“I am not into serious business yet,” says Ranitha Rajendrasingh even as a caller from Gujarat places an order with her for 300 handbags in pure silk.
Married into the leading industrial Bell family in Sivakasi at the age of 19, Ranitha says even after 36 years she is “unable to act and think commercially.” And that is because her attitude to life is exceptionally creative.
Born into a family of doctors, Ranitha chose the needle and sewing thread over the scalpel and knife much early in life but had never dreamt that one day she would sit pretty as the founder-owner of Neha’s Bags making and selling niche bags to customers. Her range of bags – that includes purses, clutches, handbags, shoulder bags and mobile covers – is not as expensive as the designer brands. But made of pure silk, her bags are certainly no less desirable. She may still be in the “Not Known” list but the fact is in the last one decade her bags have been liked by customers not only in India but also in USA, U.K, Australia and Dubai.
Ranitha realises her business is expanding and it makes her nervous. “I am just a housewife with a hobby to stitch,” she says and admits she was “pushed, encouraged and supported by family and friends to launch her own business.”
And that too started accidentally because till the turn of the millennium she was happy just stitching pretty frocks for her own and friends’ daughters and grandchildren. If Banu, a young Muslim seamstress from the interiors of Palayamkottai had not come to her asking for help, says Ranitha, she would have never ventured out of her comfort zone. “For two years I supported her financially and in exchange she helped me with all my stitching and embroidery work at home.”
With children married and settled and her husband mostly away on tours, it struck Ranitha to start something on her own. She chose making handbags because her mother loved them.
“I bought one bag from the market and different types of fabric including denim, cotton, velvet, corduroy, rexin, satin and pure silk,” says Ranitha of her initiation into the work. The readymade bag was torn apart to understand what all goes into the making of one. And then with help from Banu and another tailor, she put all her creative ideas together and randomly made 50 pieces in different shapes, sizes, colours and embroidery patterns.
Soon there was a visitor from Belgium at her home and she displayed all the bags in front of her to choose one. To Ranitha’s surprise, the lady instantly picked up the bright green purse made with pure silk. “I felt the other bags looked prettier but she said the silk one was exquisite and exclusive.”
Following this, Ranitha made a trip to Sri Lanka with her batch of freshly crafted bags. Most of her friends there too chose the silk bags over the rest. This enabled Ranitha to sense the demand for silk in the market. In 2004, a Silk Mart ad caught her attention and for the first time she stepped out of Palayamkottai to participate in the 100 per cent silk products exhibition in Bangalore with a consignment of 500 ladies handbags stitched within a fortnight.
Not only she sold every piece that had a price tag ranging from Rs.90 to 900, but she also clocked customised orders for over 200,000 bags. “I never expected so much appreciation for my work,” says Ranitha. It was a turning point for her.
She had many customers telling her that while they wore expensive kanjeevarams and other silk saris to parties, weddings and other functions, they ended up carrying mismatched leather bags in black or brown. Those days silk bags were not common and those that were available in the market were very expensive.
With people willing to make a style statement, Ranitha knew where to put her money, time and energy in. She registered herself under SSI and named her company after her first granddaughter. The company is now Silk-Mark certified by the Central Government Silk Board, validating the usage of pure Indian silk and has12 male and 25 female workers, all of whom have been trained by Ranitha from the scratch.
Ranitha takes pride in the fact that she has been able to take out few villagers from their traditional occupation of rolling beedis and given them a healthy working environment and several other benefits. It takes minimum six months to train them to proficiency, she says.
While the unique products with pretty patterns are all hand embroidered to perfection, to keep up with the demand, Ranitha has acquired an advanced computer embedded machine that does the rest of the stitching and zipping work fast.
She is full of praise for her staff for their passion and precision. At present the team makes bags only in pure silk and on orders in spun silk. Ranitha says quality of the product is her focus and she feels happy when her customers come and report to her of no damage even in old purchases. “It makes me immensely happy then and I sit down to play my veena or piano or do some gardening,” she smiles.
Ranitha gives all ideas, designs and patterns for her bags and picks up the raw material herself including the different types of handles done in rope, beads, strap, tube, cane, metal, fibre or wooden. She says now women bring their expensive silk saris over and ask her to make a matching purse or clutch for an occasion. She has also started getting orders for bridal clutches, birthday and wedding day return gifts and corporate gifts. Last year she supplied 400 silk bags for delegates at a medical conference in Andhra Pradesh.
Though she has slightly scaled up her price, Ranitha says her customers are prepared to pay. “I fulfil their requirements and complete their attire ensemble artistically.”
Product profile:
Neha’s exclusive Ladies Handbags are available at its outlets in: Bell Hotel, Sivakasi; Hotel J.C.Residency in Kodaikanal and Madurai. Her showroom is housed inside the Bell School Campus on Madurai-Tiruchendur Road, Palayamkottai. She has tied up with Just Dial, Indiamart, Snapdeal etc and gone online to reach directly to the customers.
On an average, depending on the order, 50 to 70 bags are manufactured at the unit. The catalogue lists over 500 models and for online Ranitha is focussing on 70-odd exclusive varieties.
Take a look at the aesthetic creations on: www.nehasbags.com
She has also diversified into other products like wall hangings with verses from the Bible, birthday pillows, head bands, cushion covers, party and flower girl frocks.
