If anyone of you
is planning to wear “Juttis” on your special day whether it is your marriage,
birthday or any special function, believe me this women entrepreneur called
Shirin Mann Sangha has a wonderful collection of Hand Crafted Fine Leather
Juttis under the brand name “Needledust”.
I know only some
of you may be knowing her, that is why I thought of writing on her
entrepreneurial journey from being a Journalist to a successful Women
Entrepreneur.
Her journey is
really inspiring for all the girls and women out there who have some ideas in
their mind and also have the courage to stand by their opinions and decisions.
Shirin is
basically from Chandigarh and completed her Master’s in International
Journalism from Cardiff University, Wales, UK and after returning to India,
like any other girl, started working as a Crime Journalist in a Delhi NCR Based
Investigative Paper.
But then her fate
had different plans for her! I am sure
you are curious to know that if she was journalist then what made her start her
own company.
What Made Her Become “An Incidental
Entrepreneur”!
Like every other
girl, she also decided to marry. When her marriage preparations were going on, it
was the time to select perfect marriage footwear but she refused to pair her
lehenga with stilettos because she wanted to wear matching Juttis with her
outfit.
Since she
belongs to Chandigarh she had a strong liking for traditional Punjabi Juttis. Also
another reason was, since her childhood she admired her mother wearing Juttis
and therefore she loved the craft. So, she explored various markets in search
for her perfect pair of Juttis but she couldn’t find any.
She observed
that the Juttis which were available in the market were either too plain,
uncomfortable or not so appealing. But then, she wanted to wear only Juttis in
her wedding.
So, here comes
the time, when she decided to design her Jutti on her own and get a customized perfect
pair made by craftsmen and artisans for her wedding.
As a result, she
came out with a beautiful and elegant pair of Gold, Red and Fuchsia (Purplish
Red) Colored Pair of Jutti which were very well crafted. Quite surprisingly,
the Juttis she designed were liked by her family and friends.
Shirin shared in
one of her interview that her friends and family members asked her from where
she bought those Juttis but she couldn’t suggest any because there was no such
place from where they could find similar Jutti Pair like hers.
Also, when she
was designing her Jutti, she interacted with so many artisans and craftsmen;
she realized that this amazing handicraft is on the verge of extinction.
This was the
turning point of her career when actually her entrepreneurial mindset took a
boom and she thought that there might be some girls who want to wear elegant,
beautiful, handmade and colorful Juttis just like her but they also struggle to
find their perfect pair of Juttis.
At this point in
time, she thought of exploring this opportunity and she also decided to rescue
this dying art & bring these traditional Punjabi Juttis back in fashion,
not only in India but abroad also.
Her First Step!
Shirin disclosed
in one of her interview that her biggest motivator is her husband.
When she was not
so confident about will she be able to start her own business, her husband
motivated her and then she manufactured 100 shoes in 6 designs and 5 sizes to be
put up on an e-commerce portal.
You won’t
believe that within 7 days of these Juttis going live on that e-commerce
portal, the whole stock got sold out and she received an e-mail from the portal
that when can they get new stock.
But she was
blank because she did not have any stock to sell since she never thought that
she would be able to sell those 100 shoes.
And this is how,
with an immense love and adoration for reviving the art of handcrafted Jutti,
Shirin got confidence and she opened a very small store in Shahpur Jat in New
Delhi and also launched her exclusive online retail store Needledust.com.
Hence we can
clearly say that her Company “NEEDLEDUST” is the outcome of her own wedding. Let
me tell you that now in 2020, her small Shahpur Jat Store in New Delhi is 4
times its initial size.
World Wide Dominance of Hand Crafted
Juttis
You will be
surprised to know that merely in the span of 5 years; “Needledust” has become a
leading Jutti Brand Internationally.
I know most of
you follow Bollywood Fashion Influencers, So let me tell you that Big-Bang
Celebrities like Sonam Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt and Priyanka Chopra
have worn Juttis made by her company.
Not only this,
Needledust has provided its designs to big bang Bollywood movies like Padmaavat
and Veerey Di Wedding.
I think now you
can understand the immense popularity which her handcrafted Juttis has gained
within a very short period of time.
I am amazed to
see her success, do you know what? Needledust now has 3 retail stores 2 in
Delhi (Pacific Mall, Tagore Garden and Select City Walk, Saket) and 1 in
Chandigarh and guess what, now they ship their products worldwide. She is
really passionate about Needle dust.
Now within 5
years, this company has rolled out 300 designs which is a great achievement in
itself.
As we all know
that today’s generation is more inclined towards social media, so it is
necessary to market a product as per new age marketing i.e. on social
media.
So to your
surprise Needledust has a very interactive Instagram Page with about 3,72,000
followers, which is really great. Shirin believes that social media marketing
has played a crucial role in Needledust’s success since it has allowed her to
reach millions of people across the world at a very minimal cost.
She also
revealed that now she receives orders from countries like Italy, China, Japan,
Korea etc where not only NRIs are wearing Juttis but the natives of these
countries also.
And that’s a
huge achievement for her. Being an Indian Girl, She has made India proud by
taking our traditional handcrafted Juttis to a global level.
One more interesting
fact which I would like to tell you is that Needledust has partnered with
Swarovski Crystals. So now, if you want a piece of jewelry on your shoe, they
can give you that also. The company has also partnered with celebrated and
famous designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla by manufacturing Juttis designed
by them.
So now if your
big day is coming, before going for any international brand, just have a look
at Needledust store, I am sure you will find your perfect pair of Juttis.
What Is The Moral of The Story?
What I
personally understood from her story is that be passionate about whatever you
do and even if it takes time for you to get desired recognition for your work,
keep on doing it sincerely and with dedication.
Written by –
Anshika Gupta
Edited by –
Adrija Saha
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