Shwetpatram comes from the love for handicraft
Ruchita’s love for handicrafts led her to found her own business, with which she is able to speak up for a community made of Indian creatives and international students. Shwetpatram is in fact a woman-led and owned small business, whose founder was once an international student majoring in fashion based in the United States.
We decided to share Ruchita’s story and learn from her inspiring business, featuring precious works of handicraft art.
Ruchita’s work for AARJAVEE, an Indian fashion brand featuring clothes and jewelry
Who's behind Shwetpatram and what makes this brand so special?
SHWETPATRAM was the product of my love for stationery and Indian handicrafts. I am Ruchita Shah, a Fashion Designer from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (India) with a Masters in Fashion Merchandising and Retail Management from LIM College (NYC, USA). The aim of SHWETPATRAM was to create a space to explore and make everything mostly handmade. SHWETPATRAM is a brand where one will find well-designed products which are an amalgamation of tradition and function. We want to generate employment for artisans who create these crafts so beautifully and give them the recognition they deserve.
Visit us at www.shwetpatram.com
How did you find inspiration for Shwetpetram?
The inspiration was simple - handicrafts. I wanted SHWETPATRAM to be a place where I could explore anything and everything made using mostly hands. I also wanted to create products that had very hands-on use, hence, the journals. India is a country with a rich history of crafts. Each state is home to numerous crafts using various materials like fabric, dyeing techniques, printing techniques, woodwork, metalwork, etc. These crafts employ a huge number of artisans who are incredibly skilled at their job. As a fashion student, I instantly fell in love with the variety of textiles that my country has to offer. These textiles are what inspire SHWETPATRAM every day. Each time I come across an interesting textile is an inspiration for something new. I wish to explore more textiles not only from India but around the world.
Shwetpatram seems to combine design and Indian tradition so effortlessly. What's the legacy you're trying to build with your brand?
The aim of SHWETPATRAM is to introduce its customers to the world of handmade and the joy it can bring. Being handmade automatically adds value to a product. If SHWETPATRAM is able to inculcate admiration and respect for the craft and the artisans who work endlessly to create it, our work here is done. We have been very lucky to have customers who support and love our work and we strive to grow on this love.
You've experienced fashion as an international student in an American institution and later in the business. A lot of our readers are international students who love creativity and want to keep their creativity up while being far away from home. How was your experience in NYC and how have you been able to manage your creative work?
I came to New York City to attend LIM College for a Master's degree in Fashion Merchandising and Retail Management. To be very honest, I didn't know what to expect from NYC before I moved to the city. I didn't realize how big a deal it was. It took me a month or two to take it all in and there was no going back. When I moved to the States, SHWETPATRAM was still very much running back home. it was at its peak in fact. I had great support from my family who were generous enough to devote some time each week to the business and ensure a somewhat smooth running. The hard part was I could do new stuff with it. I tried my best to stay connected to my business and to do so I designed and launched my website. The website became the push I needed to keep generating new content and promotions which kept my creative juices running. I also started documenting my style of illustration through the pandemic. I tried illustrating at least a few in a week and documented them through a social media page.
Check it out here - www.instagram.com/tribe.atrangi
What's the personal connection you see between fashion and design?
Fashion to me is art and design is problem-solving. It is the designer who brings them both together to create something so different and so unique. To me, fashion is comfort and personal style. I don’t believe in seasonal trends and avoid indulging in fads. I like classics and love styling them differently. It’s amazing how little styling can make the same piece of clothing look completely different. I try to balance buying from fast fashion companies and homegrown indigenous labels.
