Leather Toy Craft - Design Clinic Scheme
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Leather Toy Craft
Leather toys of Indore INTERACTIVE DESIGN STUDY
CLUSTER LEVEL REPORT
MSME SCHEME .2010
submitted by : ABHIJIT PAUL
1
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
Organised by: CHAVI ( Centre for Handicrafts and Vocational Instruction)
Introduction
Design Awareness Program
The design awareness programme, DAP, is focused to develop a holistic
map of MSME clusters and units by exploring through industrial func-
tions and activities. The design expert/s will generate design informa-
tion about products, market scenario, technology, communication,
research & development, and various industrial functions along with
human factor study for ergonomics, safety, convenience, learning and
skill up gradation through design research. Also the programme will pro-
vide design remedies for identified opportunities through design clinic
workshop. The workshop will help participants to understand the holistic
scenario of cluster and benefit them with the support of design
expert/s, for design intervention in opportunity areas explored during
the programme.
The activities of design awareness programme are targeted around fol-
lowing areas of design information collection and remedial solutions.
Design Expert will visit the identified /selected MSME units located in
cluster region and interact with them to develop a design understand-
ing of cluster. During the interaction design will provide inputs to MSMEs
about product improvements, best practices and creative problem
solving approach based on contextual scenario. In the process s/he
will identify underlying opportunities with the help of explorative design
research of clusters and participating units.
This activity is an intensive design research for understanding the pres-
ent scenario and opportunities for the design intervention. Also it will
help improve MSME through Interactive learning, guidance and training
during the visit.
This activity will be a detailed research thorough visits and interaction
with people within the MSME work environment. It will also help designer
to generate information about the cluster units, their products, manu-
facturing processes, market scenario followed by identifying opportunity
areas for design interventions. The research would be taken up by de-
sign expert/s for generation of design insights through various processes
2
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
of exploration, interaction and data collection. Design expert/s will take
part in developing macro perspective by studying cluster scenario and
micro point of view by exploring through MSME units operations. As an
outcome of interactive design research, expert/s will identify opportu-
nity areas at cluster as well as units level for design interventions and
design project/s in the future course of design clinic scheme
The research methodology for design study survey will include activities
through observation, interaction, photography, interviews and qualita-
tive/quantitative design data collection. The survey will help in develop-
ing detailed map of cluster and units for identification of patterns and
exploring opportunity areas for design intervention at various levels of
product and human interactions.
3
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
EXPORT UNITS
1 Unit name & Location;
Leather Handicrafts, 751, Bajrang Nagar.
Cell; 09425065151
Owner of the Unit ;
Ashok Kumar Sahu (manufacturer & exporter) since 2002.
No. of workers;
Not mentioned, but sufficient / 10 hrs average each daily.
Outsource work to local craftsmen in piece wage system.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
Not disclosed but, business reduced by 60-70%.
Market (Domestic & International);
10% & 90% respectively.
2 Unit name & Location;
Handicraft Centre, B5-A Polo Ground Industrial State.
Owner of the Unit ;
Gajendra Singh Thakur (manufacturer & exporter) since 55-60 years.
No. of workers;
80-100 before, now very less.10 hrs average each daily.
Outsource work to local craftsmen in piece wage system.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
More than Crore before but now dropped due to recession.
Market (Domestic & International);
5-10% & 90-95% respectively.
3 Unit name & Location;
Shivam Arts,Maari Matta Temple,
Owner of the Unit ;
Yaswant Panchalkar (manufacturer) since 10 years.
No. of workers;
12-15 workers.10 hrs average each daily.
Also does work for exporters.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
Not available, was hesitant.
Market (Domestic & International);
Mostly domestic and supplies to exporters frequently.
4
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
4 Unit name & Location;
Rainbow Art Centre,1, Bakshi Colony, Ex Sadar Bazar.
Cell: 09826032055
Owner of the Unit ;
Vinay Ramchandani (manufacturer & exporter) since 1961.
No. of workers;
10-12 craftsmen / 10 hrs average each daily, regular worker.
Hires more when required.
Outsource work to local craftsmen in piece wage system.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
Not disclosed.
Market (Domestic & International);
10% & 90% respectively.
5 Unit name & Location;
Jaswanth sing Thakur & Bros, B11-a Polo Ground Industrial State.
Cell; 09425052729
Owner of the Unit ;
Surendra Singh Thakur (manufacturer & exporter) since 55-60 years
No. of workers;
80-100 before, now very less.10 hrs average each daily.
Outsource work to local craftsmen in piece wage system.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
More than Crore before but now dropped due to recession.
Market (Domestic & International);
5-10% & 90-95% respectively.
6 Unit name & Location;
Shariff Arts, 260-B,141,Nethaji, Subhash Marg.
Lan: 3106580.
Owner of the Unit ;
Shariff Khan (manufacturer & exporter) since 1942 by Father Mr. Abdul
Gaffar. No. of workers;
20-craftsmen / 10 hrs average each daily.
Outsource work to local craftsmen in piece wage system.
5
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
In (1) crore’s approx. at its peak, presently in (3o) lakh’s approx. due to
recession in western countries.
Market (Domestic & International);
25% & 75% respectively.
7 Unit name & Location;
Bharat Exim’N’ Handicrafts, 77 Bhagirath Pura.
Cell; 09827035800
Owner of the Unit ;
Surendra Singh Thakur (manufacturer & exporter) since 55-60 years.
