Boutique of the month – May!

This month's boutique of the month is the MEGHA ASHER DESIGN STUDIO, by Megha Asher, who is based out of Coimbatore. She has won a lot of hearts with her stylish and trendy boutique. Be it clothing, jewellery or accessories, she gives her customers the best and unique collections! Let's hear a lot more about her design studio from her. I had just recently married my high school sweetheart and had shifted from Mumbai to Coimbatore. Considering it was a huge shift, I was always anxious about work, career and basically fitting in. Being a Criminologist and Journalist by profession, I was constantly working on research papers and articles here and there, but it never seemed enough to keep me fully occupied. I distinctly remember about a month into my marriage, I started accompanying my husband, Pritesh to work with him in his family business. Being a creative person I was not enjoying the work at all and he suggested I should go back to designing and styling (While working at The Times of India, Pune, I did a few style shoots and designing for Femina, Pune). Megha Asher Design Studio truly was born out of a casual five minute conversation between my mother and my husband. My mother, who is my mentor, my role model and my creative partner jumped at the idea of starting a Design Studio the minute my husband suggested it. The idea of starting a Design Studio was scary at first, but the confidence my mother and husband shared, along with encouragement from my mother in law, got me thinking and within two months I did my first exhibition with the Craft Council and it was a huge hit. The first year of the business was primarily spent in understanding client needs, and doing exhibitions. I started with designing exclusive high end Western wear clothing, as there was clearly a dearth for good designer wear tops in the city. Chiffons, silks, georgettes and crepe blouses and dresses soon starting making its way into the wardrobes women in the city, and the fact that they were all single pieces made each piece exclusive and demanding. However, I did not want to cater only to one segment of the industry, so within six months I started concentrating on designer daily wear clothing and high end Indian couture, which was primarily my mother's forte. She handles the workshop in Mumbai and overlooks both the tailoring and embroidery units. Once again the clothing was very well received in the city and soon we started exhibiting in cities around Coimbatore, such as Cochin, Bangalore and Chennai. The fact that we concentrated on single pieces worked really well in a small city like Coimbatore as social circles were common and limited. This concept was great at home, but in exhibitions out of town, buyers always wanted a greater range of products so stocking became a bit of a problem. At this point Pritesh suggested we go for complete shopping solutions, which would include Footwear, Handbags and Clutches and Jewellery. Around this time, the studio was a year old. We tried it and it worked out fantastically, but it was difficult to manage so many products so we limited it to Clothing, Jewellery and Clutches. The jewellery line was officially launched 3 years back, and we catered to all age groups. Clutches were a huge hit as they were made out of pure brocades in classic looks without any bling, contrary to what was available in markets all around. They worked really well for gifting options as well. Jewellery Designing was never my strength but seeing the splash of colors, my passion for creating something unique and beautiful gave way to what I call our statement pieces. Strands of pearls, colored stones, and kundan worked in hundreds of different ways, with hand crafted pieces, gave birth to exclusive designer pieces. The response was tremendous and beyond my imagination. I now have clients who would purchase a statement piece and would like a sari or outfit designed around the piece. While, not all would choose to pick high end pieces as far as jewellery is concerned we keep a small range of 1gm gold plated jewellery and jhumkas as well. The jewellery segment received a great response online as well, as it was a considerably lesser risk product to purchase than clothing. Once a client ordered and was happy with the product and service, there was no looking back. The world of online shopping opened doors for the studio to cater to global markets. What seemed like a dream is a reality today. We started sending clothes and jewellery to clients in USA, Australia, Singapore, Dubai and Germany. Not only was it a fantastic feeling but a huge encouragement to outdo ourselves with each new product we make. Today, Megha Asher Designs is a clothing and jewellery brand that creates a range of office wear, evening wear, indo-western tunics, designer blouses, saris, salwars and lehengas. A passion to create effortlessly chic clothing for women of all ages, it connotes a free-spirited attitude toward fashion, with personalised exclusive looks for women who appreciate style. We also create ensembles for clients looking for a complete look wardrobe makeover. Exotic jewellery accentuates the look and we customise the jewels to match the client's budget and choice. The boutique will complete 3 years this July. I started designing 4 years back, and launched the boutique officially on 30th July, 2010 on my mother's birthday. I now have a steady clientele both online and in the city. While I am the face of Megha Asher Designs, the team consists of my mother Jayshree, who is the Creative Partner and my husband Pritesh is the financial advisor. I travel every couple of months to Mumbai to get new stock ready. For us quality and service go hand in hand, and maintaining long term relationships with our buyers is what is helping us sustain in this cut throat competitive market. As each day passes by, I keep telling myself,  I have miles to go before I sleep. I have miles to go before I sleep, by Robert Frost. FB LINK :https://www.facebook.com/MeghaAsherDesigns