Our Story
Our Story
Finding Inspiration in Every Turn!
At Urai, we're on a mission to make the world greener. We're creating functional and sustainable products worked on by local craftsmen that last through the age of a generation.
The purpose here is to lead a creative movement against excessive waste generated in the leather industry, by connecting creativity to sustainability on an ethical ground. This runs at the core of everything we do.
WHAT THE HELL IS AN URAI?
We were thinking of a name that goes right alongside what we stand for when we came up with Urai [oo-rye]. The word originally Tamil is used to denote any protective covering. And seeing as we make jackets and bags, essentially a covering for yourself and your things, it seemed apt for a name.
WHAT'S WITH MADRAS?
Madras has a rich history when it comes to leather. Chromepet, an entire colony in Madras, was literally named after the Chrome Leather Factory that was first established in Madras back in the 19th century. It was here that the chrome tanning process which makes up 90% of the world’s leather, was perfected. Although Italian leather is synonymous with the highest quality of leather in the world, you'd be privy to know that the biggest luxury brands out there source massive loads of leather from Madras yet. We source out all our leather requirements from a plethora of tanneries in and around Madras and up-cycle the same for use in our products.
Urai isn’t just another brand that runs production for the sake of it. I've in fact created it with the rigorous belief to make a difference in avenues of climate change and sustainability. To make products that fascinate me yet are inaccessible in our country, products that bring both comfort and style to the setting.
DREAMERS IN CHIEF
Kripesh
Urai isn’t just another brand that runs production for the sake of it. I've in fact created it with the rigorous belief to make a difference in avenues of climate change and sustainability. To make products that fascinate me yet are inaccessible in our country, products that bring both comfort and style to the setting.
Varshene
Having been an advocate of animal welfare all my life and now having to work with a leather brand felt to me like I was going back on my own values. Initially, I was quite hesitant but after much reading and research, I came to understand that leather is not all it is made out to be. This is exactly what Urai aims to be – a new avenue to rethink the dogmatic norms pushed on us.