No. of workers;
80-100 before, now very less.10 hrs average each daily.
Outsource work to local craftsmen in piece wage system.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
More than Crore before but now dropped due to recession.
Market (Domestic & International);
5-10% & 90-95% respectively.
8 Unit name & Location;
Leather Art & Craft, Sankar Bagh, near Maarimatta temple.
Cell:09977242161.
Owner of the Unit ;
Mahesh Ramchandani (manufacturer & exporter) Since 1993, Sister
concern of Rainbow Art Centre since 1961.
No. of workers;
10-12 craftsmen / 10 hrs average each daily.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
In (1-2) crore’s approx., presently in (5o) lakh’s approx. due to recession
in western countries.
Market (Domestic & International);
10% & 90% respectively.
6
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
9 Unit name & Location;
Zoological Art Gallery,260-B,Sangam Nagar, Shivam Circle.
Cell; 09826066745
Owner of the Unit ;
Mahendra Pashine (manufacturer & exporter) since 50-60 years
No. of workers;
20-25 craftsmen / 10 hrs average each daily.
Outsource work to local craftsmen in piece wage system.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
In (1) crore’s approx., presently in (3o) lakh’s approx. due to recession in
western countries.
Market (Domestic & International);
25% & 75% respectively.
7
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
Local supply units
1 Unit name & Location;
Surya Handicrafts, New Indore.
Owner of the Unit ;
Ajay Seroke (Craftsman & Manufacturer) since 12 years as unit but oth-
erwise his father used to do Leather toys.
No. of workers;
17-18 workers.10 hrs average each daily.
Also does work for exporters.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
15-20 lakhs.
Market (Domestic & International);
80% & 20% respectively.
2 Unit name & Location;
Cell;7898787075
Owner of the Unit ;
Gokul Singh Narvarya (Craftsman & Manufacturer) since 18-20 years.
No. of workers;
6-8 workers.10 hrs average each daily.
Also does work for exporters.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
Not available, was hesitant.
Market (Domestic & International);
Mostly domestic and supplies to exporters frequently.
3 Unit name & Location;
Shiromani Handicrafts, Rustam Ka Bageecha.
Owner of the Unit ;
Manish Kumar Jatav (Craftsman & Manufacturer) since 12 years.
No. of workers;
5 workers.10 hrs average each daily.
Also does work for exporters.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
Not available, was hesitant.
Market (Domestic & International);
Mostly domestic and supplies to exporters frequently.
8
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
4 Unit name & Location;
SP Leather Handicrafts, Dev Nagar.
Owner of the Unit ;
Manoj Malviya (Craftsman & Manufacturer) since 12 years.
No. of workers;
5 workers.10 hrs average each daily.
Also does work for exporters.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
Not available, was hesitant.
Market (Domestic & International);
Mostly domestic and supplies to exporters frequently.
5 Unit name & Location;
Jann Shakthi , 443, Lala Ka Bageecha .
Cell; 9993299569
Owner of the Unit ;
Pradeep Marmate (Craftsman & Manufacturer) since
No. of workers;
Both spouse work and more work is given it to other craftsman at near-
by homes. 10 hrs average each daily.
Mostly carries body shape cast only for exporters.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
Not available, was hesitant.
Market (Domestic & International);
Mostly domestic and supplies to exporters frequently.
6 Unit name & Location;
Rathore Handicrafts, 122/3 Nehru Nagar.
Cell; 9713279537
Owner of the Unit ;
Rajesh Singh Rathore (Craftsman & Manufacturer) since 16 years, unit
from 8 years.
No. of workers;
5 workers.10 hrs average each daily.
Also does work for exporters.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
Not available, was hesitant.
9
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
Market (Domestic & International);
Mostly domestic and supplies to exporters frequently.
7 Unit name & Location;
Yuvraj Handicrafts, 79 Patnipura,Jeevmatta Temple.
Cell; 8871917432
Owner of the Unit ;
Shankar Singh Shekawath (Craftsman & Manufacturer) since 1994.
Knows fiber molding techniques.
No. of workers;
3-4 workers.10 hrs average each daily.
Also does work for exporters.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees
Not available, was hesitant.
Market (Domestic & International);
Mostly domestic and supplies to exporters frequently.
8 Unit name & Location;
Appu Arts, Rustam Bageecha.
Owner of the Unit ;
Tillak Jaswant (Craftsman & Manufacturer) since 1990.
No. of workers;
20 workers.10 hrs average each daily.
Also does work for exporters.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
Not available, was hesitant.
Market (Domestic & International);
Mostly domestic and supplies to exporters frequently.
9 Unit name & Location;
Guru Handicrafts, Rustam Ka bageecha.
Cell; 8871917432
Owner of the Unit ;
Shankar Singh Shekawath (Craftsman & Manufacturer) since 15 years.
No. of workers;
3-4 workers.10 hrs average each daily.
10
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreAlso does work for exporters.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
Not available, was hesitant.
Market (Domestic & International);
Mostly domestic and supplies to exporters frequently.
10 Unit name & Location;
Shivam Arts,Maari Matta Temple,
Owner of the Unit ;
Yaswant Panchalkar (Craftsman & Manufacturer) since 10 years.
No. of workers;
12-15 workers.10 hrs average each daily.
Also does work for exporters.
Turnover (annual) in Indian rupees;
Not available, was hesitant.
Market (Domestic & International);
Mostly domestic and supplies to exporters frequently.
