Founder’s Note

It began with the work itself.

I was on vacation in Jaipur, Udaipur, and the surrounding region, looking for a handcrafted clutch. My family already knew these pieces — one of my daughters owned one and loved it. My other daughter wanted one of her own. I assumed I'd simply find another along the way.

It was not that simple.

Shop after shop, I didn't find what I had imagined. Eventually my search led me beyond the storefronts, to where the work itself was being done.

Two craftsmen sat cross-legged in an open courtyard, working at a tree stump worn smooth by years of use. One held a sheet of silver-toned metal against the wood while the other guided a small hand tool through it with remarkable precision. No machines — just the quiet rhythm of metal meeting metal.

I asked how long this craft had been practiced. No one gave a precise answer. Some spoke of fathers and grandfathers who had worked the same way.

I wasn't thinking about starting a company. I was thinking about how easily this could stop — not with a dramatic ending, but quietly, as skills practiced for decades simply stop being passed on.

That thought stayed with me long after I returned home.

I chose the name VARNA for its associations with color, form, and character—qualities that live naturally in handcrafted work.

VARNA exists so these pieces — and the craftsmanship behind them — are seen beyond the places where they're made. Every collection is chosen with respect for the hands, patience, and tradition behind it.

When you carry a VARNA piece, I hope you think of that quiet courtyard, and the generations of knowledge carried forward in every piece.

Not simply a beautiful piece.
Something made with history, carried forward.

— Annapoorna Kolluri
Founder, VARNA