Whenever I enter a gift shop, I feel like a kid in a candy store. But often the items and their replicas that come with a price tag put me off especially when one is looking for an unusual or unique gift. So it came both as a surprise and relief to find two city women launching two quaint little wonderful stores in familiar neighbourhood in quick succession. The best thing about Back to Nature in Gomathipuram and Jute Cottage in K.K.Nagar is that they pride themselves on lots of fun stuff to buy but with a sense of responsibility. Both offer an interesting medley of easy-to-give chic gifts that not only lend themselves to trend and style but more importantly are also all about being eco-conscious.
While Ms.Gajaadhayalan Lakshmi, who set up the city’s first exclusive organic store, Navdanya inside the residential Gomathipuram six years ago, is a name familiar among many locals, Dr.P.Shanmuga Priya has just launched herself into this awesome idea of green gifts. She is an oral pathologist taking a break from her primary field to do something creative, she says. “I feel very happy and relaxed running this store now where every product is handmade,” she says.
Though she is still experimenting and stabilising her newly established business, she feels the market is now much more open and ready with customers willing to pay for quality and consistency. Last August, from the same spot diagonally opposite to the Lake Park entrance, she had launched “Nirupam” selling only organic food items. She was sourcing different items from multiple Self-Help Groups and that led to a problem in consistency of the product and affected the supply chain as well. Within six months, she saw wisdom in sourcing from a single vendor. Also, the flooding of our markets with cheap plastic products from China made her switch over to green products.
A couple of visits to the Jute Cottage outlet in Bangalore made her fall in love with their line of traditional and Indian ethnic products. She also found the items to be fast moving and consistent in quality. After a few rounds of negotiations, Dr.Shanmugapriya became the first franchisee for Jute Cottage in Tamil Nadu. And she is not regretting her decision at all.
From designing the layout of her store to building the inventory, the medico has been involved at every step. “It is like I am helping my baby grow,” says the mother of two girls. The last three months have returned her 100 customers on repeat visits while new ones keep adding to her database.
As the name, Jute Cottage, suggests, the store is predominantly about the fabric -- often described as dull and rugged – but has been redefined and elevated to a fashionable and stylist material. So when you walk in, what hits you are the rows of functional and fancy, strong and cute, fashionable and reusable, colourful and earthy jute bags in all possible sizes and shapes. You are spoilt for choice here and are sure to find one that suits your requirement.
With ‘Jute is Cute’ as the mainstay, the store also stacks an attractive and eye-catching range of terracotta jewellery, wall hangings, clocks, vases, lampshades and show pieces, papier mache and dhokra products. “Only toxic-free acrylic paints are used to colour the various items that bear a primitive simplicity with enchanting folk motifs,” says Dr.Shanmugapriya.
A small place with no swanky décor, the modest ambience and the colourful crafts hold your attention inside Jute Cottage as much as they do inside the 12 by 12 feet ‘Back to Nature’. Gaajalakshmi has jammed it with every possible gift item you could think of. She has travelled all over the country to bring under one roof products that are not only charming and unique but are also representative of her commitment to socially and environmentally conscious practices and materials. “I love handcrafted items and it was always my dream to have a special store for eco-friendly gift articles,” she says.
From areca leaf table wares from Shimoga to palm leaf snacks baskets and trays, miniature pots, wooden cutlery and masks from Uttar Pradesh, umbrella holders made in bamboo with Worli art of Maharashtra, clay diyas from Uttarakhand, Kalamkari rugs from Andhra, terracotta lamp shades from Bengal, the pathamadai mats and choppu sets from Tamil Nadu and 200 more items of home décor, wearable jewellery, papier mache holders, reusable cloth and jute bags all vie for space in the chock-full store that brims with an old-world feeling.
Just 10 days old, the shop is already doing big business. My customers are impressed with the wide range of wares on display,” says Gajaalakshmi. But what has become the star attraction are the mitticool products from Gujarat. A slew of utensils from pressure cooker to dosa and phulka tawas, coffee filters, juicer and tea-strainer to the white clay pots are unique and encouraging people to change their habits, she says.
When you find a perfect feel good gift for any occasion, it inspires you to redo your home, kitchen or garden while lowering your carbon footprint.
Check out the stores for cute and stylish gifts and make a powerful difference by gifting something eco-friendly. For anything that is gorgeous and ethical is good for all!