11
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreLeather Craft of India
In India the tradition of leather craft goes back to the Indus valley
civilization. There have been several references in ancient texts about
the use of animal skin. The age old tradition of leather craft in India is
proved by ancient sages and ascetics, who used to sit on deerskin for
meditation and other such works. In the past, leather was not only used
in making clothes and footwear but also in making caps, bags, saddles,
armor etc. India is famous world wide for its leather products. In the rural
areas of India, hide from cattle and camel is locally cured and after
tanning, it is used to make different items. Different regions of India have
different leather products to offer:
12
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreLeather toys of indore
GENERAL INFORMATION : INDORE
It is the largest city in the Malwa region of Central India and the
commercial capital of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is
situated on the Malwa Plateau, just south of the Satpura Range. Indore
is the administrative headquarters of the Indore District and the Indore
Division, and formerly served as the capital of the former princely state
of Indore and the summer capital of the erstwhile state of Central India.
It is currently the largest city in Madhya Pradesh.
The Malwa region has large seasonal temperature variations. During the
winter season (November - February), the night-time lows are around
10°C. At the peak of winter, the temperature can drop to as low as 2°C
to 3°C. The lowest temperature ever recorded is 1.5°C. During the sum-
mer, (April - June), the days are hot (35 to 40°C) with the peak-summer-
day-temperature (in May) sometimes touching 45°C.Indore gets mod-
erate rainfall of 30 to 35 inches (760 to 890 mm) during July-September
due to the southwest monsoon.
TRANSPORTATION
The city is well connected via rail, road and air transport services. Indore
has for a long time been a rail and road transportation hub. T
• Airport
Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport connects Indore directly to Bombay,
Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Calcutta, Jabalpur, Raipur, Jaipur,
Nagpur,Pune,Bangalore and Bhopal in India. Plans are underway to
upgrade the airport to an international airport by the end of 2008.
• Railways
The Indore railway network is part of the Ratlam Division of the Western
Railways. Indore is one of the several places in India with both meter
gauge and broad gauge railways tracks operational. Regular train ser-
vices connect Indore to most parts of the country. mibai Nagar provide
short distance services to nearby towns and villages.Indore lies on the
longest remaining functional meter gauge line in India between Jaipur
and Purna.
• Roads
Indore is well connected to other parts of Madhya Pradesh and India
13
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indorethrough national and state highways. There are some major highways
which pass through Indore and connect it to some major cities. They
are: the Agra-Bombay national highway (NH3), NH59 to Ahmedabad to
the West and to the East to Betul, Itarsi and Bhopal by a state highway.
• Local Transport
Indore has one of the finest public transport systems.In December 2005,
the municipal corporation launched the Indore City Bus service, an
extensive service with 24 routes servicing most areas in city. The other
means of local public transport are the mini-buses (called Nagar sevas
by the locals) and the Tempos and Auto rickshaws.
Demographics
Indore is the most populous city in Madhya Pradesh with population of
about 1,597,441 according to the 2001 census. [3] Males constitute 53%
of the population and females 47%. Indore has an average literacy rate
of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78%,
and female literacy is 65%. In Indore, 13% of the population is under 6
years of age. The city is undergoing a fast rise in population owing to its
growing stature as a commercial city. The average annual growth rate
of population is around 3% as per the statistics of census 2001.
Hindi is the main language,being ruled by maratha’s there is a huge
number of marathi speaking population after hindi speakers,Punjabi &
Sindhi is also spoken in Indore. Malvi is the local language.
14
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreOne of the most famous products in the region is stuffed leather toys.
These toys are available in various forms and sizes. They are skillfully
crafted and casually painted to look very attractive. Indore specializes
in making leather shoes, jutties, leather bags, mushk, etc. But with time,
new leather articles have come up. Today, Indore is even making
leather garments on a big scale.
Evolution of Leather toy industry in Indore
Mr.Gaffar Khan was one of the first persons to get National honor in
1943 and is a pioneer in making leather toys. He studied sculpture at
Bombay Art Collage and was employed in a press at Devaas run by
Govt. He used to sculpt deities for festive occasions. Later he thought
of making animals and giving them a realistic look. To achieve this,
he used human hair on bear and also made other animals like deer,
camel, tiger, lion, bull etc.with fur. He further experimenting by tanning
leather. Later he started using clean furless leather as skin on these
animals, making them more appealing than before. These animals were
retailed at Meena Bazar locally and then spread out to many places all
over country/abroad and became popular.
Mr.Gaffar Khan was asked by some Govt. authority to train young
people and nurture them to become masters. These individuals taught
others and slowly they multiplied and soon it became an industry -
today known as Indore Leather Toy industry.
In the 90’s, the textile mills closed in Malwa. People living in the lanes
nearby who had been labourers in the mills started learning the craft
from existing leather toy makers. Now there are total more than 5000
people skilled in making leather toys. and about 15 big export market
players having their own private big factories. Right now there is a slump
in business because of depreciation of US dollar and general recession.
15
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreRAW MATERIALS
1. Wire: Galvanised iron or mild steel is used for making the basic
skeleton of any toy. The wire is generally 1mm to 4mm thick depending
upon the size of the toy.
2. Grass/ wood wool strands: It is wrapped around the wire skeleton
to give mass to the body of the toy. In bigger sized models rice grass is
used for filling.
3. Thread: thread is used to fix the grass or wood wool strands on to
the skeleton. It is regular cotton thread easily available in the market.
