Check Out This Small Juhu Shop For Kashmiri Bags, Pashmina Scarves & More

Cottage India Industries and Exports on Link road on the way to Juhu, next to Umrao is a haven for Kashmiri imports from Pashmina scarves, beautiful rugs to small handbags.

An initiative by the Cottage India Industries and Exports that supports and gives a platform to small-scale cottage industries and skilled artisans from low rung families is a handicraft stores with all things Kashmir. A two-floored store, with the upper floor dedicated purely to Kashmiri clothes and the lower one displaying everything from bags to accessories and handbags, it’s selling authentic products made my Kashmiri artisans and locals.

The variety and the quality are its two speaking points. Though the products aren’t exclusive to the store, they are firstly approved by the Cottage Industries and Export department of India, and secondly, come with a notion of supporting the local makers and taking a piece of their state home.

The gorgeous hand-embroidered bags start at INR 400 and upwards, with wooden-painted box for INR 700 upwards. We also checked out a few of the scarves and shawls as well including soft and ever-lasting Kashmiri Pashmina (INR 2,000 upwards). Rest of the products included the typical Shikaras, wooden-carved home decor items, pure silver jewellery from the valleys and of course, exquisite hand-made rugs (which were the most expensive item in the shop starting at INR 12,000 upwards).

Though the prices of most of the items are on the heavier side owing to them being handmade, it’s a small price to pay for beautiful handcrafted products by the local artisans who benefit with every single purchase we make.

Everyone loves a little bit of Kashmir in their house, be it the alluring wall-hangings of Nishat Garden landscapes, the wooden jewellery boxes on mother’s dressing tables or gorgeous rugs laid in the living rooms.