Agartala, December 13, 2025: Tripura-based entrepreneur and Founder of FitBird, Lovely Baruah, is representing the state at the prestigious Chiang Mai Design Week 2025 in Thailand, joining a delegation of artisans and entrepreneurs from across the North Eastern region of India. She departed from Agartala on December 4 and is scheduled to return on December 16.
Chiang Mai Design Week, an initiative supported by Thailand’s Creative Economy Agency, is the country’s first and largest design-focused festival, celebrated internationally for showcasing creativity, craftsmanship, and innovation. The Government of India has facilitated the participation of North-East representatives to promote traditional weaving, bamboo and cane craft, Eri silk, natural dye products, handloom-based lifestyle goods, jewelry, and other indigenous art forms on the world stage.
This year, a total of 14 entrepreneurs and 16 cultural teams from all eight North Eastern states are participating in the event, which runs from December 6 to 14.
Lovely Baruah, Founder & Visionary of FitBird, is exhibiting bamboo souvenir items, traditional handloom products, and eco-friendly lifestyle crafts at the international platform. Her participation aims to highlight Tripura’s unique craftsmanship and expand global market linkages for local artisans.
An Assamese designer who made Tripura her home in 2013, Lovely left a corporate career with Hindustan Unilever to build FitBird, an enterprise dedicated to empowering Tripura’s artisans, especially women. Driven by her mission of uplifting artisans, preserving cultural craftsmanship, promoting sustainability, and strengthening women’s skill development, she has developed a model that blends modern design with local, natural materials such as bamboo, cane, jute, and straw.
FitBird operates a dedicated unit in Agartala’s Sakuntala Road, where seven salaried artisans trained directly by Lovely, finalize and quality-check products sourced from districts across Tripura. The enterprise collects raw materials directly from villages, ensuring fair compensation and safeguarding traditional techniques.
The product line includes bags, decor items, souvenirs, and daily-use products rooted in Tripura’s cultural identity. Alongside its physical outlet, FitBird markets its products through online platforms including Amazon, Meesho, and Flipkart.
Lovely is also working on establishing cluster-based production units across districts to address challenges of consistency and delivery timelines. A distribution hub in Noida has been set up to expand reach in North India.
Before Chiang Mai Design Week, Lovely Baruah showcased Tripura’s craftsmanship at several prestigious platforms, including: Rastrapati Nilayam, Hyderabad; HGH Mumbai and Bengaluru; Asta Laxmi Delhi; and Various national-level exhibitions promoting handloom and bamboo crafts
FitBird, opened in 2008 and formally registered in Tripura in 2018, is currently located at 8/1 Khosh Bagan, Surja Chowmuhani, Agartala.
The North-East’s participation in Chiang Mai Design Week reflects India’s focus on cultural diplomacy, international exposure, and global market integration for artisans. Lovely’s presence at the event brings Tripura’s handmade heritage to a global audience and underscores the creative potential of the region.
Her work through FitBird continues to empower rural artisans, strengthen sustainable livelihoods, and enhance the global visibility of Tripura’s traditional craft practices.
