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The state's oldest handicraft is certainly pottery, which achieved great standards of excellence in ancient times. The commonest of art forms, pottery is also one of the most fascinating. With the few turns of the wheel and expert flicks of the hand, village potters mould an ordinary lump of mud into a well proportioned and useful clay utensils, embellished by their wives with paintings and colourful lines. Terracotta toys are another craft of the potters of Kutch, but it is in the Aravallis and Chhota Udepur tribal lands that potters make the famous long necked terracotta figurines of the Gora Dev (tribal horse God), said to protect crops, villages and families from evil spirits, evil intentions and natural calamities. At Poshina, these terracotta horses and elephants cost Rs. 10 to 50 each, and are good decorations for your home and garden, and the Poshinagadh heritage hotel can arrange for you to shop for such tribal artifacts. An entire wall panel of such terra cotta animals can cost Rs. 3000/-. Potter communities also specialise in mud wall paintings, and you could get plaques, inset with mirrors, made for your own house or garden shack from Kutch.

Another handicraft industry that has become synonymous with Southern Gujarat is the lacquered furniture of Sankheda near Vadodara. Wood is rounded with tools and painted with floral and abstract designs in bright shades of gold, silver, maroon, green, vermilion, and brown by using sticks dipped in a coloured mixture of dyes, powdered zinc, lac and resin.

The furniture and woodcrafts of Surat, Kutch and Saurashtra are also popular. The artisans of Kutch make wood take on beautiful designs and intricate filigreed appearance of lace. Lacquered furniture similar to that of Sankheda is also made in Mahuva near Bhavnagar, Surat and Kutch. Minakari furniture from Rajkot, now made by only of few families is as attractive as Sankheda furniture and includes low slung chairs, which can replace sitting cross leg on floors, Indian styles and sofa sets, chairs, centre tables and settees. In textile centres like Jetpur, Kutch and Pethapur village of Gandhinagar district, a good by are old wooden blocks used for printing fabrics which can be joined into a table top, decorative screen or a partition or used as door knobs, ornamental pieces or paper weights.

If any one deserves the credit of adding, a touch of exotic colour to the monochromatic desert scapes of the Rann of Kutch and the arid semi desert scrubby grasslands of Banni, it is the embroiderers. Embroidery is Gujarat's quintessential handicraft and many of the artisans are wives of herdsmen, nomads and agriculturists battling for a second income. Techniques vary with the community and region look for the simple needle work but exquisite effects of Bavalia embroidery to the fabulous bright yellow and red Banni embroidery; the embroidery of the Rabari cameleers, reminiscent of their pastoral life style, inlaid with triangular, square and almond shaped mirrors; the geometric and floral motifs of the Ahir community with circular mirrors; the chain stitches and tiny mirrors used by the Jats; the delicate soof embroidery of the Sodha Rajputs around Lakhpat ; the tiny broken mirrors embroidered into fabrics by the Mutwa cameleers; and the exquisite Mukka embroidery of the Hali Putras, Rasipotra and Node herds people.

The history of the zari (gold embroidery) industry of Surat dates back to the Mughal period. Even today Surat remains one of the biggest and most significant zari manufacturing centres of India. The principal types of products are zari threads in gold and silver, embroidery for decorative boarders, shoe uppers, evening bags and accessories. Gold and silver threads are commonly used for weaving the kinkhab. 

Dhurries, carpets, blankets and rugs are woven on primitive pitlooms in the villages of Kutch. Wankars dexterously weave designs with their hands while the machine is worked by foot pedals. The result, gorgeous patterns and remarkable colours combinations. Durries can be made from wool, goat hair and cotton. Colourful quilts and camel comparison are also woven traditionally on pitlooms, shuttle looms and other handlooms. Handloom weaving is an important occupation in villages on the Ahmedabad - Bhavnagar highway.

Silver jewellery is always in great demand with Rajkot and Ahmedabad being centres for silver ornaments.
Just an hour's drive from Ahmedabad, the artisans of Khambhat (Cambay) continue the craft of stone cutting and bead making, which began in ancient times. Agate is mined in the hills along the Gulf of Khambat. Here they are dried and heated till they fracture regularly, and then cut and reheated with iron oxide. The stone is then chipped and flaked into beads, before grinding, drilling and polishing. The final product is set into ornaments or utensils. Other precious and semi precious stones are also cut and polished in Khambhat. Products range in price from Rs. 15/- for an earring to Rs. 3000/- or more for an entire set.

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