Sujit Kumar Mahapatra is a 39-year-old appliqué artisan based in Pipili, Puri district, Odisha. He began learning the craft at the age of 20 through family tradition and ancestral learning, continuing a lineage associated with traditional chandua making. His primary practice remains rooted in appliqué work, produced through hand-based processes using tools such as scissors, sewing needles, measuring tape, and pencils. Alongside his in-house appliqué production, he is also engaged with the sale and circulation of other craft forms, including jute-based products sourced from different regions and artisan networks. Operating through his shop, Sumit Appliques, he functions not only as a maker but also as an intermediary within a wider craft economy, where objects from multiple traditions circulate through a shared commercial space. This layered role reflects the changing structure of contemporary craft livelihoods in Pipili, where artisans increasingly combine production, retail, and aggregation practices to sustain income. His work moves across ritual, social, and everyday contexts, while circulating through local markets, cooperative societies, intermediaries, and institutional support systems. He has participated in exhibitions and fairs such as Toshali and Bali Jatra Mela, extending the reach of his practice beyond the village. Like many artisans in the region, his practice is shaped by infrastructural and economic pressures, including tourism-related challenges, transport constraints, and increasing market competition. His work reflects the ongoing negotiation between inherited craft knowledge, changing market structures, and the broader networks through which contemporary handicrafts circulate.