Jute thread is used for bigger models.
4. Cardboard pulp: Is made by adding water and glue in the
proportion of 1:20 to the cardboard powder, which is then crushed and
made into a paste. Waste paper is used for packaging of items.
5. Glue: used is special. It is obtained from crushed tamarind seed.
Water is added to the paste. Copper sulphate is added to the paste
which acts as a preservative. Locally called layee, it does not leave any
marks on the leather. It also helps in achieving uniform paint quality.
6. Leather: very versatile material and the quality forms the base of
the craft. Leather is the skin of any animal, bird or reptile. It is preserved
through putrefaction, this process is called tanning. Leather used is
that of goat and sheep, locally called messi. It comes from Chennai
and Hyderabad and is the only raw material not sourced from Indore.
Thickness of the leather ranges from 0.6mm to 0.8mm in skins and 1mm
to 1.25mm in hides.
7. Eyes, teeth and soles: Eyes of the toy are available separately
in market and are made up of lac. It is available in all the colours and
sizes, sizes vary from 1/4th of an inch to 2 inch depending on the size of
the toy. Teeth and soles are in plastic or polythene made by injection
molding.
16
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore8. Colour: synthetic water colours in powder form, mixed with water
in a proportion decided by the craftsperson.
9. Polish: Wax polish, applied in the end of the process to give a
shine.
TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT
• Hammer
• Spoke shaver
• Knife
• Poker
• Awl
• Fork
• Paana / Taami (small tool for bending),
• Tocha (fire lamp)
• Bubble wrapping
Stock
The most popular items are giraffe and elephant. The factories
must have 3 stocks for a good rotation – one that is in the process of
manufacturing, one in the export market and one in transportation
to the market. Part of the order is fixed (60-70% predictable orders)
and non fixed (30% unpredictable orders). Models are kept ready but
leather is stuck only when the purchase order comes in. Model designs
are sometimes sent from abroad and they get copied here. Processed
leather is brought from Hyderabad and Rajasthan. Leather is from goat
or sheep.
Though there are formal sizes for products, they are made in any size
specified according to the need. Height specification for the model is
as follows – 6”, 12”, 18”, 24”.
17
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndorePROCESS
• First a wire frame is made. Then grass is tied around it in bunches
with thread for build the mass of the model. Waste cardboard is
moistened, crushed and the wet paste is mixed with tamarind flour
paste to form the pulp that is applied for smoothening the rough form.
• For making large number of standard identical pieces some-
times a mould of fibre is designed and pulp is applied on the same.
Then slight finishing and fine tuning of muscles is done by using a comb
handle without teeth. Fork is used for giving hair like texture.
• The glue for sticking leather over the model body is made by
boiling tamarind powder and forming a paste of it. Rag is stuck and
wrapped around lower legs and then it’s covered with pulp.
• After sticking leather, smoothening and finishing is done by
rubbing a smooth stone over the wet leather. It takes full 15 days
for drying. If moisture is left, it will expand later and warp the leather
packed over it and decrease the quality. Then colouring and polishing
is done.
• Bubble wrapping is used for packing currently. Initially cardboard
cartons were used. Initially even feet were also made from rags.
Most of the workers involved in the craft, belong to the Scheduled caste
or tribe, but many others who do not fit in to these castes are involved
too. They often work from home for the larger export houses. Women
and children are involved too. Instead of being experts at the whole
process, each family is proficient in different processes of the whole
system.
18
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndorePRODUCTS
Designs are made according to the ordered requirement –animals in
different jumping, standing poses etc. Purchase order is specified in
terms of height – 6”, 8”, and 12” – and payment is also made according
to height. There is a catalogue of products and orders are specified
with product codes and number of pieces to be made.The most
popular items are giraffe and elephant.
Marketing
Products are exported to USA mainly (90%) and also to France,
Germany and Spain. Part of the order is fixed (60-70% predictable
orders) and non fixed (30% unpredictable orders). Models are kept
ready but leather is stuck only when the purchase order comes in.
Master craftsmen sell the goods themselves. There’s good demand
in the export market. The demand for goods in the export market
is more than the production. The demand of the products has
reduced in the past few months due to fall of the American
dollar. While only about some products reach the local mark
19
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreUnit type 1:
Industry gets work done from
artisans + own factory
20
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreUnit type 2:
Industry employs artisans on
daily wage basis at own factory
21
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreUnit type 3:
Artisan manager gets work
done from artisans and sells to
local market or to industries/
export houses
22
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreLeather Toys of Indore:
issues and opportunities
23
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indorea. Study of existing Product design, redesign, new product development
and product diversification
ISSUES
• There are hardly any new designs developed by them on a
regular basis. The look and feel as well as the colour/textures are very
monotonous.
• There is no motivation to come up with new designs since they
are able to get orders on their current design.
CONCERNS
• They regularly search for new designs and color patterns by
browsing books, website, national geographic channel etc, and
Monotonous in terms of design as well as look educate their artisans to take inspiration and apply new feature
and feel in products. However they are not able to understand concepts
of market/consumer segment,product diversification etc. while
developing new designs
• They are skeptical about releasing or doing business locally out
of fear of getting copied by other manufactures. They believe any new
designs developed would soon be copied once out in the market and
their own efforts in development would not bring them any advantage.
They are concerned about copyright issues.
• They are worried about success of new product - they do not
want to take any risk.
