Why HunarHatti Exists
One woman's leap of faith — and a mission to build India's most trusted handmade marketplace
HunarHatti didn't start in a boardroom. It started with a question.
Bhawna Prabhakar, our founder, spent over 25 years leading marketing at Fortune 500 companies. She had the corner office, the regional strategy roles, the conference stages. But somewhere between the corporate wins, a quieter question kept growing louder: Why are we letting India's handmade heritage fade while factories take over?
That question became HunarHatti.
The Problem We Saw
On one side: incredible artisans across India — carvers, weavers, painters, embroiderers — creating things of breathtaking beauty. But most of them had no access to markets beyond their village. They depended on middlemen who paid them a fraction of what their work was worth.
On the other side: people like you and me, who genuinely wanted authentic handmade products but had no way to verify what was real and what was factory-made with a "handcrafted" label slapped on.
Between these two worlds was a trust gap — and that's exactly where HunarHatti stepped in.
What HunarHatti Means
"Hunar" means skill. "Hatti" means a marketplace — an old-world bazaar where people came to buy, sell, and connect. HunarHatti is a marketplace of skill. A digital bazaar where India's artisans meet people who value what they create.
Every product on HunarHatti is genuinely handmade. We work directly with artisans and small craft businesses, cutting out the middlemen so that makers earn fairly and buyers get authenticity they can trust.
Born from Purpose, Not Just Planning
Bhawna took the leap in December 2024 — leaving behind a decorated corporate career to bootstrap HunarHatti entirely on her own. No investors. No safety net. Just conviction.
In its very first year, HunarHatti crossed 100+ orders as a completely self-funded venture. It won the "Most Attractive Stall Award" at Business Jatra Mumbai 2026. And more importantly, it started building something money can't buy: repeat customers who came back not just for the products, but for the story behind them.
"Each order is not just a sale — it's a customer choosing heritage over mass production. That's the real milestone."
Where We're Going
Our dream is simple but ambitious: to become India's most trusted handmade marketplace. A place where art forms that might otherwise disappear find a new audience. Where artisans don't just survive, but thrive. Where every purchase feels personal, meaningful, and connected to something larger than itself.
We're just getting started. And we'd love for you to be part of this journey.
Browse our collections. Gift something handmade. Share an artisan's story. Follow us and spread the word. Every small act of support ripples outward in ways you can't always see — but the artisan at the other end always feels it.
With love for craft,
Team HunarHatti 🧡