In the Studio with Ichcha

At Shop Mingei, we seek out artists and brands whose work reflects the creativity and care at the heart of Mingei's mission. From local artisans to makers across the globe, each product tells a story of craft and design.

A brand visitors gravitate towards in the shop is Ichcha, founded by three sisters who work closely with artisans in India to preserve traditional block printing and textile-making techniques. Through their commitment to handmade production, women's empowerment, and sustainable practices, Ichcha demonstrates how craft can support both cultural heritage and meaningful social impact. 

We spoke with the sisters behind the brand to learn more about their work, their partnerships with artisans, and the beauty they find in imperfection.

Many of your products involve processes like block printing, hand weaving, natural dyeing, and embroidery. Why is it important for you to educate people about how these objects are made?

We live in a world of convenience where it’s easy to buy something and dispose of it without much thought. When a machine makes it for you at a reasonably cheap price, it’s easier to not have actual feelings attached to it, hence making it easy to get rid of when you are bored of it. We want our customers to know WHO made it and HOW they made it. When there is a person and story attached to something you buy, there is an emotional connection. We want them to be in love with what they purchase, prolonging its value and life in their closet. It's important to tell the stories behind, because knowledge creates care—and care is what transforms a purchase into something you treasure for a lifetime.

What draws you to handmade craft traditions and techniques?

It’s not easy, but it tugs at our hearts. Handmade craft traditions signify life. The mark of the artisan speaks volumes; each piece is a special treasure to be owned, worn, and valued. They also take a LONG time to make, making us pause in this fast-paced world, to think about why we’re doing what we are doing and what we aim to achieve in the end. It’s not quick. It requires effort on our part as designers, and especially on the part of the artisans who make it. We value their time. If we’re to make something, we want it to be worth all of our time. 

Why is it important to preserve and invest in craft traditions today?

History, as we know, is being written and changed daily. We don’t want to forget the good parts of the world we grew up in, and crafts are an important part of the way history is told. Through craft, an artisan can communicate their story and life. Crafts and traditions are slowly fading, losing the fight to fast fashion. The more we can bring awareness to this world that exists, the more we know people will be excited to preserve and promote it, giving us all an opportunity to go back in time to the simple life. 

What is the significance of Khadi within your work and practice? 

Khadi is not just a fabric. It is a philosophy rooted in India's independence movement, in Mahatma Gandhi's call to become self-reliant.

We work with Khadi weavers to create the fabric for our table linens, and choosing Khadi was never just an aesthetic decision. It was an intentional one. Khadi is woven by hand, loom by loom, by artisans who have carried this skill for generations. There is something deeply honest about Khadi. It is not a perfect fabric. It has texture, slight variations, a natural irregularity that tells you immediately—a human being made this. It breathes. It softens with every wash. It gets better with time, the way the best things in life do.

For Ichcha, Khadi represents the intersection of everything we believe in—craft, community, sustainability, and the quiet dignity of the handmade. When someone sets their table with our linens, they are not just using a beautiful object. They are connected to a tradition that is centuries old and to the hands that kept it alive.

You work closely with NGOs supporting women in traditional embroidery communities. Why is that relationship-centered approach important to you?

Women are the backbone of any society. They deserve to be uplifted and valued, especially with the traditional craft story they carry from generation to generation. And in India, where there is gender inequality, we try to make women the forefront of our story. Wherever we can, whether it be through creating products with them or funding the education of a young girl in the village, we want Ichcha to be an avenue that the women can rely on for work/further education. 

Being women ourselves, we know how different life would have been if we had grown up in India vs. the world, and how different it could have been if we were born boys. We don’t want gender to be the deciding factor in what fate you live out in India. 

In what ways does your work support or empower women through craft, education, and economic opportunity?

Ichcha, together with the women artisans, has developed new design ideas and products that they can use to sell in their market. Our waste fabric baskets have become a good seller for them, where they keep 60% of the profit. In the end, it becomes an education class on design, both taking away something from each other. The money earned helps them gain a higher standing in their household and village, helping to further their own daughters' education. 

We are also proud to have recently added a young woman weaver to our team—she is now learning and weaving the fabric for our napkins. 

Lastly, we have also taken applications from a group of girls from the village we work in and distributed scholarships to pay for their further education, some going on to become teachers and nurses. 

Why is it important to share profits directly with the artisans who design and produce these works?

We don’t believe our company is just for us. The artisans' work is what makes us successful, and we want to share some of that with them. Hence, we created an Ichcha for Artisan collection, where the artisans are encouraged to design and create with their own imagination. In the end, each member of the collective is given an opportunity. From the dyer to the washer to the person cleaning up after everyone, each person gets to design and have their design reach out to the world. 

The profits are then distributed EQUALLY to each individual, signifying that each person is important to the work we are doing. They are all equally valuable, and we need to work as a team if we are to be successful. If they are successful, we are successful. If we are successful, they are successful. 

What have traditional Indian craft communities taught you about patience, labor, and craftsmanship?

It requires A LOT of patience. It requires a lot of time. It requires a lot of work, in the heat, in the cold, at all times during the day. But the fruits of the labor are equally sweet. It all seems worth it in the end when a product just emerges from the dye bath and is laid down on the floor to dry. Everyone gathers around and marvels at what we all created. We stand around discussing how it came to be and the JOY of it all, with smiles all around. 

There’s often a visible sense of the handmade in your products. What beauty do you find in imperfection?

It teaches us how we should live. Like life itself, our process cannot always be controlled or predicted. A dye batch surprises us. A color comes out deeper or lighter than expected. We have learned to embrace that. Because the most meaningful things—in craft and in life—are rarely the ones that went exactly as planned.

We are unlearning every day. We fight the need to be perfect, the need to have clean lines, the need to have color only within the lines. It doesn’t need to be. It can’t always be. And we don’t need to discard the things that aren’t perfect. We humans also have flaws and differences. We need to learn to accept the beauty in the differences. Our craft is our little lesson of the day in that effort. It’s not only a lesson we hope the customer can learn, but it’s also a lesson we have to learn as business owners as well. When the textiles don’t turn out the color we wanted them to, should we discard ALL fabrics and create more waste? Or should we change our definition of perfection and view what we have in a new light? Sometimes the “mistakes” become our bestsellers. 

 What does it mean to you for your work to be carried at Shop Mingei?

Being carried at Shop Mingei means our work has found its truest home. We feel deeply aligned with the Mingei philosophy that beauty lives in everyday handcrafted objects—made by hand, by uncelebrated makers, for daily life. It is not just something we admire; it is something we live. Every piece we make is block printed by hand by artisans in India, naturally dyed using techniques passed down through generations. These artisans may not sign their work, but their hands are in every piece. Having our craft honored in a space that was built precisely to celebrate it means the world to us.

When I visited last August, I was instantly transported. The space was so beautifully curated—a world of worlds, filled with color and craft from so many different cultures, each one telling its own story. The people were so warm and welcoming that it felt less like a shop and more like a place where a community of like-minded souls would naturally gather. We are so grateful and honored to now be a part of that.

What do you hope someone feels when they bring an Ichcha object into their home or daily life?

Joy. Happiness. Calmness. 

Sometimes we’re in awe when a customer takes the time to leave a heartfelt review on our product. They go out of their way, take time out of their schedule to convey the joy our curtain, the lightness of our top, the serenity our bandana has made them feel. 

This is more than we could have imagined.