SOLUTIONS/ OPPORTUNITIES
• The accessories used in the product like beak, horns, teeth etc.
could be changed into metal (brass) instead of plastic - this could
change the perception of the product and increase its value further.
24
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore• Possibility of another range of product : Simplification of form
by giving and reducing muscles could change the perception of the
product and make it marketable to a different target group. Rounded
forms with a cute, adorable look would create a new genre of products
in same line.
• Product diversification in related areas like furniture, display
structures etc. could be made possible by making minimal changes in
existing infrastructure.
• Product diversification from animal forms to other abstract/geo-
metric/fantasy forms for creating utility products which are small,low in
cost and fast moving items in the market.
All these opportunities were discussed with the MSME representatives
during individual meetings and were appreciated and accepted.
25
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indoreb. Study for research and development directions for future initiatives
ISSUES
• They do not have enough funds, time and expertise to carry out
research and development on a regular basis. They do it only if they are
forced to do so in case of a specific market order.
• Often, they got orders for new kind of designs but couldn’t figure
out how to manufacture the product and therefore left the assignment.
OPPORTUNITIES
Some possiblities which were discussed are:
1. Technological:
Improvisation in machinery, tooling, process through R &D activities.
2. Marketing:
Age old time consuming technique practised Research in terms of consumer trends and competition in the interna-
tional market
3. Product development
Research and development for specific product development specially
in case of customised, specialised requirements.
c. Visual identity and branding from communication design point of
view
• The idea of having a common visual identity and branding for
the cluster was well accepted. However it was felt that it should go in
sync with initiatives like online selling portal, packaging design etc.
26
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indored. Study of Technology, modernization and collaboration scope
OPPORTUNITIES
• Introduction of plastic injection molding cast instead of regular
handmade pulp cast could be helpful. However it also has to be a cost
appropraite alternative.
• Modernisation scope in introducing mold/dye pressing machines
as presently hand pressing is done to take out cast-shapes.
• Each stage of the work is carried out at a different home. This
gives them the possibility of taking large orders and of doing batch pro-
duction.
Age old time consuming
technique practised
27
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indoree. Identify scope for innovation in process and related areas for design
intervention.
ISSUES
• Fluctuation/ rise of prices in raw material keep happening
thus affecting the cost of production. Especially tamarind powder,
paper pulp price fluctuates. Often adulterated tamarind powder is
adulterated.
• Drying is problem, as sometimes sunlight is not sufficient and
during rainy season its takes more time, hampering the manufacturing
process. This is very important as moisture retained will result in fungus
damaging leather, finish and life of product.
OPPORTUNITIES
• Alternative organic material, instead of tamarind can be
sourced.
• Traditional style of making papier-mâché methods and
compositions can be explored.
• Accessories like, eyes, paws, hooks, tooth, buckle, screws, pins,
belts etc are supplied by local vendors specially produced for these
units according the specifications given as per requirement of leather
toys. Since the accessories are local, new designs can be provided to
them to change the look and feel of the products.
• Use of different objects like water bottles, paper pipes, baskets
etc. to achieve shapes as required can help in getting a variety of
products.
• Effecient methods of drying can be developed.
Electric burners used for drying : ineffecient,
costly process (often electricity unpaid for)
28
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indoref. Study of scope in workstation and tooling design
ISSUE
• Production process is extremely slow due to handmade nature of
the process.
OPPORTUNITY
• The production pipeline needs to be shortened to increase
productivity. This could be done by introducing some machine or
method to improve productivity which could help meet the demands.
Make-shift tools : no ergonomic considerations
Labour intensive process of production
29
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indoreg. Market and competition study for design advantage and distinction
ISSUE
• Decrease in profit margin because of increase in involvement of
more people in this craft, and availability of abundant quantity of toys
and selling them for less made margin fall from 50%-25% .
• Market is too dependant on US economy and fluctuates greatly
based on the same.
CONCERNS
• Worried about the crafts Handmade USP if injection molds are
used.
• Buyers pick this because are handmade,and therefore fear that
Innovation limited to experimenting with postures,
they would loose the benefits provided by Govt. to handmade sector.
sizes etc.
(75% products are picked by USA because of handmade)
• Often the middlemen do not give second order due to lack of
qulaity output in the first order fulfillment. One bad quality order can
bring a bad name to the industry.
SOLUTION/ OPPORTUNITY
• They could expand the market by propagating business
elsewhere than USA. A mix of local/national/international market and
catering to various consumer segments could not only help them in
becoming less dependant on fluctutaions of single market but may also
help them to reduce competition with each other.
• Consider the advantages in India over other countries i.e. raw
material and skilled labour in order to design and compete with othr
markets.
30
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indoreh. Study of training and skill upgradation opportunities
ISSUE
• Some skilled craftsman leave but new workers are trained
regularly and enrolled to keep the pace of work smoothly.
• Others, semi skilled craftsmen keep changing for better pays, so
dearth of craftsmen is sometimes an issue.
OPPORTUNITY
• A common training center which could provide
training on skill enhancement, quality control and
product development to the leather artisans of Indore.
No fixed system of training
31
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indorei. Study of ergonomic and environment factors in MSME premise.
Workspace problem : Lighting, ventilation etc.
Bad strenous posture maintained for long hours
No safety precautions taken
32
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indorej. Identify packaging and logistics related design opportunities
ISSUES
• Present packaging is done with bubble sheet, wood wool (dry
grass) or paper strips used between empty spaces between legs of big
articles, hence no standard packaging methods are available.
