Thinking with Handlooms

The persistence of handloom weaving right into the present calls for in-depth exploration. Conventional official perception relegates handlooms to a small, niche market and goes on to suggest how this niche demand should be catered to through further design innovation and variation. This article draws on handloom weaving in Andhra Pradesh to contest this viewpoint. Analysing the numerous dimensions within the handloom sector offers insights into how to address and understand different forms of industrial activity in the country, particularly in realms considered as being the peripheries of a dominant industrial core.