There is no dearth of talent in India. Some are born talented, always seem to know what they want to do in life, receive the best professional education and then branch out on their own. We always knew their work will be exemplary. Then there are those who take up a vocation for the most part and out of the blue stumble upon that hidden skill. What they then produce leaves the world spellbound. The charming lady at Madras Motif is from the latter group.
Sudha Sekhar took up the corporate route for a decade armed with the potent combination of a background in finance and an MBA from a reputed institute, much like the legions of youngsters in the country. The break too came like for scores of young married women, for the “eternal Indian reason”, as she puts it, of motherhood. Making good use of her free time, she started indulging in hobbies. Perhaps her Mom-in-law saw a streak of brilliance in her work early on; she gifted Sudha a sewing machine on her birthday. I can only imagine her disbelief, because she swears she didn’t have an inkling how to turn the thing on!
But the chain reaction had been set off – she picked up every bit of sewing herself, did loads of experiments, learnt what worked what did not, posted her amateur work on social media, got tremendously encouraged, honed her work further and today Madras Motif is a 2,600 strong community on Facebook, all of it grown organically. Beat that!
Totes, shoulder bags, cross-body bags, wallets – you name it and she conjures it! Her bags are for the bold, independent Indian women. The name of her brand itself suggests she ‘unapologetically’ takes inspiration from the bountiful Indian tradition and culture. She individually designs each bag and the end products are results of laborious handcraft. She has a knack for picking the most colourful and stunning fabric. She further adds:
“Allowing the fabrics to speak out, adding a touch of my quirky soul, I try to breath a tinge of madness into each of my creations.”
Some operational information useful while purchasing from her: She ships worldwide. Yes, her bags have fans all over the globe! Shipping charges are usually borne by the customers unless she is running a free shipping offer or if the purchases are more than INR 5000. She uses mostly fabric and leather on rare occasions. While buyers are free to customize their bags from scratch, they usually prefer to trust Sudha’s design aesthetic, specifying only their most important/basic requirements. If you are in Chennai (or the good old Madras, also my place of birth), do watch out for her stall in art and handicraft exhibitions. Sudha – may I request you to come to Mumbai as well! (Yeah – I’m based in Mumbai, for now at least!)
If the lady had not told me personally I would have never believed that these gorgeous bags come from someone who didn’t know how to turn on a sewing machine!
I like to buy Laptop bag. Pls can you send few designs and price.