Varnam Craft Collective, known for reimagining Karnataka’s Channapatna toy craft, announces The Snugglewalas, a first-of-its-kind showcase where whimsical toy-characters become storytellers of India’s handmade traditions.
Varnam Craft Collective, known for reviving and reimagining the Channapatna toy craft from Karnataka for the last 14 years, is launching it’s biggest craft collaboration yet. The Snugglewalas – Storytellers of Handmade India, is a first-of-its-kind showcase where whimsical toys tell the story of India’s handmade crafts, all the way from Kashmir to Karnataka. This multi-city exhibition will travel through India to showcase the variety of handmade craft reimagined in ways that are accessible to children and adults, in the form of toys, clothes, home accents and jewellery.
Whether you’re an adult or a child, you’ll fall in love with the Snugglewalas – toys with delightful personalities, just like each of us. Meet Snappy the Crocodile, the gentle riverkeeper who loves floating spas and calm waters, Dawnold the Rooster who reminds us that everyday is a new start and Neckles the Giraffe, the family’s fashion icon who exudes poise and quiet elegance, and many more whimsical characters.
The Snugglewalas: More than just toys
A Snugglewala is not just a fluffly creature with soft paws and warm hugs. It is a feeling, a quiet, gentle reminder that comfort exists, that love can be as simple as a cuddle, as effortless as being near. A Snugglewala is the soft embrace of home, the quiet joy of unwinding, the feeling of being cradled by something similar and kind.
The Snugglewalas are India’s first-of-its-kind exploration where toys transform into storytellers and design meets craft in playful and unexpected ways.
Born from the 200-year-old toy craft of Channapatna, the Snugglewalas are a whimsical caravan of storytellers, journeying across the country from Kashmir to Karnataka, with tales tucked inside their wooden forms. Each one is a playful companion, yet also a custodian of India’s craft traditions – carrying with them the voices of artisans, the colors of regions and the timeless spirit of design. Together, they are more than toys, they are narrators of heritage, weaving stories of craft and culture into the hearts of all who meet them.
Unlike the usual narratives around craft that often dwell on decline and loss, the Snugglewalas bring a refreshing shift – celebrating possibility, positivity and the next generation of craft. This showcase looks ahead, not behind: to a future where artisans and young design talent collaborate to reimagine traditions for tomorrow.
A Journey Across Crafts
At the heart of the Snugglewalas is collaboration. Each character sparks explorations across
India’s diverse craft clusters, brought alive by artisans and designers working hand in hand.
- Wood Lac-turnery, Channapatna, Karnataka
- Lambadi embroidery, Sitlingi, Tamil Nadu
- Handcrafted Ceramics, Kolar, Karnataka
- Naqqashi Enamel Art, Kashmir
- Handcrafted Jewellery, West Bengal
- Namda/Felt craft, Kashmir
- Crewel Embroidery, Kashmir
- Hand block printing, Sanganer, Rajasthan
- Mughal block printing, Amer, Rajasthan
- Punja dhurries, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh
- Crochet Craft, Noida.
The Caravan of the Storytellers, the Snugglewalas !
Ø Snappy the Crocodile – She is a gentle riverkeeper who tends lilies instead of snapping, dreaming of floating spas and calm waters.
Ø Pawston the Tiger – A thoughtful tiger , he is someone who prefers pausing for chai over pouncing, a seeker of quiet balance as he paints the bumblebees around him.
Ø Cosmo the Panda – Unlike most pandas who lounge, he drifts between dreams and action, plotting spaceship journeys and keeping things moving.
Ø Dawnold the Rooster – More than a timekeeper, he is a Maestro of mornings who greets each sunrise with Beethoven in his heart and antique clocks by his side.
Ø Miss Bumbledore the Bumblebee – Delightfully ditzy and whimsical, she drifts from flower to flower, turning honeycombs into parachutes for daydream flights.
Ø Flappy the Elephant – Playful yet graceful, he believes joy is found in lightness, balance and the rhythm of gentle footsteps.
Ø Neckles the Giraffe – The family’s fashion icon, she is tall and poised, carrying quiet confidence with effortless elegance.
Ø Nibbles the Parrot – Unlike most parrots who chatter away, he speaks only when spoken to, nibbling chillies, grains, or wisdom while keeping watch.
