Sooti's Chat with Creative Locals - My Bowl of Fun By Shivani
A healthy baker and a handmade lover, Shivani from My Bowl of Fun wanted to share Sooti's story on her You Tube Series, Chat with Creative Locals. And we were more than happy to answer her questions that revolved around Sooti's story and small businesses.
Ques. How do you describe Sooti? Whats the story?
Sooti is a new age women accessory brand with a ting of tradition. It celebrates women who love Indian textile with twists and quirks. It intends to re-design ordinary into fun and functional products.
I was always into accessories and loved Indian textile, and found a huge gap between the bags in the market and the ones I loved. So i got them made for myself and whenever I used them, I used to receive compliments for the same. That gave me the idea of Sooti.
Ques.There is perception people have that local brands/home artists/small business have expensive products...specially in apparel / fashion industry. What do you think?
About handmade being expensive, I would say if other handmade brands are unique and want to charge high because of the hard work they put in and their uniqueness, I don't think anyone should have a problem with it. Because behind every handmade piece, there are restless days and sleepless nights and imperfect samples made to bring out the perfect one. Making every brand to have their own price band.
But keeping this in mind, I always wanted Sooti to be affordable and durable. Therefore we have products starting right from Rs. 80 - Ear Phone Holder, Headbands - Rs. 150 and so on.
Ques. Your collection at Sooti is very unique. How do you decide on what new to launch? What colors to pick? How do you decide on the collection?
I am fond of colors and minimal accessories. I love looking for the same and creating them. Like people spend time on FB, I like surfing on Pinterest. There are so many cute and lovely stuffs available there. Those are mostly my inspiration. Also, in my day to day activities I get through many ideas which I enlist and when the right time comes in, it is introduced in Sooti.
Ques. Any incident or bad customer/good customer experience that made you change some strategies that worked well for Sooti?
Our clients are very generous. They are like our family. They love our work and appreciate the little things we do for them. Most of our new product ideas comes from them. We always try to make there experience with us memorable and therefore we add a personal note with every order that is shipped as they are our most important asset and we value them.
Ques. What is your advice for budding Entrepreneurs?
There is and never will be right time to start something new. Do not look for perfection, but strive for it. So it is up to you to take that extra mile. It only takes courage and positive thoughts to do what you love. Take baby steps, there is no need to rush. Set up a business that suits your lifestyle. It will definitely replenish.
We aim to live in present and aspire others specially women. Aim high, do what you are good at.
