Thank you for supporting our launch of SHAI!
What an incredible two weeks it's been since our launch on Wednesday, July 15th, 2020.
I want to thank each and every one of you for being so encouraging of our efforts to empower the talented South Asian creatives and artisans that we work with, and for supporting our vision to build a new culture that embraces our hybrid identities and reflects the values we stand for.
Aside from purchasing our products, which is a vote of confidence in SHAI that I am still wrapping my head around, so many of you have sent kind messages of support and encouragement, shared SHAI with your networks, offered advice, feedback, and introductions, and have lent a listening ear when I've needed to talk through challenges and insecurities that come with putting your heart out there for the world to see. I am grateful beyond what I can express in words and I promise to pay it forward.
Our Inshadycompany Bandhani caps have gotten a beautiful response. They are an authentic piece of South Asian heritage expressed in a modern medium, and this has really resonated with people.
The Bandhani fabric is hand-dyed in Gujarat, India, where this textile art form is heavily practiced, and the caps are hand-stitched in Mumbai. Sonia, the creative behind Inshadycompany, works with her team of artisans to make various accessories. For more contemporary silhouettes that are not commonly crafted by hand, it often takes several trials before the shape of the product is mastered and finalized. Sonia and the artisans were able to use a cap from cricket team uniforms as an example of what the end product should look like - just one example of the resourcefulness that is characteristic in India.
We sold out of our hats in two days and have received several restock inquiries. I am excited to say that Sonia and I are working on getting a second, larger batch of the hats made which will hopefully be available on our site at some point in September, pending any Covid-related delays. Thank you to all for your patience while we work on this - hand-crafted, small-batch products are subject to longer lead times and often sell out quickly. These hats are our little luxuries that reflect skilled handiwork and creative vision, and we are so happy to see others share that view. If you're interested in purchasing a cap, please do sign up for our e-mail list (scroll to the bottom of our website) as we are sending all restock updates there, and this way you will be notified the moment the hats are back up on our site.
In the meantime, we've got our Chanderi Sari Scrunchies and stunning collection of Parekh Bugbee scarves and shawls up on the site all in limited supply. We are working on sourcing additional, meaningful pieces that meet our three requirements: beauty, quality and creativity.
Finally, I'd love to hear if you'd like to see anything specific on our blog - do reach out to me on Instagram (@sanaahimani) or e-mail info@shaicollective.com with feedback.
Again, thank you all for sharing in our excitement as we build a business that serves the common good.
Lots of love,
Sanaa Himani
Founder
SHAI