While travelling to a rainforest on a holiday, 36-year-old Shilpi Sharma could not find any appropriate baby wear for her then one year old. She was looking for something that acted as a protective layer without compromising comfort. This is when she roped in her now business partner Satyabhama N, and started The Indie Project Store in October 2016. The Hyderabad-based venture with its curated and handpicked essentials for babies, sources fabrics only from local weavers and suppliers from Rajasthan, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
This indie store is amongst the pioneers to start using locally sourced and manufactured, traditional fabrics like Ikkat , kalamkari, mangalgiri, khadi, handloom cotton, hand block prints and mul cotton for children's wardrobe. .”Our USP for the brand is its contemporary take on kids wear using traditional Indian fabrics,” says Shilpi, one of the founders. While they don’t exactly have a signature print or a style, their contemporary ikkat designs in overalls and pinafores along with quirky hand block prints are definitely top sellers. “I guess parents love the funky approach to the age-old art of handloom and hand block prints on cute little outfits,” adds Shilpi.
While in the past Indie Project store has tied up with celebrity mums, social media influencers and photographers from the city like Priya Thalur Balaji, Nikita Vijay (Murali Vijay’s wife), Lavanya Mohan and Aarabi Veeraraghavan, they recently tied up with few others for a special summer project called Shades of Summer- Mom and Me special. For this collaboration, she tied up with Prithi Ashwin (cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin's wife), photographer Amrita Samant and social media influencer Madhumitha Ramachandran - three of whom played a crucial role in the development of the line. The project named Shades of Summer - Mom and Me special has a collection of clothes where mum and child both wear coordinated outfits. “A major part of our success is because of how forthcoming the people here are to ideas,” says Shilpi adding that the crowd is culturally rooted and comprises a supportive group of women.
“Each design was developed to ensure outfits are practical, wearable and can be used for any occasion and body type.” Shilpi felt that apart from the fun element, being in matching outfits with your kid who resembled a tiny human version of you was a reminder of a sweet mum and child moment. They have products like the Haathi Saathi dress, Norma Jeane dress, a desi chambray dress and a Happy Plum jumpsuit for girls. For boys (if you thought they didn’t have options, you’re mistaken!) they have the Kite Runner kurta, the Summer Time Blues set and the Plaid Jane overalls. While the kids have these options, moms can choose from a plaid dress, a kimono, a flared pant, button down shirt or a crop jacket.
The Indie Project store is working on something special that involves literary characters, symbols, prints and animals. Apart from that, they are also looking to collaborate with more people and explore the idea of retailing through physical stores around the globe.
Available online. From 700 to 1800.