Made by hand in Bangladesh, for home in Britain.
HandcraftUK is a small shop for the Bangladeshi community in England: the sarees, panjabis, kanthas and kitchen staples we grew up with, brought here from the people who make them.
Why we started
For many British Bangladeshi families, the best clothes in the wardrobe came home in a suitcase. A jamdani from an aunt in Dhaka. A panjabi bought for Eid on a trip to Sylhet. A kantha stitched by a nani we only met a few times.
Finding the same things in England usually means a trip to Brick Lane, a long wait for someone travelling home, or settling for machine-made copies. We wanted a shop that brings the real thing closer: handwoven, hand-stitched and made in Bangladesh, and easy to order from anywhere in the UK.
We’re a small team based in England. We talk to every customer personally, which is why we take order requests instead of card payments for now. It means you can ask about sizes, colours and delivery before you pay a penny.
What we hold to
Made by hand
Our clothes and crafts are woven, stitched and shaped by hand. The small irregularities in a handwoven saree are how you know a person was at the loom.
Honest about where it's from
We tell you what each piece is made of and where it was made. If we don't know something, we'll say so.
Personal service
Every order is confirmed by a person, not a checkout page. Ask us about sizes, colours or delivery before you pay.
The crafts and the places behind them
Every craft on our shelves belongs to a place, and to the families who have practised it for generations.
Jamdani
Rupganj and Sonargaon, Narayanganj
Woven by a master weaver and an apprentice side by side, with every motif laid in by hand. Recognised by UNESCO in 2013.
Nakshi kantha
Jessore and Jamalpur
Layers of soft old cloth quilted together with running stitch, then worked with lotuses, fish and village scenes.
Shital pati
Sylhet and Sunamganj
Cool mats woven from split murta cane, a Sylheti craft UNESCO recognised in 2017.
Terracotta
Potters' villages across Bangladesh
Pots, plates and doi bowls thrown on the wheel and dried in the sun before firing.
How ordering works
We don’t take card payments online yet. Instead, you send an order request and we sort out the rest with you personally.
Questions? WhatsApp us- 1
Choose your pieces
Tap “Request to order” on anything you like. It goes into your order request, and nothing is charged.
- 2
Send us your details
Your name, email, phone and UK delivery address are all we need.
- 3
We contact you
We confirm stock with our makers, then agree payment and the delivery cost with you by phone, WhatsApp or email.
- 4
Your parcel arrives
Once payment is sorted, we pack your order carefully and send it anywhere in the UK.