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As mother and daughter, often travelling together to beautiful countries around the world, we developed an appreciation for the beauty of hand made pieces and the cultures and stories that accompanied them. With this came the realisation that artisan communities required more support to be able to continue earning living wages through their traditional know-how.
It was when we travelled together to a rural village in India back in early 2012 to meet with a small artisan community, that we began to realise the benefits access to a global marketplace and regular orders could bring them.
We therefore started Artha with the aim to bring you high quality, expertly crafted home goods and accessories by partnering with artisan communities around the globe. By forming long lasting relationships with the groups, and continuously producing new collections, we are able to offer artisans a sustainable source of income. Designing the collections ourselves and mixing traditional craft with our timeless aesthetic, we create pieces which appeal to a wider market.
CATHERINE GRIGIONI
Catherine has lived 17 years of her life in Asia, immersed in a variety of cultures. Her experiences gained through ongoing volunteer work, coupled with the knowledge she developed while working as a museum guide, provided her with a deeper understanding of the cultures in the region and an admiration of the huge variety of craft techniques represented.
Several trips to India introduced Catherine to the huge and diverse variety of craft in that country alone, and led to developing a relationship with the group which would become Artha's first artisan partner.
Returning to her adopted homeland of Switzerland in 2014 she combined her long held desire to make an impact with her appreciation of craft from around the world and founded Artha with the most logical business partner, her daughter Claire. Artha would celebrate craft and help sustain the livelihoods of artisan communities which had the same needs as the one she was currently involved with. The knowledge she developed during her time in Asia has been invaluable in understanding the challenges and possibilities of different types of craft when developing Artha's new product lines.
CLAIRE GRIGIONI
Claire believes that hand crafted quality has a look and feel that does not compare to anything else. An appreciator of all things beautiful, she wanted to make it easy for others to fill their homes with luxurious hand crafted pieces from around the world.
While on a trip to India during the last year of her studies, she became aware of the incredible talent of the artisans that her mother was working with. She also realised their commitment to earning a living through practicing their craft and the passion behind their work. It was then that Claire understood that she could play a role in helping the artisans gain access to a wider marketplace. With her entrepreneurial spirit, she thought of a business that would use modern commerce to help support artisans and celebrate their traditional craft.
Following her studies at the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne with a focus on entrepreneurship Claire spent some time in the branding industry where she gained insights on what it takes to build a memorable brand. Artha is the result of combining the evident need for the support of artisan communities and the challenge to build up a memorable brand.
Catherine has lived 17 years of her life in Asia, immersed in a variety of cultures. Her experiences gained through ongoing volunteer work, coupled with the knowledge she developed while working as a museum guide, provided her with a deeper understanding of the cultures in the region and an admiration of the huge variety of craft techniques represented.
Several trips to India introduced Catherine to the huge and diverse variety of craft in that country alone, and led to developing a relationship with the group which would become Artha's first artisan partner.
Returning to her adopted homeland of Switzerland in 2014 she combined her long held desire to make an impact with her appreciation of craft from around the world and founded Artha with the most logical business partner, her daughter Claire. Artha would celebrate craft and help sustain the livelihoods of artisan communities which had the same needs as the one she was currently involved with. The knowledge she developed during her time in Asia has been invaluable in understanding the challenges and possibilities of different types of craft when developing Artha's new product lines.
Claire believes that hand crafted quality has a look and feel that does not compare to anything else. An appreciator of all things beautiful, she wanted to make it easy for others to fill their homes with luxurious hand crafted pieces from around the world.
While on a trip to India during the last year of her studies, she became aware of the incredible talent of the artisans that her mother was working with. She also realised their commitment to earning a living through practicing their craft and the passion behind their work. It was then that Claire understood that she could play a role in helping the artisans gain access to a wider marketplace. With her entrepreneurial spirit, she thought of a business that would use modern commerce to help support artisans and celebrate their traditional craft.
Following her studies at the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne with a focus on entrepreneurship Claire spent some time in the branding industry where she gained insights on what it takes to build a memorable brand. Artha is the result of combining the evident need for the support of artisan communities and the challenge to build up a memorable brand.
