Anannya Sharma

Anannya Sharma is a textile designer from Assam, India. In her journey of twenty-five years as a textile designer, she has worked in design studios, freelanced for exporters and textile manufacturers, taught in the India Institute of Handloom Technology and now, has found her calling and fulfilment working with the weavers in this region of the country. Anannya’s work encompasses engaging with the different ethnic-cultural communities to preserve their rich heritage of artistic handloom weaving. Her model of “social business” involves capacity building of women weavers to generate livelihood by imparting improved weaving skills, adopting modified designs and colour schemes and creating a range of diversified products which are at once market-friendly and remunerative. Anannya has several livelihood clusters in different villages consisting of tribal and non-tribal weavers who weave the products on silk and cotton. Her products from silk have the unique property of being completely eco-friendly. The silk, called ‘eri’ is drawn without killing the silkworm and the dyes used are extracted from different herbs, fruits, flowers, the bark of trees and vegetables. Anannya’s products on display, are items of garments and household furnishing woven in silk and cotton by indigent weavers of this north-eastern region of India.