• uniform size carton boxes are used, though the articles may vary
in sizes in a single pack.
• Breakage of tiny legs & horns etc. is common.About 10-20%
damage in a container.
OPPORTUNITIES
• if packaging is improved, it would create a good presence and
will boost the business and help in competing.
• Create a possibility to safely pack to avoid breakage. It may be
possible to separate horns or other limbs which could pack detachable,
so can be attached easily later to the body.
• Also packaging could be having patterns according to articles,
so there’s standardization so that it could be suitable for any kind of
new products.
• Tried ways like sending consignment with instruction manual with
visuals so as to fix the minor damage to the articles. Sent glue (fevicol)
and extra accessories like tooth, tusk, horns etc,
Haphazard packaging and transportation
33
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indorek. Study of infrastructure and capability enhancement from design
perspective
ISSUES
• They do not have enpugh space : Work happens in congested
environment in the factories or in residences of artisans. Often there are
roof top temporary sheds where drying and stocking raw material as
well as storing unfinished and finished work takes place.
• Seasons also affect the productivity hampering the manufactur-
ing pipeline as body casts don’t dry.
• Most units do not have either factory space or showroom, some
industries have showrooms but no factorspace and few industries have
both.
• There is hardly any space for finished stock which is also a major
problem.
OPPORTUNITY
• There should be much better spacious place to carryout all
process efficiently. If the rent of a factory space is too much, a common
storage center , maybe on a large rooftop of a building could be used.
This could provide both drying and storage possibilities.
• A separate area for colouring activity needs to be identified and
worked out
Lack of space
34
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indorel. Study of design opportunity for Inter cluster communication
ISSUE
• Have to pay wages daily. Becomes important to win loyalty of
craftsman.
• Money to sustain job works against material, wages and
miscellaneous expenses.
• Fluctuating prices also affect work and business, decrease in
margin money.
OPPORTUNITY
• Some common sources of money lending could help to sustain
and also bigger job works can be undertaken.
• common place where in raw material is available
promptly all the time so that raw material of good quality at
a wholesale price could be made available to all industries.
Common center for raw material
35
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreLeather toys of indore : Opportunities
36
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indoreintroduction As part of the 5 - band design scheme,a design study was conducted
for Kauna Grass-MSME- Khangabok.
After the submission of the report to MSME a design clinic workshop was
planned based on the problems and opportunity identified during the
survey. The workshop helped to come up with short term and long terms
design interventions possibility.
Apart from the MSME group the workshop was also conducted for Indi-
an Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Imphal location and Indian Institute
of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Gowahati location.
37
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indorelist of participants
Name of the Participants Contact
1. savita / omprakash vajpayee 155/3 krishna bagh colony
indore
2. sharad/ narayan gahlod 449/4 krishna bagh colony,
indore
3.nita/ om prakash tiwari 2,lok nayak nagar, indore
4.rekha/ ashok chauhan 118, ambika nagar,indore
5.sumitra/nitesh paliwal 2,lok nayak nagar, indore
6.pushpa/ lilidhar barod 308 a palhar nagar ,indore
7.meera/ sushil makwana 2/2 shikshak nagar, indore
8.manju/ prakash chandra soni 12 sukh dev nagar, indor
9.sunita/ dilip sankhla 234,lok nayak nagar, indore
10. rani/ ganesh surya vanshi 10 lok nayak nagar, indore
11.rekha/ dilip bhabhad 230, sukh dev nagar, indore
12.saroj/ govind solanki 71 shishak nagar, indore
13.shyama/ kanheya laal chauhan 20, shishak nagar indore
14. mahima/ shiv pratap singh ranawat 71, shishak nagar, indore
15.bhavna / santosh gokhde 108, shishak nagar indore
16. sonali / shiv pratap singh 71, shikshak nagar
17. rajeshwari/ sanjay joshi 160, sukhdev nagar
18. neha/ vipin joshi 160, sukh dev nagar, indore
19.lalita/ deep singh jarger 4 lok nayak nagar, indore
20.gita / indu veer singh 6 lok nayak nagar, indore
Exporters
21. Surendra singh 9425052729
22.Mahindra pachiney 9826066745
23.Vinay ramchandani 9826032055
24. Sharif bhai 9303481100
25.Prem Ramchandani 9993535800
26. Ashok Sahu. 9425312085
27. Mahesh Ramchandani 2421617
38
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreDesign clinic worshop : Schedule
1st Day – (25 June 2012)
- Introduction to workshop
- Presentation – Diagnostic study report
- Identification Problem
- Presentation : Market trends
- Presentation and discussion : Product Diversification
2nd Day – (26 June 2012)
- Presentation : product diversifiation
- Discussion : Approaches, pros and cons of product diversification for
individual requirement of industries
- Hands-on workshop: Product diversification
3rd Day – (27 June 2012)
- Presentation: system level intervention for MSME cluster
- Presentation and discussion on technical up gradation - Mass produc-
tion and product stream lining for market
- Discussion on design intervention :
Setting up CFC, collective raw material cultivation, market linkages etc.
