Roshni Mohan - Neelayadakshi
Safety pin jewellery might be a staple of grunge and punk fashionistas the world over, but it has been given a traditional makeover by 20-year-old Roshini. “My mother’s friend gave me the idea, and I spent some time coming up with the designs before launching in December last year,” says the student of food science. Her collection includes jhumkas, chokers and sets consisting of earrings, neckpieces, bracelets and finger rings, ranging from Rs. 100 to Rs. 4,000.
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Using brass and nickel-plated safety pins for a rust-free finish, Roshini spends around eight hours crafting each set to perfection. “A lot of customers want to know if the jewellery will rust, but the pins I use will retain their shine. I use beads in some of the designs, but I now have a lot of customers asking for customised jewellery that shows very obviously that it is made of safety pins,” she says, adding that designing does not take her much time; it is only the production that is time-consuming. “Between college, dance classes and jewellery, it is all about managing my time effectively, so I spend allotted time on each activity.”
Facebook page: >facebook.com/neelayadakshi2015
Tel: 97108 04949
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Tharun Dharam - Fluffy Tubs
The thought of cotton candy takes one back to trade fairs where men would deftly spin a cloud of pink sugar made with a cocktail of unknown ingredients. With most people now being cautious about what sweet treats they buy for their children, Tharun, a techie with his own web development and branding company, felt that the time was ripe for a safe alternative to the cotton candy sold on the streets. And so Fluffy Tubs was born.
Made of organic sugar and natural colours, the cotton candy is sold in three variants. “Bubblegum is the closest to what we are used to eating and it’s the most popular one among kids. Adults prefer the blueberry, and a very niche clientele prefers the pineapple. Organic stores have a lot of great products but rarely do they have anything sweet. I felt that we could change that by introducing Fluffy Tubs,” says Tharun. The flavours used are currently nature identical, but soon, natural flavours will be used as well, he says, adding that the candy is manufactured in his brother’s confectionary unit.
The cotton candy retails at Rs. 100 for a 30gm tub and Rs. 150 for a 40gm tub and is available at Gormei Market, Odyssey and Malgadi.
Tel: 99625 11512
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Sudha Sekhar - Madras Motif
There are bags, and then there are bags. Sudha designs the latter. With a love for bright prints and fabrics, she hand crafts every piece she sells. “Like many women these days, I took a break from my career in finance when my daughter was born in 2008. I have no background in design and barely knew how to turn the sewing machine my mother-in-law gifted me. But I slowly picked up the nuances of stitching and started by making hair accessories. Friends who saw it encouraged me to try my hand at bigger things. I have dabbled in a lot of crafts, but now, I’m a little more than obsessed with this,” she says. Although she has been at it for over five years now, Sudha says that she got serious about her bags only around 2013, moving her work from her balcony to an outhouse in her home.
“I can’t relate to Chennai, I can only think of it as Madras. I wanted to incorporate that without sounding clichéd, so I am glad that some relatives of mine helped me come up with what I feel is an earthy, quirky, bold-sounding name. I’m loud and outgoing and my work reflects that as well,” says Sudha. The collection, made mostly of cotton canvas, includes hobos, sling bags, totes, pencil rolls and the occasional diaper bag or quilt. “I do customised orders, but it gets boring sometimes: last year, I made 15 chevron print and 17 blue ikat print bags. So I periodically take a break from orders and put together my own designs so customers can see the possibilities. They are not willing to take a risk sometimes, because they cannot envision what I have in mind; but when they see what is possible, they buy it.”
Prices start from Rs. 1,500.
Facebook page: >facebook.com/MadrasMotif
Email: sudhasekh@gmail.com
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Divya Vigneshwaran - Hastha
“When you get to my age, it’s impossible to have a 24-inch waistline. The T-shirts available in stores either don’t have the right kind of fit, or they have designs and slogans that don’t really suit our sensibilities,” says 38-year-old Divya, halfway between a sigh and a laugh. And so she decided to launch Hastha, a line of block-printed T-shirts aimed at women in her age group as well as anyone with a distinct style sensibility. Although she had no formal training in design, she was earlier in the garment merchandising and export business for several national clothing brands.
A big fan of block prints and handmade clothing, Divya incorporated that into her work. “Since I’ve been a consumer, I know that customer feedback is a key factor, and that plays a big role in my designs,” she says. The most popular are the comfort-fit round necks, but they soon might be phased out into V-necks in both slim and comfort fit. Sizes from small to extra large are now available at Rs. 400, and recently, she did a sold-out range of limited edition tops as well, price at Rs. 500. The next step is to start retailing at outlets and use organic cottons and dyes, she says.
Facebook page: >facebook.com/hastha.in
Email: hasthamerchandise@gmail.com
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CRAFTionate - Nirupama Ravindran and Raakhee Sathish
A shared love for crochet brought these two women together at a craft class where Raakhee was learning smocking and Nirupama was learning Kutch embroidery. “We were both bankers before we became stay-at-home mothers, and we live close by, so we started going to classes together. We realised that we wanted to showcase our work, and not just to friends, relatives and visitors. CRAFTionate is a way of satisfying our own creativity and getting the attention and appreciation we feel we deserve for our works,” says Raakhee.
Clothing, accessories and home decor are made, mainly using crochet, but also incorporating some macramé work as well. “We collaborate on every design,” says Raakhee, explaining how each piece can take anywhere from three days to three months to work on. “It all depends on the intricacy of the design, and the price of the product reflects the workmanship and hours that went into crafting it with the fine needle and thread used in crotchet. Most of the designs are our own, and so cannot be recreated unless we decide to make the piece ourselves. In that sense, what we make is truly one-of-a-kind,” she adds.
Prices start from Rs. 500.
Facebook page: >facebook.com/CRAFTionateINDIA
Email: craftionate@gmail.com