To live one’s passion and fight the odds is not an easy task, especially when you have to wrestle your inner circumstances. The feeling of giving up, fear of failure and a zest to start afresh constitutes the inner fight. Mahima Shekhawat, a Jaipur based designer, has a similar story to narrate.

Childhood.

I always wanted to be the best child in my family. Inspite of belonging to a Rajput family and living under certain strict rituals, my father never let all that hamper the kids’ growth. We went to the best schools and were encouraged to take up suitable career.

First exposure.

After my marriage, I fell into wrong jobs that didn’t give me any kind of happiness. Even the salaries didn’t satisfy me. I looked for a job which could enrich my career along with boosting my family’s income.

Digging out the interest.

Thinking about what you like the most and then working on it, is one of the toughest jobs. I quit everything and thought about what I really wanted to do in my life. I realized how much I loved fashion and enjoyed designing my own clothes. I could think of every compliment people showered upon me when they said: ‘Mahima, you design such splendid clothes for yourself, do something similar for us’.

Mahima Shekhawat at her tailoring unit

 First step.

I hired a tailor and gave him a little space in the house where he could stitch my designs. I formed a page on Facebook with the name ‘Inblue Fashions’ and started putting my designs on it. My 22 yr old niece became my model. I began with taking orders of my neighbors, relatives and close friends who long wanted to wear my creations.

Obstacles.

When I started getting more orders, I decided to rent a small area to set up a boutique. But my husband wasn’t very sure about it. He was afraid what if the business would fail. May be he wasn’t aware of my caliber. (laughs)

Managing finances was one difficulty, I guess every entrepreneur faces. Thankfully, my husband and father-in-law always supported me and never let my business go down in its initial phase.

Another problem that I faced was managing home while establishing the new business. I have got 2 kids and the younger one was very small when I started with my 1^st boutique. My husband gets the credit to support me at home-front so that I could give my best in the still-growing business.

Mission.

The middle-class was and is my target. Through my work, I want people to get away with the myth that designer-wear is very expensive and can be worn once in a while. My creations are not only out of the box, but also very pocket friendly for people who don’t want to spend chunks on couture on every occasion.

Future plan.

I am getting an excellent response. The word of mouth has done wonders for me. I am glad people trust and like my work. I dream of having 5 more stores in Jaipur covering all the major colonies. For now, I am looking for talented manpower who shares same passion.

Mahima Shekhawat can be contacted here.

Photographer – Shashank K Tyagi.