- Hands-on workshop: Product diversification
39
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore4th Day (28 June 2012)
- Presentation on Logo, Branding and Packaging
- Branding and usefulness of Marketing
- Presentation and discussion : technical improvements in
terms of process and machinery
- Discussion on design intervention possibility and support - In-
frastructure requirement
5th Day (29 June 2012)
- Presentation and discussion : Diagnostic study report
- Discussion on cluster development program
- Discussion on design intervention possibilities with individual
industries
- Discussion on short and long term design intervention
40
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore1st day report (25 June 2012)
One of the main factors which had emerged from the industries dur-
ing the diagnostic study was regarding product diversification for new
markets. They wanted new designs which would help with appropriate
market linkage and networking etc. Technological improvements and
labour issues were some of the other problems faced by the cluster.
These issues were discussed and helped to make the workshop more
interactive.
A presentation was made based on the diagnostic study which was
conducted earlier. Issues related to Raw material, tools, Ergonomics,
Market packaging, Branding, etc was discussed. The report became
a strating point for detailed discussion on various aspects with different
industries. Although the situation was similar for most of the industries,
aspiration and design requirement was somewhat different for different
industries.
41
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreThe major aspects pertaining to product diversification for
the leather industries covered the following aspects:
- Combination of material : Examples of products using
combination of leather with other material such as brass,
bronze, glass, terracotta etc. were discussed. A combina-
tion of leather with metal would give a rich, contemporary
look to the product. Iron products are made in Indore and
the possibility of combining leather with these iron artifacts
was also explored.
- Changing the form
a) The difference in perception between realistic animal
forms and expressive animal forms was explained and
some examples of the same were given.
b) Changing the prevelant animal forms to neutral expres-
sive forms and functional products was also explored. As
part of the same, the industries were interested in fast mov-
ing functional items such as vase, lamp etc. These products
were discussed in detail.
42
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore43 Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
Design modification and
diversification possibilities
- combination of material
- simplification of form
all product images have been taken from internet as
a reference for specific approaches and directions
44
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreDesign modification and
diversification possibilities
- Samll functional leather items with
animals as theme
all product images have been taken from inter-
net as a reference for specific approaches and
directions
45
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreDesign modification and
diversification possibilities
- Artistic expressive forms in
leather :
real life inspired, organic and
geometric forms
all product images have been taken from inter-
net as a reference for specific approaches and
directions
46
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreDesign modification and
diversification possibilities
- use of leather in structural forms
such as furniture
all product images have been taken from inter-
net as a reference for specific approaches and
directions
47
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreDesign modification and
diversification possibilities
- use of interesting textures and sur-
face decoration on leather products
all product images have been taken from internet as
a reference for specific approaches and directions
48
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreDay 2 : The worker-artisans were given simple assignment in order to give them
Hands-on workshop : Product Diver- an introduction to design intervention possibility within a short time.
sification
The artisans wer shown examples and a discussion took place on fast
moving functional items. They were told to explore and come up with
ideas on 1. products which they would like to use at homes and 2. prod-
ucts for market. Thesewould also give an idea about their perception of
functional items and their understanding of market.
Some of the interesting ideas which came up were a leather snake that
would function as a lamp, a leather case to hold assorted papers etc.
It was the first time they were told to come up with their own ideas and
they were quite excited about the same.
I also suggested them to take inspiration from local art forms such as
Gond painting . As an example, some of the tree forms in Gond paint-
ing were converted to contemporary jewellery holders.
This was followed by a discussion on the pros and cons of various ideas
which were generated : why certain products would work well in cer-
tian markets and the concept of target audience and market segments
was explained to them.
49
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indorehands on workshop
- concepts for home use
50
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreHands on workshop
- concepts for market
51
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreHands on workshop
- Jewellery holder inspired from gond
painting
52
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreDay 3 : The discussion on local art forms during Day 2 led to a further discussion
Hands-on workshop : Technical in- on incorporaing surface
novation and value addition of
product Hands on workshop
The worker-artisans were given an assignment to create various tex-
tures/colours to create value addition for product through surface
treatment. This led to a further discussion on using these treatments on
various types of products such as book cover etc.
The industry owners were quite impressed with these textures and came
up with ideas of incorporating the same on their existing range of prod-
ucts.
Some of the industries were facing a labout problem and wanted some
technical innovation to help them in reducing labour. Laser cut ma-
chine was suggested to come up with intricate surfaces with fine cuts,
embossing etc.
Another problem faced by some industry was the creation of armature
for making the animals. This was both time consuming as well as heavy
during transportation.
53
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreHands on workshop
- exploring various textures
54
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreHands on workshop
- existing prducts using lase cut leather
shown and discussed
55
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreDay 4: Mr. Parag Vyas, Designer was invited as an external expert to conduct
Packaging, branding and Hands-on a session on the importance of packaging. The concept of logo, Brand-
workshop : Technical innovation ing, and Packaging of product as well as marketing was explained and
and value addition of product discussed. The presentation also included samples and case studies of
good packaging.
This was followed by a detailed discussion on technical aspects of ma-
terial and process based on the discussion which had taken place on
the earlier day. Various processes such as casting process for paper ma-
che was presented and discussed with them. Suggestion on strength-
ening the paper mache pulp using textile/fibre waste and binders was
also made. This would help them to come up with big leather products
without the use of heavy armature.
Paper mache techniques for obtaining smooth surfaces were also
presenetd and discussed. This process would involve the use of binders,
preparing and polishing the surafce.
This was followed by a discussion on cluster development inlcuding
raw material sourcing, storage, common facility center for machinery
etc. and training programs. Although they have close competition with
each other, they felt that cluster development program for certain as-
pects could be helpful to all of them. they were specially keen on hav-
ing machinery and training programs for their artisans. They also like the
idea of cluster development program to help them in export marketing.
