Sumedha was very happy today.
She had just got a confirmation call from Mrs. Salunkhe, and that took the total of the purse order to 40 now. Diwali was fast approaching, and she had to pull up her socks to complete the order within time. She got quite busy with planning and shopping, but she had one thing in mind. She had to talk to her cousin brother’s wife and tell her about it. It was because of her that the purses happened and came to this stage.
She belonged to a typical middle-class family, where her parents were working. She and her elder brother grew up together. She completed her graduation from a reputed college, gave exams for recruitment in banks, and got a chance to work in a bank. She got married to a lovely family and went to a different town after marriage. She continued the job with the bank and also managed the house with the help of her mother-in-law. She was working in a bank, but her interest was stitching clothes for newborn babies and small kids. The market for this type of clothes was not very big, and there was hardly one dealer or shop which had excellent quality and reasonable garments. She had also done a tailoring course, and when she got time on weekends, she did stitch a few clothes for kids and babies in her friends and family. She was very passionate about it and was always researching and reading about new patterns and different ways to make it more attractive to the customers.
She came to a crossroad one day. She had to decide if she wanted to continue doing the job at the bank at different locations at different times or take up stitching as a full-time work. Her parents and in-laws and husband supported her a lot in this, and she took the big leap of giving up a full time, a secured job to do something she always wanted to do.
She slowly started getting good work. Though it was not full-time or well paying, she was enjoying it. She could concentrate on her daughter now, who was a new addition to the family and also take care of the house and manage her work from home.
She had got a message one day on her phone. About 4 years ago, her brother’s wife pinged her on Facebook to ask her to make something.
Manasi: Sumedha, can you stitch a few sling bags for me, please? I want to gift them to my friends in Germany. You are into sewing clothes for kids and other stuff. I am sure you can also give me a beautiful hand-stitched sling bags which will be a great hit among my German friends!
Sumedha: Well, I have never tried my hands at this, but I can definitely give it a shot. I have a few blouse pieces from my aunt. They are very traditional and beautiful. I can surely make something extraordinary out of them, and I am sure your German friends will love it. I will show them to you if you like. You can let me know which ones you want. I can stitch purses out of it and also purchase a few new materials if you don’t like the ones I have.
Manasi Sounds good, am up for it. Show me the blouse pieces at the earliest. I need the purses to take with me in 2 months.
Sumedha: Sure, I will send the pictures right away.
Manasi liked a few blouse pieces and gave the order of 6 purses. She took them to Germany with her and gifted them to her German friends who loved them a lot. After some time, she again asked Sumedha to stitch 6 more purses. This time Sumedha chose a different material and also made the purses a little bigger.
An idea struck her then. “Why not ask in friends and family about stitching these purses for gifting on festivals?”
She made a flyer about it and circulated it on social media and also in her contacts. It got a tremendous response, and the result was that she now had 40 purses to stitch before the festival season. She remembered Manasi’s first offer to give her bags, and she wanted to tell this good news to her.
Sumedha: I have something to tell you. Thank you very much!
Manasi: For what?
Sumedha: It all started with your inquiry of stitched sling bags. I hadn’t done it before, and the first time, I just sewed the blouse pieces I had and gave the purses to you. But when you asked again, I delved deeper into the subject, did proper research, procured different material and stitched different bags. I also asked around in the family, and I got a tremendous response.
Manasi: Wow! That’s so nice! It’s your hard work and perseverance, and I have done nothing. I am just happy to have supported you. I wish you a lot of good work and keep the good working going.
Sumedha: Thanks a lot. Your support means a lot to me.
Sumedha was slowly venturing into new territory and to make her presence reliable in the market, she also runs her own Facebook page, where you can see her creations and also get in touch with her directly if you would like to place an order for the same.
You can check out Sumedha's collection here:
How small things create big ripples!
How grit and passion and perseverance takes people to unimaginable heights!
By
Mrunalini Dabke
Karlsruhe, Germany
No comments:
Post a Comment