India's best art, craft, DIY and decor blogs

Updated: January 2021

Art and craft blogs by Indians are hard to come by, nor are there more than a couple cartoon blogs that are regular and well designed. Many artists or art lovers create a blog but either leave it unattended or become irregular in updating it. There are only a few DIY blogs maintained by Indians. Out of all that are present, just a few blogs are worth mentioning and we bring them to you here.

Art blogging

There are thousands of blogs on the web on visual arts including drawing and painting, design, decor and craft. Some art blogs are well-established and earn handsomely. If you type "top art blogs" or "art and craft blogs" on Google, you get numerous listings, some with corporate websites and buy-sell platforms but also some outstanding art blogs by individuals and institutions.

Artists, being highly creative in their field and immersed in their work, often lose sight of how blogging can help them in many ways. Some artists, however, have discovered how blogging can support their artistic activities. There also are art lovers, art critics and others who write blogs on art and craft. 

In the linked post I have talked about the variety of art blogs , how to create and maintain an art blog, discussion on different aspects of art blogging and also useful art resources on the web: All you want to know about art blogging. If you are an art blogger or art lover, you will certainly like the post.

Art blogs in India

Arts and crafts cover a wide range of creative expressions. We are concentrating here only on visual arts - painting, drawing, cartooning, etc. Performing arts are a very different genre, so blogs on them are not included in this listing.

As there are thousands of artists generating art work and trying to showcase that, art sells only when the artist has established himself or herself. Artists mainly use real-world ways (galleries, etc) for promoting themselves and selling their creations. In recent years, a large number of online outlets have opened for artists and art lovers. So, artists look to these avenues for selling their art; blogging is usually only for showcasing their work. No wonder, art blogging has not prospered, and it remains a very narrow niche, especially in India.

Craft blogs in India

Crafts sell a lot in the real world, but craft blogging as a niche has not been very successful. Even when we talk of ethnic craft or handicraft fashion wear or craft related to travel destinations, craft blogs are difficult to find. Perhaps the big craft shops, hotels, etc are so aggressive that they do not leave space for others to monetize such craft activity. So, craft blogging is more limited to information, especially the historical and cultural aspects of crafts. 

 

Craft-persons and craft bloggers themselves could have made a big community on the web, but except for a few famous ones all others end up selling their ware to the middlemen. In most cases, the craft-persons are also not tech savvy or outspoken and they do not have the wherewithal to promote themselves. The traditional, unorganized, craft-persons also tend to be poor. That explains why craft blogs are even fewer than art blogs. Still we find some committed crafts bloggers in India.

Crafts include DIY (=do-it-yourself) as a hobby. India has a tradition of doing things oneself and on the spot, rather than using machine-created elements and modular work - and it ranges from cooking food to making furniture, masonry, painting the house, plumbing, repair and so on. Yet, the culture of making beautiful, show-worthy,  creations as a hobby is not there. I recall a very high quality blog on woodcraft created around 2010, which withered away in 4-5 years due to low public interest and no avenues for monetization. Luckily, there still are a few good DIY blogs in India, who do craft blogging for the sake of their passion.

Indian decor blogs

We could find even fewer blogs on decor as compared to other forms of art and craft we are dealing with in this post. However, the ones that are there are professionally managed. We reckon that the blogs are rewarding them with branding and good earnings.

Art, craft, decor blogs

Let us now check the list of top Indian blogs in the fields of art, craft, DIY and decor. (Blogs are arranged alphabetically.)

   

aminacreations - Amina Creations

Though recipes dominate Amina's blog, there are many good posts on crafts, especially dress designing. 

artbyaarohiblog - art by arohi
A professionally maintained art blog by Aarohi Singh, a painter who has mastery over many mediums.

arun-bohemianwanderer - Bohemian Wanderer
A cartoon blog by Arun Ramkumar, with over a thousand comic art resources.

designdecoranddisha - Design Décor and Disha
Disha Mishra Dubey writes on art and craft but her focus in the blog is on home decor with an Indian touch.  

happinesscreativity - Happiness, Creativity & Kindness

Rajat Sharma's blog is on many lifestyle topics, and gets included in this list because of his frequent posts on home improvement.

iicd - Indian Institute of Crafts & Design

It is rare to find a blog by an institution, that too a government body, which is well maintained. Students and faculty of the institute contribute to the craft and design blog.

indiandiy - The Indian DIY & Woodworker

You don't find many DIY and woodwork blogs by Indians. Out of those shortlisted by us, we didn't find anyone matching this blog by Indranil. 

jayesh-sivan - Jayesh Sivan - Illustrations
Illustrator and designer Jayesh Sivan, the man behind this art blog, has the talent to make live stories out of his illustrations. 

jewelsofsayuri - Jewels of Sayuri
Divya N, the blogger, is a professional in the field of jewelry designing. Besides jewelry and contemporary fashion, the blog also discusses heritage fashion.

plumage - Plumage
Uma Nair, an art critique and curator, maintains this blog on TOI platform. She has been writing on art for the last 30 years!

ranjanascraftblog - Ranjana's Craft Blog
You talk about an Indian craft, especially from ladies' perspective, and it is here! Ranjana Shankar writes on a range of subjects that include clay art, crochet, jewelry, painting and quilt making. 

thekeybunch - The Key Bunch
A professionally managed decor blog by Sharon, it has very refreshing ideas about sprucing up homes. 

When compiled first in 2017, this list contained many more blogs. Over the years, the list has become shorter as many good blogs have gone out of service. Of course, a few new blogs have entered the list.

We acknowledge that there also are some good art, craft and decor blogs/ websites maintained by firms. Going by our policy of promoting blogging by individuals rather than commercial interests, we are constrained to omit such blogs from this list. In addition, there are many DIY channels on YouTube and other visual/ video platforms with tutorials on different arts and craft. Most of them, however, suffer from poor quality. 

If you come across any fantastic blog on art, do let us know - we'd like to add our little muscle to promote their endeavor.

Top Blogs has also compiled lists of top English blogs in other fields, including:

Best photography blogs in India

Best travel blogs in India

Best literature blogs in India

Best Indian fashion blogs

Top Indian male fashion bloggers

Select list of Indian food blogs