A few successful case studies were also shown to them to help them
understand the concept.
56
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndorePresentation of packaging and
branding
What%is%the%need%of%packaging%design?%
Packaging%is%the%means%of%providing%
¥ ProtecFon%
¥ Containments%
¥ PresentaFon%
¥ IdenFficaFon/InformaFon%
¥ Convenience/Compliance%
july,%28,%2012% MSME%&%NID,%Design%Clinic,%Indore%%%%
ApplicaFon%in%Leather%Industry%
¥ Protection from moisture, fungus, mold
¥ Transportation damages
¥ Communication
¥ Display
¥ Awareness
57
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndorePictorial%Markings%
july,%28,%2012% MSME%&%NID,%Design%Clinic,%Indore%%%%
Types%of%Packaging%
Primary%PackagingX%
Pouches%
Secondary%PackagingX%
Cartons%
TerFary%PackagingX%
Pallets,%Containers%
july,%28,%2012% MSME%&%NID,%Design%Clinic,%Indore%%%%
58
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreAreas%where%Packaging%can%
contribute%meaningfully%
Graphic%Design%
Shipment%Packaging%
Display%Packaging%
Point%of%Purchase%
What%Packaging%can%do%for%you?%
july,%28,%2012% MSME%&%NID,%Design%Clinic,%Indore%%%%
Improved%Display%%
Improved%Shipment%
Reduced%Transit%Damages%
july,%28,%2012% MSME%&%NID,%Design%Clinic,%Indore%%%%
59
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndorePresentation and discussion on
technical aspects of
- paper pulp making
- casting process
10 August 2012 Page 1 of 1
60
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndorePresentation and discussion
on
creating interesting textures
during casting process
- samples of existing products
with interesting textures
presented
all product images have been taken
from internet as a reference for
specific approaches and directions
61
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndorePresentation on case studies and
discussion on cluster development
62
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore63 Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
64 Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
65 Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
Day 5: The artisans were given a hands on assignment on coming up with a
Cluster development new range of products in leather such as leather jewellery. The women
artisans gradually opened up to understand the perception of leather in
other countries and started coming up with new ideas. This exercise was
mainly to open them to thinking of new possibilities.
This was followed by a detailed discussion with all the industry represen-
tatives. Amita Bhatnagar, cooridnator, conducted a feedback session
with all the leather industry represenattives. A discussion took place
on the various design intervention possibilities. After seeing the ideas
generated by artisans during the hands-on workshops they understood
the importance of such training workshops and cluster development
programs. Most of the industries wanted training programs for their
workers-artisans. Some industry represenattives had specific design
diversification, new product development requiremenst which were dis-
cussed. The possibility of converting them to MSME design projects was
explained to them.
66
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreHands on workshop
- idea generation session
67
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreHands on workshop
- concepts for leather jewellery
68
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndorePresentation and discussion on cluster
development and project possibilities
69
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore70 Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
71 Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
72 Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
73 Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
74 Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
Conclusion Many of the leather toy industries were facing genuine problems.
Labour issues, decreasing export orders etc. were forcing many indus-
tries to shut down. In this scenario they were somewhat sceptical in the
beginning of the design clinic, wondering how design could help them
with these problems. But slowly during the discussions which followed
the presentations and the idea gneration sessions, many of them start-
ed seeing possibilities of design intervention.
It was heartening that on the last day of the workshop a few indutries
came forward to discuss project possibilities and were eager to start the
design intervention prject.
75
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreRecommendations Based on the study and 5 band workshop, recommendations were
given for product - process - system opportunity.
After the discussion with the industries, it was found that short term prod-
uct intervention should start with low investment fast moving functional
range of products.
Product design :
• Improve existing product quality by use of proper accessories and
finishing techniques.
• Design diversification into functional range of products such as book
holders, key chains, vase, table lamps etc.
• Design modification to make the form more contemporary through
simplification, creation of interesting textures, use of colours etc.
Process intervention was found to be critical as it would have a lot of
implications of the entire range of products
• Develop the process of paper mache using paper pulp with textile
fibres to give it sufficient strength and smooth finish
• Developing the casting process to make complicated forms in batch
production
• Develop process to give unique textures and patterns
• Use modern tools such as laser machines to cut and make intricate
patterns for their products
76
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreMedium/Long term interventions :
Infrastructure: CFC center
Some of the most critical requirments were found to be training of hu-
man resource,a technical development center and marketing.
• Human resource development: Training large number of artisans to
work with new processes and tools; to improve quality and productiv-
ity. For these a series of design workshops with artisans was proposed.
• Marketing and branding: Unlike former times, currently there are a lot
of marketing issues. It was felt important that rather than just relying on
export orders they should participate in both national as well as inter-
national fairs such as GIFT fairs to actively market their products
• Technical development center: Specialised machines and tools can
be kept for common use at this center. The center can also be used
for training human resources.
77
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, IndoreLeather Toy Craft
Submitted by :
ABHIJIT PAUL
DESIGNER,KHIDKII, NDBI,
NID CAMPUS, PALDI,AHMEDABAD -7
+91 9429029657, aabbhhiijjiitt@gmail.com
78
Design Awareness Report : Leather toy cluster, Indore
Organised by: CHAVI ( Centre for Handicrafts and Vocational Instruction)You can also read
