The woollen socks and booties my late grandmother knitted for me are like precious tokens I remember her by. But sadly, they don't fit me anymore. My joy at discovering GranMade, then, knew no bounds and come winters, the hand-knitted beanies, socks, and scarves by these loving grandmas are what I'll turn to.
GranMade was started in 2017 by Rachita Arora as part of her project at the London College of Fashion. An offer by her grandma to knit her something warm for cold Europe made Rachita "realise the untapped potential of hand-knit accessories by older ladies in the country", and this social enterprise was born. All the products at GranMade are hand-knitted by underprivileged grandmothers residing in Delhi-NCR, who have been knitting for well over 30 years now, and by eliminating middlemen, the brand ensures that these talented artisans receive fair wages. Great products, superb values. Heartwarming, ain't it?
The brand sources soft wool for their handmade beauties from wholesale markets in Delhi and Punjab and the colours are all just gorgeous. The Parrot Green Beanie with a multi-coloured fuzzball, the Mermaid Multi-Coloured Beanie, the Light Blue Socks, the Berry Crush Crochet Scarf, and the Peach Maroon Infinity Scarf are some of GranMade's bestsellers and call me unoriginal, but I love them all too. Prices for GranMade's beanies, socks, and scarves start at INR 900, INR 550, and INR 1,500, respectively.
Need still more reasons to love them? GranMade doesn't let any strand of wool go to waste. The leftover wool is used for product packaging, complimentary pom-pom keychains, and all those multi-coloured beauties you see out there. You can order GranMade's products through their website and Instagram DM's (@granmadein). Shipping is free throughout India.