Ø Oinkston the Pig – A passionate gardener with a love for mint and mud, she is always in boots, gloves and a hat, joyfully tending her patch.
Ø Hopzy the Rabbit – Carrot-crazy and endlessly inventive, she builds quirky carrot-powered contraptions between her playful hops.
Ø Miss Mooberry the Cow – A larger-than-life diva, a self-declared opera queen crowned with berries, surrounded by jars of her prized preserves.
Ø Sir Woolsworth the Sheep – The black sheep who blazes his own trail, showing that courage is found in choosing your own path.
Why this Showcase Is Unique
- First-of-its-kind: No other exhibit has reimagined craft through the lens of whimsical storytelling characters.
- A positive future: Instead of focusing on loss, the Snugglewalas celebrate what can be created anew, giving craft a voice of optimism.
- Living collaborations: The showcase unites artisans and young designers across India, transforming characters into platforms for multi-craft expressions—textiles, ceramics, toys, apparel, and more.
- Engaging storytelling: Through rhyme, play, and whimsy, the Snugglewalas make craft accessible to the youngest audiences while honouring artisans with dignity and delight.
The Snugglewalas are not just characters. They are companions, creators and custodians of a new chapter in Indian craft – where heritage and imagination walk together, inspiring the next generation of makers and dreamers.
The Artisans/Clusters
- Anurag, Crochet work, Mon Ami Foundation, Noida
- Dilip K , Pallavi, Hameed Mian – Wood lac-turnery, Channapatna, KAR
- Dr. Lalitha & artisans, Lambadi Embroidery, Porgai , Sitlingi, TN
- Farooq Ahmad Khan, Namda/Felt craft, Kashmir
- Iqbal Hussain, Naqqashi Enamel Art, Kashmir
- Inshada Mir, Crewel Embroidery, Kashmir
- Jahangir Ahmed Bhat, Crewel Embroidery, Kashmir
- Khushiram Pandey, Block printing, Sanganer, Rajasthan
- Mohammed Huzaif, Mughal Block printing, Amer, Rajasthan
- Manas Ghorai, Handcrafted Jewelry, West Bengal
- Nazish Ansari, Punja dhurries, Mirzapur, UP
- Shilpy Gupta, Dr Naveen Thomas – Ceramics, Headstreams, KAR
About Varnam Craft Collective
Founded with the vision of reinterpreting India’s traditional crafts through the lens of contemporary design, Varnam Craft Collective has been working for over 14 years with artisan clusters across the country. From the 200-year-old toy-making craft of Channapatna the SNUGGLEWALAS : Storytellers of Handmade India Varnam Craft Collective
in Karnataka to hand block printing in Rajasthan, naqqashi enamel in Kashmir, Lambadi embroidery in Tamil Nadu and more, Varnam’s journey has been about design interventions that make craft relevant, functional, and aspirational for modern living.
At its heart, Varnam is a social enterprise committed to artisan empowerment. By training and collaborating closely with artisans, many of them women entering male-dominated craft spaces, Varnam nurtures not just livelihood but also dignity and pride in traditional skills. Its stores in Bangalore, Mysore and a restored 150-year-old Indo-Portuguese villa in Goa invite visitors to experience craft in a home-like setting, where heritage and design come together in everyday objects.
Varnam’s work has been recognised with many awards, but it’s true measure of success lies in the growing community of artisans, designers and customers who together carry forward the timeless conversation between hand and heritage
About Karthik Vaidyanathan
Born in Devakottai, Chettinad and raised in Mumbai, Karthik moved to Bangalore in 2003. Over the years, he has worked across diverse fields—handling A&R at Sony Music, heading programming at Radio City and WorldSpace, exploring Marketing & design at Tanishq and communication design at ACT Fibernet.
An engineer and MBA in marketing with no formal design training, his passion for craft and design was nurtured by the creative legacy of his mother, grandmother and great-grandmother – all of whom excelled in the creative art and crafts. This journey back to his roots in Chettinad led to the founding of Varnam Craft Collective, a social enterprise reimagining Indian crafts through design.
The Snugglewalas – The Storytellers of Handmade India is a multi-city travelling exhibit. Catch the show on these dates and locations:
HYDERABAD (Entry Free)
Date: Nov 13th to 17th 2025
Time: 10:30 AM to 07:30 PM
Venue: Crafts Council of Telangana, CC6H+MJC, NBT Nagar, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, Telangana 500028
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