You know that tingly excitement when your friend goes to a cool city and shops for you? Those tons of pictures texted back and forth with questions like do they have this in my size? Is it available in another colour? — and that rush of finally approving something unique you never would’ve gotten your hands on otherwise.
Well, that’s how I like to think of the Travelling Dukaan — me, shopping for a bunch of my friends on my trips to Jaipur (or whichever place I find myself in)!
It was conceptualised from a casual conversation with my husband when I said I wished I could do a virtual shopping trip for people who couldn’t get out but would really love to see what they were missing out on (not even to buy, necessarily), and of course he took it seriously (that I’m now grateful for, yes, but who gets credit on naming it remains disputed).Â
I wanted the karigars who’ve hardly had any business during the pandemic to know they’re valued — so here I am today, planning my trip for the Fourth edition of the Travelling Dukaan after what seemed like the longest gap since the first wave. Maybe I am that foraging duck travelling with 15 suitcases like my husband likes to imagine me.
It goes without saying that the Travelling Dukaan is also a great way for me to bring to you more Indian handmade goods than ever. Things I haven’t designed or made, but someone skilled has. I curate from the tons of things I see and find in Jaipur, and post it on my Instagram page as stories, making it easy for you to take a look, discover, and shop on the Travelling Dukaan page of my website. These pieces are available to buy immediately and can be shipped to you without the 4 weeks wait! You heard that right.Â
You can obviously imagine how crazy it can get — because I’m not just roaming around hunting down beautiful things, but also photographing them, trying them on for you, listing the prices, putting the pictures up on my Insta page, and finally, replying to queries in real time — it does get a bit mad. So please forgive me if there might be fewer pictures of products at times, and you might have to let your imagination do the rest of the work. At this point, I’d like to give a shoutout to Manuel — anyone who’s shopped from the Travelling Dukaan knows he’s the one who replies to all your mails and keeps you updated on listings going live, and I absolutely couldn’t do it all without him and my little team — my backbone.
~ I list the pretty trinkets I find on my Instagram story, and then on my story highlights to keep it for longer.Â
~ Each product is posted with codes and prices mentioned in the picture itself.
~ You just have to note the code and take a screenshot of the picture and send it to anu@anumerton.com, and my team will take over from there.
~ I’m of course available to answer any queries and guide you personally on Instagram throughout the Travelling Dukaan.
~ The availability of the pieces is first-come-first-serve as a lot of pieces cannot be remade, although some can.Â
But most importantly, remember you’re most welcome to just tell me how much you love a piece — you don’t have to buy it! As I always say, jewellery is meant to be enjoyed, with any of or all senses.Â
This time around, I’m especially excited to showcase the antique and vintage pieces I’ve got my eyes on. Here’s hoping all that shine that lives in Jaipur is planning on revealing itself to me! ??
