Remember the summer vacations we used to spend at our grandparents’ houses as kids, the delicious desi food, the fresh air of villages & small towns, the carefree days, and the loving grandparents. What wonderful days they were. No matter where we go, some things, stay with us forever. And those who enjoyed a childhood full of Nani ke Hath Ka Khana and Dadi Ki Kahaniya are blessed.
Bachpan ki kahaniya has stayed with us for years now and yet is absolutely fresh, but our next generation might not have this luck. Our next generation is a generation of screens and AI.
With the loss of joint families, we are losing the magic of storytelling as well, Unfortunately, there was no way to save the essence of nani dadi ki kahaniya but lucky for us this couple has found a very unique way to preserve the Panchatantra & Jataka Tales for us and our coming generation with their clothing brand.
With This Clothing Brand, “Once Upon A Time” Is Resurrected
It’s interesting how belonging to a big family and hearing tales that have been told for generations can spark an idea for a business.
Krishna Siddhapura and her artistic husband Bhautik established Story Tailor, a cosy, eco-friendly clothing brand for kids that is hand-printed with images from the Jataka Tales and Panchtantra and all the stories our dadi nani used to share.
Krishna Siddhapura, an Ahmedabad-born instrumentation & controls engineering graduate, began working for Ingersoll Rand in 2008. She moved to Mumbai in 2014 after getting married and her husband Bhautik owned an advertising firm callled MomMadeCo. Life was as perfect as it could be.
Being A Mother Is A Full-Time Job
Krishna conceived and another beautiful page was added to her existing fairytale-like life. After having her son Dev, she didn’t want to go back to a corporate job where she had to put in 12–13 hours a day of work. She wanted to be a mother to her son for every minute of the day, to watch him develop and learn.
Since being a mother is a unique experience, I wanted to be present for every important moment of my son’s life. How could I compromise it for something so ordinary?
With time while growing up as a mother to her son, she observed the influence of Western trends and cartoon figures like Spiderman, Superman, and others on children’s clothing brands while shopping for Dev. The few Indian brands that were available had very traditional prints and patterns, and there weren’t many of them.
Both Bhautik and Krishna were raised in joint families. Living with their parents, grandparents, uncle, aunt, and their two kids for the majority of her formative years. She recalls how they would gather around the table after dinner to listen to our grandparents share morally uplifting tales.
Similar circumstances applied to Bhautik, and after their marriage, Krishna moved to Mumbai and started living with her in-laws, who included her mother and father-in-law, brother-in-law, and great-grandmother-in-law who was 98 years old.
Krishna shared with Mad4India that the couple came across major life-changing events in the history of our country and society from their grandparents & elders.
All of the brief stories about the partition, our families’ connections to history, and so much more were revealed by my grandma-in-law whenever we sat down with her to talk.
She was taking care of two children, one her own son and the other of her brother-in-law, and both mothers loved to dress their children in traditional attire for special occasions and get-togethers with family. Their mother-in-law used upcycled fabric to create them in the most unique ways.
A New Clothing Brand That Speaks In Stories
When the couple’s friends and family inquired about where they could purchase similar attire, it inspired them to create a clothing brand specifically for infants and toddlers. The couple decided to involve a very indian thing in their clothing brand’s designs – cloths that tell a story.
A graphic designer by profession, Bhautik created a print that tells the tale of the hare and the tortoise. The couple made the decision to leave Mumbai’s hectic pace and relocate to Vadodara when Dev was 2.5 years old in order to pursue their startup dream of a kid’s clothing Brand.
They started looking into different layouts of a hand-printed clothing brand. A few prints with a negative-positive pattern were produced by her husband. For instance, the fox is in the negative space, while the hare and tortoise are in the positive space to show the story of the hare & the tortoise.
Krishn’s husband acts as the umpire, according to her. He helped her establish a clothing brand that was Krishna’s brainchild.
They tried Block printing initially as a possibility for printing, but the intricate designs made it seem like screen designs would be preferable. This failed experiment resulted in huge financial loss but the couple decided to still move on with the new prosal without giving up on thier dream project.
Story Tailor & It’s Novel Way To Share a Story
In 2021, their clothing brand – Story Tailor debuted officially. With a unique storyline, the clothing brand focused on providing both casual and special occasion clothing for boys and girls and serves children between the ages of 0 and 8.
A child’s life is enriched by the various stories that are printed on the dresses. Along with each dress or outfit is a flip book that tells the tale in a written and illustrated way. This book is colourable so that the child not comes across the story but also enjoy it.
We produce accessories like hairbands, clutches, and masks because we have a zero-waste policy at our clothing Brand
First Cry, Nestery, Myntra, and their own website all sell the unique designs of this clothing brand. Designing, printing, and sewing are all done on-site for all clothing. Other then their online presence they also have an offline store too in Vadodara.
Story tailor’s online users return 23% of the time. In Vadodara, they have a popular physical studio where more designs are wanted, and they do provide customised services there as well.
They also participate in pop-up shops and exhibitions all over India to promote their products. The couple invested Rs 13 lakh in the company and submitted an application to IIM-NSRCEL B’s incubator programme for which the brand was selected.
For more traditional looks, they intend to incorporate more natural materials like raw silk and hosiery cotton. As the original storytellers, they are also excited to offer a line of coordinated clothing for grandparents. However, they will dress in more functional attire that has pockets and soft fabric, all of which have narrative prints on them.
They are also examining tales that have been painted on sarees, the speaker continues. They also intend to open a physical location where kids and adults can engage in “nostalgia” games, bring back old toys with a storytelling component, and host storytelling events.
Isn’t that the most iconic way to tell a story? Visit the story tailor’s website, Instagram page, and Facebook page to see what they have to offer. Please let us know in the comments section if you have any stories that could be printed.
If you loved reading this story, you can also check One Innovation At A Time! Meet The Couple Who Recycles 10000 Tonnes of Waste Every Month.
If you know more inspirational stories about a person, company, new idea, or social initiative, and want us to write it on mad4india.com, share such information with us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Excellent article. Keep posting such kind of info on your site. 87996792