A Natural Course Of Events. 

It all started with a dream - do we need a human centered world or a more humane one?

The solution emerged in the campus of the NID, Ahmedabad in a Systems Design course, now in its 7th year, taught by our founder Dipendra Baoni (Founder and MD, Lemon Design Pvt. Ltd.).

What started as a classroom exercise was nurtured, debated and put into practice at Lemon Design for Speculative Design & Design of the Future. After many years of research, testing, giga-mapping, flowcharting, conceptual modeling, working & living with traditional communities in Northeast, Kutch and Himachal a design model emerged which connected the dots. We called it Humane design - a structure of how an enterprise can work holistically for the environment, society and economic benefit - creating a circular value chain for all stakeholders.

When Dipendra met Shivani Thakur, founder, The Woolknitters, The Humane Collective was founded bringing together 23+ years of Design Practice + Research with 70+ years of legacy and knowledge of working with artisans, materials and crafts. 

 Two years later, we are now a collective of over: 

200 weavers involved in working on the handloom for material innovation and production 

200 women artisans spinning, weaving hemp and needle crafting Pullas

400 knitters engaged in processing wool and producing knitwear

40+ students from NIFT, NID & other design colleges engaged through workshops, internships & graduation projects.

Our Natural Habitats.

For most parts, we find our values echoed in the lives and lifestyles of people in small towns and villages in the mountains, the forests or any remote part of the country where hyper-globalization and commercialization are yet to sink in deep. Our ethos is one that can be found being practiced in any hill station or small town. It's the idea of collective well-being and growth - rather than a skewed metric of growth that benefits only a few.

We started with our first Atelier/Store/Workshop at Bhutti Colony, Kullu - a stone’s throw away from the main Bhuttico Weavers Colony where most of the weavers and artisans reside - in April 2021. The Atelier - situated on the banks of the River Beas - also serves as our Headquarters and store where most of our products are crafted. It is also a part experience center where one can touch, feel and try on most of our products (and find some rare gems that cannot be seen anywhere else).

Now, our products can also be experienced at the Lemon Design Studio in Koregaon Park, Pune, at the Paper Boat Collective Store in Indiranagar, Bangalore and the Ka-sha store in New Delhi, along with Pop-ups and exhibitions that happen around the country.