims is a trade secret. (He even refused the Discovery Channel's offer to tape at his factory in Chennai, India.) Anand Sales Corp. displayed its selection of attractive iron-blue pottery and animal figurines made from ceramic and wood.

But the standout images at this fair were textiles and color. Shades of ruby, amber, pink, orange, and turquoise were seen in cushions, throws, bed and table linens, handbags, and other fashion accents. "Indians know how to pull color together," said Alberto Semidey, a buyer from Caracas, Venezuela, attending his fifth IHGF. "Look at how Indian women dress — all that color."

Among the first time visitors from the U.S. was Tony Hoover, vice president of marketing at Omni Sales Group of the Dallas Market Center, who was surprised to see that the show was organized much the same way as American trade shows. "It's well done," he said. "Indian manufacturers are capable of producing anything. The textiles are especially beautiful." As a result of his visit, Hoover is working with three vendors and their lines of quilts, crewelwork, and jute bags. "However, they still need to learn more about doing business in the U.S., especially warehousing," he added.

Sales rep Don McEvoy of the Dallas Market Center's Donald McEvoy Ltd. was also impressed with the range of product offered at the IHGF. He was drawn to the silver jewelry exhibitors with the idea of repping a line or two that would attract crossover traffic from the DMC's new Fashion Center Dallas, expected to open in March 2004. McEvoy also expressed interest in the paper goods displayed at the fair.

Veteran Asia traveler Derrick Lo of Peking Handicraft, San Francisco, also making his first visit to the IHGF said, "We do most of our stuff in China, but this was a real eye-opener." Sourcing mainly textiles, he added, "Their use of color is great and I was really impressed with their embellishments, such as beading." Lo said he hopes to be doing business with Indian vendors in the near future and will "definitely make a return visit" to the fair.

A popular feature of the Autumn 2003 IHGF was a themed pavilion displaying bamboo and cane gifts and household goods, as well as textiles from the northeast of India, an impoverished area that borders China and therefore faces stiff economic competition from Chinese manufacturers. The northeast initiative was headed by Filipino designer P.J. Aranador, who was brought on board to help with product development. (Aranador is a major player in the Manila FAME gift and home show, and was featured in a Gifts & Decorative Accessories article in December 1999.)

Aranador encourages the Indians to "update [their] products from mere souvenir items to usable items." He also advises them to think in terms of quality rather than quantity. Aranador and a group of Filipino junior designers worked with the Indians to design a range of contemporary giftware and furnishings suitable for the global marketplace.

The IHGF is produced by an Indian government agency, the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH). The show presented 1,200 exhibitors in 11 halls. Booths were spacious and ranged from pipe-and-drape installations to the type of elaborate, hard wall constructions found more often in European shows than American ones. Aisles were wide enough to provide plenty of elbow room, and directions from hall to hall were well marked, with shuttle buses available to speed up the process.

The show is restricted to foreign buyers only. Coming from Asia, Europe, and the U.S., the 5,000 buyers at the autumn show spread throughout the halls, giving everyone ample opportunity to shop and spend time with vendors. Rakesh Kumar, executive director of EPCH noted that 80 percent of buyers are repeat guests, and that the total number of buyers has increased about 10 percent a year.

The Spring 2004 Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair will take place February 28 to March 2.