Rashi Bajaj - An Ex-Infoscion Who Revived And Created a Rs.7 Crore Carpet Industry In A Small Town.

Rashi Bajaj was three months old when her parents got her to the small town of Bhadohi in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, after her birth in Kolkata; the town had no infrastructure to speak of, no roads nor electricity. Her parents had moved to Bhadohi to set up a small business where they could manufacture and export hand-knotted carpets. Since there were no good schools there either, she was packed of to a boarding school at the tender age of eight.

Rashi shares “I left for my boarding school in 1993 and spent all my schooling, graduation and post graduation years in various cities across the country. After my M.B.A, I moved to Hyderabad to work for Infosys and during one of my trips to Bhadohi, my father shared that the the once flourishing carpet industry had taken a huge hit as the younger generation of skilled laborers did not wish to stay in a rural area or become weavers like their parents. Most of them migrated to bigger cities and took up odd jobs there. With China rising as a competition and the European economy weakening, business in Bhadohi was becoming very difficult”.

In 2009, Rashi got married & moved to Delhi. She says “This was also a time when my entrepreneur husband got to know more about the Indian carpet industry because of his frequent visits to Bhadohi. While I was still thinking of taking up a corporate job after moving to Delhi from Hyderabad, he envisioned launching a carpet brand which was born in India but would be known across the world. He was convinced that in today’s era of fast food, machine made things, augmented reality etc., a hand-woven carpet, made painstakingly knot by knot, would definitely be something of a novelty. We decided to get into the business of hand knotted carpets and thus was born ‘Carpet Couture’ - an Indian brand of luxury carpets & rugs”.

Working With Artisans.

Rashi says that initially it was quite difficult to interact with the weavers at the factory level. She shares “While in Delhi I had to interact with clients, which was not an issue at all. In fact something very interesting that I experienced was whenever I worked with a female client, they were very supportive of my work. Most of them always mentioned how refreshing it was to see a female selling carpets! However in Bhadohi, at the factory, the weavers were not used to listening to a female at all and initially, I faced some resistance from them but eventually they did get used to it and now whenever I visit the factory they are very comfortable around me”. Rashi paid the artisans more than double the regular wages to help survive this dying art and to encourage them to continue weaving magic.

Challenges And Rewards/Awards.

Rashi opines “Handmade carpet industry in India is full of challenges. Availability of good quality raw material is difficult. This is where we really lose out especially in the international market where we compete mainly with China. They have excellent raw material availability coupled with skilled labour and advanced machinery and hence have the ability to come out with a product that is excellent in quality at only a slightly higher price. Also in India, there are no formal training schools / centers or skill enhancing opportunities for weavers, tufters, spinners or other skills that are required to make a good quality carpet. With all these challenges we are trying our level best to improve quality as much as possible with the available resources and even trying to put processes in place. Today I am proud to say that our carpets adorn the floors of many houses, villas, private jets/yachts and five star hotels across the world like Taj Vivanta, Amritsar, Mariott- Jaisalmer, Conrad Bengaluru & many prestigious hotels in Middle East and we are clocking Rs.7 crores annually. In this journey of 7 years, Carpet Couture has won several awards both in India & abroad. Rashi won the Stevie Award in New York for “Young Women Entrepreneur” twice - in 2013 and 2014; “Enterprising Women of the Year” award by The Enterprising Women Foundation, Cary, NC in 2015, and in 2016, she got the "Prashashti Samman” National Award for Excellence as an Emerging Entrepreneur.

Inspirations

Rashi says “For me inspiration comes in many ways. When I travelled outside the country and saw how carpets & rugs made by Indian artisans were adorning the floors of the most prestigious buildings of the world, I was inspired to take this legacy forward and desired to take these to each and every country on this planet. My everyday inspiration comes from countless women who multi-task and manage so many things like home, children, family, social obligations and their jobs so well. I am so inspired & encouraged by the women of today who just do not give up”. For design inspiration, Rashi likes to base them on things that surround us like nature or the colours of nature. Even monuments, ruins and antiques have inspired her collections. She adds “One of my collections is studded with Swarovski crystals and the inspiration comes from the night sky.”.

Future Plans.

Rashi says of her future plans “I want the carpets & rugs from Carpet Couture to be in every nook & corner of the world. I also want to come up with new & improved yarns, new weaving techniques and new design concepts. This requires a lot of R&D and doing this along with regular business is a huge challenge but that is surely on my wish list and agenda”.

Advice To Budding Entrepreneurs.

Rashi has learnt over the years that one should know each and every aspect of one’s business. She elaborates “As a business owner you have to understand & execute everything from production, packaging, marketing , client servicing, feedback, advertising, employee management, accounts, finance & HR. Even if you hire the best talent from the industry, the first step has to be taken by you. You have to make the first sale, you have to handle the first customer complaint, you have to decide and execute the first marketing campaign & you have to handle the first and many employee grievances on your own. A business owner can never say “That’s not my job”!

Images Courtesy : Rashi Bajaj and Carpet Couture.