Sujatha was all of nine years, when her mother introduced her to the world of embroidery. During the summer holidays her mother would teach her crochet and tatting (the process of making knotted lace with a small shuttle). Sujatha was soon hooked to sewing and embroidery. She continued the hobby as she grew up, stitching and embroidering clothes for friends.
The Challenges
Soon she started thinking of converting her passion into a full time business. She set up a small tailoring shop in her village, Addiganahalli, a locality in North Bangalore. She hired a small team to help her in stitching, hemming the seams and ironing the clothes. She established herself soon, with word of mouth of bringing in more customers. She knew she had to invest more in modernising her tailoring shop and to become a large garment making unit. Arranging for the working capital for a woman entrepreneur was not easy.
The Transformation
She approached Aye for a Shakti Loan, a product tailor made for women business owners with easy underwriting terms and attractive rates. Using the loan, she purchased interlocking and embroidery machines worth about ₹3 lakhs and hired more skilled workers for intricate hand embroidery.
The Impact
All this investments have paid off well for her. She caters to a burgeoning wedding market which is very lucrative. Now her shop offers everything from expensive fabrics to finished suits, ensuring that every design is beautifully complemented with accessories such as beads, buttons, and tassels, bringing the customers’ dreams to life with elegance and flair. Sujatha’s journey from a small tailoring shop to transforming it into a boutique is filled with grit, determination and hard work. She is one of the lucky people who could follow a passion as the final profession. She dreams of moving to a bigger place and employing more people. She is unfazed about changing fashion trends. “Quality and craftsmanship will never go out of trend", says the confident business woman.
