Dear Aalayam Family!
Thank you for your
overwhelming responses to the Varnanggall brand showcase and Aalayam Giveaway.
We are touched, humbled and pleased at the show of support from our Aalayam
family and supporters, of this vivid celebration of an artist and her brand!
Lavanyaa extends her warm regards and deep gratitude – your enthusiastic
participation through this collaborative platform has taken both Varnanggall
and Aalayam to the next level of audience engagement !
There are moments of
reckoning when you know that what you do with your time, is making an impact…a
positive difference in people’s lives, and we believe that
through Varnanggall and Aalayam, we indeed are..if just scratching the surface.
So Thank You! Once again for validating that realization!
Today, as promised we
bring to you the exclusive interview with Lavanyaa, the exponent of creative expression, the force behind Varnanggall. Lavanyaa speaks
lovingly about her passions, her dreams (plus her favorite foods and outfits!)
and of course, about her inspiration
behind creating and sustaining the brand that is steadily making its way into
people’s hearts, minds and homes!
The entire interview is
peppered with candid and colorful shots from Lavanyaa and Guru’s snug and
intimate home in the UK. If your home speaks to who you really are, I sincerely
believe, that Lavanyaa’s home speaks volumes! It is an apt reflection of her
fun, quirky and eclectic persona. It blends the warm and mellow, superbly with
the exotic and bohemian! Just like Varnanggall…
So sit back and get
ready to meet and perceive Lavanyaa!
Supriya (S): Lavanyaa, congratulations. Varnanggall
is 1 year old!! We all love the vibrant and verdant punctuation Varnanggall
makes in our lives. And we want to pick your brain to know more about it! First
of all, why the name Varnanggall?? How does it speak to the essence of the
brand?
Lavanyaa(L): Thank You Supriya
J!
Varnanggall is blessed to have people like you who add so much sparkle to its
sheer existence. Varnanggall is a tamil word for “Colours”. It’s about an
artist’s dream and vision to paint the world with her
colours, feel the cheerfulness and find contentment through it!
S: Where do you derive your daily inspiration for
designing individual pieces? Is it your travels? The creative recesses of your
mind? Or does it just come from the heart?
L: Classical art has always
been an integral part of my life ever since childhood, whenever I think of
colours I think of Bharathnatyam and the South Indian Temples. I get inspired
by the mandapams, the pillars, the gopurams and the amount of intricately
carved stones on them which depict deities, dancers, flowers and geometrical
shapes. Thanks to my extensive travels to some of the most distinctive and
promising temples of South India, that are rich in the legacy of carvings and
culture...Hampi, Tanjore, Belur Halebidu, Chidambaram, Badami Aihole....
They surely have fetched me great inputs to work on my creations. I also
research through a legion of books and my recent discovery was about Indian
ancient civilizations and the South Indian Royal Kingdoms. End of the day I do
use my creative mind and heart to compile all these and mould them into a
Varnanggall creation.
S: How do you speak to your demographic (buyers and
aspiring buyers) ? How do you translate their needs into a Varnanggall style statement?
L: The ever emerging
technology is definitely a boon for online fashion retailers like me – it helps
me leverage the social media as a marketing channel and collaborate with my
customers via emails, phone calls, skype etc!. It’s all about understanding the
client’s needs, being transparent, honest and being informal, and once you are
on it it’s really an easy affair. It’s a
great feeling to enhance every woman’s latent beauty and demureness and that’s
why I always aim at creating something that blends into their personality and
fashion sensibilities. I also insist on maintaining the forte of Varnanggall,
so that the creation does carry the essence of the brand and is in complete
sync with it.
In the due
process I find myself lucky enough to have built a network of gorgeous people
who have become an integral part of my Varnanggall journey.
S: Where do you source your material from? Can you
talk to us a little bit about your creative assembly process (design through to
delivery)?
L: I’m still learning through
the textile business and each day I end up exploring new things that aid my
creative process and create avenues for further business development. Though I
initially ventured into the local markets of Bangalore city it lacked the
authenticity! And that’s when I started travelling to discover new places to
work closely with the Cooperative Societies, Weavers, Artists to fetch the
authentic and for real gorgeous fabrics. Once I have my fabrics stacked up, the
next step is the design/sketch or sometimes I just go by my gut feeling by
having all the fabrics right in front of my eyes. So by now there is a
structure to the creation I’m looking at, the next step is to work alongside
with my seamstress on the specifications and patterns. Once the creation has
gotten into the desired shape, the next big phase is the Quality Assurance, where errors if any are rectified, and then shipped to destination of the
customer.
S: What are you most excited about Varnannggal plans for 2014 and
beyond?
L: We are reaching the fag end
of the year and it’s time to celebrate the holiday season, it’s been a very
challenging and thriving year for Varnanggall.
Couple of interesting avenues and plans in the pipeline:
v Varnanggall
is going to build an exclusive website to allow more demographic buyers access
Varnanggall from any country in the world irrespective of their existence on social
media.
v Varnanggall
is going to introduce a line of Western wear.
v Varnanggall
is going to conduct Transformational Art and Design workshops to the artists
that it’s currently working with – a workshop to educate and explore the
opportunities to blend the traditional art with modern art.
v In order
to build the labour, Varnanggall is working towards setting up an all women
community in the rural areas of South India.
v Varnanggall
is working with some of the big brands on their massive orders.
v Varnanggall is going to participate in some of the
notable art exhibition(s) soon
S: What have been the highlights and lowlights of
the last one year!?
