  The handicraft industry is a strong pillar of Indian economy which provides
large-scale employment opportunities to artisans in rural and underprivileged
communities. However, in this era of globalization, diverse modern designs have
rendered traditional designs old and monotonous, causing an alarming decline of
handicraft sales. For this age-old industry to survive the global competition,
it is imperative to integrate contemporary designs with Indian handicrafts. In
this paper, we use novel AI techniques to generate contemporary designs for two
popular Indian handicrafts - Ikat and Block Print. These techniques were
successfully employed by communities across India to manufacture and sell
products with greater appeal and revenue. The designs are evaluated to be
significantly more likeable and marketable than the current designs used by
artisans.
