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“Indian marriages are a beautiful confluence of diverse cultures. My family is a perfect example of it. My father was an Engineer at PWD, and my mother’s roots lie in a royal family in Nepal. So, their diverse backgrounds with different interests are somehow the reason for who I am today.
Due to my father's constant job transfers, I grew up in different small towns. My mother is an artist. So, my childhood was filled with handmade accessories. Be it flowers, bracelets, bouquets - sab kuch handmade hota tha. Growing up, whenever I visited a village, I loved the atmosphere. The rural setup, vibrant nature and people’s lifestyle enchanted me.
During one such visit, one of my relative’s home felt like a craft museum because everything was hand-made. Unke fans, bedsheets, dress - sab kuch handcrafted tha. Even though it was a mud house, everything was displayed so beautifully that the memory is still fresh. And I grew up admiring creative works!
In college, I preferred participating in various creative works like painting, dance, creative writing, etc. Noticing it, my seniors suggested that I pursue ‘Design’. When I discussed it with my parents, they said, ‘No, no! There can’t be another Manish Malhotra.’ For them, Designing meant Manish Malhotra only. So, they pushed me to do an MBA.
I got selected at FMS BHU. But I was never interested in it. I still remember not submitting my documents till the last date.
My parents were furious, but I insisted on working and moved to Bangalore. I got a job at Infosys and simultaneously appeared and cleared NID (National Institute of Design). When my father saw NID, he was impressed! And that’s how my ‘Design’ journey began.
I interned and got a permanent job at a tile company. I realised that the tile company was only copying Italian designs. But I wasn’t trained to copy. I’m trained to design. So, I resigned and started designing my products. An artisan in Uttam Nagar, Delhi, helped me make them. And I got my first few corporate gifting orders through my dad’s connections. They loved my products.
I slowly started exhibiting my products and selling them online via a World Art Community marketplace. The marketplace also offered me the position of ‘Creative Head’. I curated for them for five years. However, the longing to work independently led me to resign and return to my studio pottery practice. I went on to exhibit my work at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Mumbai, in February 2020!
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During COVID-19, I got the idea of ‘Terracotta by Sachii’. I started it but was naive about the business approaches. I joined the various incubator programs at IIM Banglore, IIM Ahmedabad, and IIM Visakhapatnam to learn it. These incubator programs have proved to be a game changer in running my venture. To summarise, ‘Terracotta by Sachi’, I would like to say that our mission is two-way sustainability - Environmental and Artisan sustainability. And both are vital for the survival of our environment and creativity.
Delhi Stories is an emerging platform to feature inspirational, motivational, relatable and beautiful stories. Do you also have an interesting story like Sachii Tripathi?
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