OK. You are on Facebook. Tell me how often do you NOT click on that ad in the sidebar?
Even for someone with a strong resolve, it takes a lot to not get distracted.
Sometimes it’s the colorful styling. Sometimes it’s the teaser. Sometimes, it’s the price. Sometimes, it’s the name of the store that makes us curious (like Jabong was when it initially launched). Sometimes, it is the logo. Very rarely, is it a need.
Oh there are zillions of stores. For everything under the sun. But, some stand out in the crowd. FB replies sometimes reveal so much about how a store is run and the person behind it: the warmth of the owner comes across in the choice of words, the transparency in sharing the knowledge about a product, promptness in replying, humor ….
It’s not often that I reach out to someone to write about them. And let’s be honest, not every time that I want to contact a store, I’m able to reach out to them easily.
Meghaavi stood out from the crowd. I loved the logo. Jaya is the face behind Meghaavi, a fine home linen and furnishings store in Bangalore for the discerning buyer. I reached out to her on Thursday, and here we are with a post four days later.
Here I’m picking on her brains to understand how she conceived the idea and what it takes to run the store.
1. How did you conceive the idea of the store?
Jaya says, “I am from an IT background. After quitting my last job, I was looking to change my career and do something creative. Whenever I looked at home furnishings in stores, I either found them lacking in quality and finish or too expensive. After having lived in the US for many years, I had become used to quality at an affordable price and felt that this segment was missing in the Indian market.”
2. One customer story that has reaffirmed your conviction in starting the store?
Jaya confidently recounts, “ There is not one story but many. And all of them relate to the customizations that have now become a big part of the business. I got four duvet covers made for my neighbour and friend Smitha who told me that the duvet covers available in the market were limited in design and that I should fill that gap. Or the baby basket that I designed for a friend’s sister’s grandchild with something old from the grandmother and a few things new designed by me. Or the table runners recently designed by me for Diwali gifts suggested by my friends Sharmila and Reshmi and bought by them as well.“
3. Why did you choose to start so away from the city?
I was wondering if the action has moved from Indira Nagar to Whitefield, and she responds, ” I decided to start the business in Whitefield for two reasons. The first reason is that I live right here in Whitefield. The second reason is because I live here, I do know that a customer base with good taste and design sensibility exists right here in Whitefield. All that I have been trying to do from the time that the store was started about a year back is to make sure that more and more people get to know about the store. That has happened now. I had earlier assumed that most of my business would come from the Whitefield market. But thanks to social media and by word of mouth, I have been shipping stuff to different parts of Bangalore and outside Bangalore as well. Meghaavi products are now on Amazon India too.“
4. What are the kinds of fabric you house – I’ve saw everything ranging from Kerala cotton to Kantha work in the pictures? any favorites?
Yes, there’s an amalgamation of techniques you can see in a single piece such as this one. Jaya on sourcing: ” I do a combination of sourcing furnishings and linen and designing my own. I prefer cotton and silk but feel lucky to live in India where the range of fabric one can use is staggering. I am from Jaipur and so obviously love the block prints. But my design sensibility is modern too and I love bold prints and rich colours. For the store, I design stuff that I love. But for customizations, I keep myself open and work with the design sensibilities of my clients but I do push them once in a while to try something outside their comfort zone. While I was concentrating on home furnishings earlier, I have recently started selling lovely embroidered dupattas, ready to stitch fabric and ready made kurtas too.”
Here are a few of my favorite picks from the store:
Screen print bedsheets in bright colors. This is one thing I always look for in an exhibition.
Colorful runner: love the full styling. The brick exposed wall in white, the runner and the colorful cushions.
White booti on pastels:
5. What’s your idea of a table setting/decor tip this Diwali?
I have really large brass plates or thaalis given to me by my mom. I get them polished before Diwali and I decorate them with large flowers and put lots of decorative diyas on each one of them. I then put these thaalis in different parts of the house.
