Internship lays the foundation of prospective employees, helping them figure out whether they have the aptitude, passion and commitment for the work at hand or they are simply not cut out for the job. This is precisely what happened to Hidesign proprietor Dilip Kapur, who while pursuing his Ph.D. in International Relations, did an internship with a leather brand in the United States. He soon realised that his true calling was in creating craftsmanship on leather rather than becoming a full time lecturer giving classes on a subject he was well versed with.
Dilip continues to take classes to “take his mind away from business-related problems” which crop up every now and then. But strategising innovative plans and demonstrating his business acumen is Dilip’s top priority as he criss-crosses the country meeting entrepreneurs to give his brand more mileage and better visibility.
He has succeeded in making his brand, which started from his hometown Auroville near Pondicherry to becoming a brand used by the likes of Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg and the late South African leader Nelson Mandela.
How did his stint as an internee help this entrepreneur-cum-educationist to decide his future?
“I did nine month internship at Denver. It did not take me long to realise that my interest lay in creating products from leather. But International Relations was something I had to finish.”
Dilip doesn’t agree that there is a correlation between his studies in this discipline of Political Science and his international brand. But there is some commonness as International Relations is all about studying the political, cultural and constitutional aspects of different nations and in this case, whereas in Dilip’s case he studied the market and consumer preference of every country he introduced his brand. He planned different strategies and demonstrated business acumen skills for every country where his brand has presence.
To celebrate 35 years of Hidesign in style, Dilip recently made public an extraordinary collection of handbags for an exhibition titled Icon at Select City Walk in Saket, New Delhi.
So then, through the exhibition — it concluded here yesterday – has he re-launched his brand by showcasing handbags which have been used by iconic personalities? Dilip responds, “Each handbag in the collection has a different story to narrate. Mandela’s dentist bought a bag from us for the exclusive use by the former South African President. Similarly, Spielberg used one of our bags for his film. Now, people in Delhi can own replicas of these bags.”
Talking about procuring raw material for his leather products, Dilip notes, “Kerala has the best quality hides which we buy in bulk. We also get hides fromSouth America, Turkey and New Zealand. Leather is hand coloured with a brush and polished with waxes to make it glow like a museum masterpiece. Hand coloured leather is an art and when done skilfully, it allows the leather to glow in dark or lighter shades.”
Noting that at Auroville he was taught the essence of life, Dilip relates, “We were taught how to live a simple existence, promote afforestation and retain values. Following these principles have stood me in good stead. I have a unique way of seeing things and even my craftsmanship is different. I ensure that every bag produced by us is given a different style.”
