What is HIIH all about ?
HIIH was born out of the love for craft. The varied materials and how they react and transform with an artisan’s hand is one of the most fascinating things that drive us each day. H2H is a company that believes with good design which blends functionality with design & attention to detail, every piece can lend a lot of character to the spaces it adorns.
Most of our designs are inhouse which we work with a multitude of artisans who specialize in their skill sets to craft them. We hope to someday touch every home with a product crafted by our artisans.
Looking back, what made you start this brand ?
While I practiced Interior design, clients would always look abroad to source for their accessories. Convincing them that craftsman in India could make products just as suited or well done was difficult. Indian accessories in those days was looked at as either very Indian in their aesthetics or the feeling was always that it wouldn’t be as well finished as a Chinese or an Italian product. The belief that our handcrafted products could have the same finish and can work for even the most modern homes drove us to start the H2H journey.
What/ who has been your inspiration and motivation behind this Entrepreneur journey ?
Back when I was working under Arch Shaukat Mukhi as an Interior designer, it was actually him who pushed me to step out on my own. He saw I was ready much before I did.
For H2H, it is the artisans that drive us every single day. Their love for their craft & hunger to be able to grow and create new products with us inspire & motivate us every single day. Clients, especially the enlightened ones who buy for the love of handmade, motivate us to test new mediums & methods with the varied materials.
Any challenges you would like to share with our readers as an Entrepreneur?
Understanding and being able to communicate your story to a customer is one of the most important part of an entrepreneur’s journey. Advice when you begin will come from all directions, being clear on what you expect from your brand and company will empower you to sift through all that and use only and only which would work for you. Most importantly, understanding and accepting that you cannot and will never be great in all aspects of running a business, hence hiring the right talent for those aspects.
We as entrepreneur’s sometimes tend to live in our bubble, but we learn very early in the journey we also need to look at our businesses from outside in apart from inside out.
What will be your message to all other women entrepreneurs?
As women some of us are extremely bad at numbers. Running a business is a passion yes but for you to ensure that the passion is fueled for a long duration, the business needs to sustain. Accounts are something most of us hate but that is one of the most important aspects that we need to grasp very early in the business.
We are inherently multi taskers and caretakers, this is our super power, use it well and the world is ours ! Adapting to an ever changing landscape, whether it is a jump from brick & mortar to e-commerce or even competitiveness needs to become a 2nd nature.