L: There haven’t been any lowlights as such, but there were challenges that were taken more positively to
move forward in my journey. I clearly witnessed sense of endless possibilities
and how people embraced Varnanggall which in turn brought into the existence of
life time customers and like-minded souls!
Working with the unsung heroes
of Kalamkari, Lambani, Ilkal and the weavers of Andhra Pradesh surely takes the
limelight this year. There is sense of solitude without these precious people;
now they have become a part of my family and so have they accepted me into
theirs! J
S: Has Varnannggal changed your everyday style
- at home and at play?
L: It definitely has and the
biggest thing I get in the bargain is the time for myself – it’s given me a
meaningful composure and depth to what I do every day and to weed out all the
negative energy that can easily surround you in this industry.
S: We know that you are an
engineer by trade, and worked in the field of IT Consulting. How have you
reconciled the two - profession and passion? Given that they are so far removed
from each other?
L: From the period of being a kid I was very passionate
about Indian art - bright colours, patterns and shapes, but in the due course
like most of the others I did get subjected to various academic pressures and
life styles where I had to gradually park aside the real passion and interests
in me. Before I let it slip between the cracks it was time for me to act on!
Well it took me 25 long years to recapitulate the real craving and the capping
satisfaction in my life, and that’s when I found my true calling – “Varnanggall”
to put my overriding obsession and energy into viable products and spread this
visual art to a bigger community.
I think the toughest decision for me was
to quit my IBM job. Beyond a point it was just impossible for me balance my primary
job and Varnanggall. Due to the time constraints, I and my seamstress had to
spend sleepless nights over the weekends. I did give it a year to study my
market alongside the IBM job and eventually quit IBM. You know, think about getting a handful of
money in an air conditioned environment to a situation where you don’t know if
you are going to make any money at all and furthermore keep hunting for fabrics
in areas which you have never been to even in your wildest dreams! The savings
that I accumulated in the last year of my IBM job were the angelic investors,
as it was a start-up I invested just enough money (neither underfunded nor
overfunded) to turn realistic ideas into products and run a scalable business
model.
I still hold my engineering degree/certificate/experiences
and could go back to the IT profession anytime, but my passion for art has
definitely superseded it. I feel end of the day it’s all about taking that leap
of faith to reach your goal. Thanks to my experiences/exposures at IBM for
teaching me how to be on my own feet and inducing the professional character.
S: Between your travels,
exhibitions and managing a vibrant brand, how do you maintain a work-life
balance ? Most of us here at Aalayam are juggling our passions with hamster
wheel of everyday life, so we’d love to hear from you!
L: Thanks
to a gorgeous support system called as “ Family”! My husband, in laws , parents
and sister who have always been supportive in every venture and step of
Varnanggall. They are my primary motivation to function every day and nurture
me through their profound love. Having said that, I do make an effort to spend
qualitative time whenever I get to in spite of unevenness in my schedules OR
even better I have them accompany me in my travels so that they get to explore and
witness what I do J
You know it’s
all about finding exciting and creative ways to spend that extra bit with your
family!
S: What does being a self made entrepreneur mean to
you ? What challenges should the novice creative entrepreneur anticipate?
L: A self made entrepreneur is
someone who turns his/her passion into a business, someone who invests in
himself/herself and creates a competitive advantage, dreams big, has vision,
stays focused on the goals/objectives, someone who can dirty his/her hands and someone
who can see things beyond their nose and stay grounded.
You need to have good amount
of determination, persistence and a winning attitude until your venture finds
its feet. You definitely have to be strong , follow your heart and be
surrounded by loads and loads of positive energy, some people will love to pull
you down and show disrespect to what you do because you are extremely talented,
but hey!, do not worry, there are good people too who will admire your work and
support every move of you J
..and lastly your business has
to create distinctive products that bring in the shine and metamorphosis in
people, otherwise it’s pointless!
S: Among the current crop of
Indian celebrities, whose fashion sense do you admire the most?
L: I
strongly idolise these real women with timeless styles - Shabana Azmi,
Arundhathi Nag, Nanditha Das, Shobha De, Shobhana and Konakana Sen
S: ....and finally, let’s have
some fun! We would like our readers to know who Lavanyaa really is, so here
goes!
a) You would love a ticket to - Prague, Czech Republic
b) Your favorite holiday destination is – Sorrento, Italy
c) Your idea of date night is - I love to be pampered J J, so obviously flowers, champagne, gifts,
cook together our favourite meal and unwind in our couch with a bunch of throws
and pillows around J
d) Your favorite comfort food is – Chinese in all my good and bad times J
e) If given a chance to change one thing
about the world you would – I
would have one race, one colour, one religion, one language and one ethnicity!
f) If you could choose one power you would choose – I would choose the power to close
the Pandora box!
g) You wish you had invented the – “flying carpet” that is cost effective and travels at
100 miles/sec (fairy tale right?) J To avoid considerable amount of air fare to
travel from London to Bangalore!!
h) Your favorite color - Blue
i) Your favorite place in the whole world – Banks of Cauvery. She is just so gorgeous; I find
solace and peace watching her ripple!
j) And your favorite outfit to wear to that place! – Kurtha, choodi pyjama and kolhapuri
chappal
Thank you Lavanyaa..You have let us into your home...you have shared your heartfelt desires, passions and dreams with us. You have given us your gorgeous brain-child Varnanggall. You have truly inspired us. More power to you!
And to me, you have been a friend, a confidante and an immeasurable source of strength. Thank you....
Love,
Supriya
Stay tuned to find out if you are the lucky winner of the awesome contest we are hosting in collaboration with Lavanyaa,
The Colorful Aalayam Giveaway!!
Coming up in the next post!!
