And so, Ramakrishnan launched the platform’s website last month, taking the business from selling on-ground and at a local level to the online space that also offers pan-India shipping. Earlier, sales were restricted to friends in Coimbatore where the women are based. Ramakrishnan would also haul a few items back to Bengaluru for her colleagues and friends. However, this move was not meant for commercial expansion.

Lakshmy Ramakrishnan

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This business is team-led where items are sold as they are made, ensuring an enjoyable creative process. Going digital also offered the creators — Valli Natarajan, Shyamala Selvaraj, Radha Ramakrishnan and Jayalakshmi — access to a new selling and sharing platform that would have otherwise been unavailable. Even their future plans are guided by an aim to build a sense of community, and to share handcrafted soaps, recycled furniture, bags, vases, embroidered and crocheted items and home décor with buyers across India.

Handmade soaps

Keeping an eye on sustainability, the founder shares, “We always make it a point to recycle and upcycle when it comes to packaging and making the products.” She tells us about her mother’s artistic inclination to upcycle and make something old into something new, practical and beautiful, adding, “Mom can make vases from anything including old lamps that you fix on the wall outside the house. Even used bottles have become the legs of a new table. So, whenever we see anything that can be used, we save it.” Trips to the carpenter for material and collecting packaging from other home-delivered parcels are the norm. 

Table made from upcycled bottles and wood

A few of these ‘mom-made’ items are currently on sale on the website. Made with time, joy and experience, Ramakrishnan notes how customers are always in awe of the quality of their products. This relaxed and knowledgeable process of creation also ensures each product is stamped with its creator’s style so every item is unique and made with care.

A lamp gets upcycled into a vase

Our top four picks

>> Organic soap bars: We’re all for natural beauty products. This one is beetroot-scented, and comes in a pack of three.
>> Travel jewellery organiser: This cost-effective organiser goes straight to our shopping cart; packing jewellery will no more be a DIY hack.
>> Tissue box: We love the painted wood textures on this tissue box that’s recycled from an old jewellery box.
>> Tray table: Made from old bottles and upcycled wood, this tray table will add a bold accent to any room.

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