Handloom & Handicrafts from North East India

Weaving in the North East is a household craft before it is an industry. In Assam a mekhela chador is still cut and finished at home, in Manipur the loin loom sits on a veranda, and in Nagaland every shawl motif belongs to a specific village and clan. What arrives on this page comes from those looms rather than from a power-loom warehouse, which is why no two pieces are perfectly identical.

You will find Assam muga silk with its natural golden sheen, eri silk from Manipur and Meghalaya that is warm and matte rather than glossy, cotton phanek and wrap-arounds, Naga and Mizo shawls with striped and geometric borders, and cane, bamboo and water-hyacinth basketry from Assam, Tripura and Manipur. Woodwork, black pottery from Longpi and hand-thrown terracotta round out the section.

Every listing shows the state and district it was made in, whether it is fully handmade, and, where the maker has shared one, a short artisan story. Prices are set by the seller, not by a middleman, and each shop on Anaira Avenue is verified before it can publish. If you are buying a mekhela chador online or looking for an authentic Naga shawl, use the filters to narrow by origin state, price and handmade-only.