Green Inspirations

By JF on Sunday, May 16, 2010 - 23:06

Usha Sathish Mudukotore is a Bangalore based designer with a green DNA in her business, SriaNvi-ecofriendly lifestyles. She creates home furnishings using natural fibres such as banana fibre, aromatic vetiver, korai, hibiscus, linen, ahimsa silk, jute, bamboo, cane, wood, etc. What’s more, she ensures that the harvest is sustainable and ecologically-appropriate. These organic fabrics are woven exclusively by rural women, facilitating their economic growth. She claims she can breathe inspirations into your homes and offices with her green products. Usha tells JF what inspires her.

What was the inspiration behind this venture?

Dreaming to be an atypical entrepreneur and the passion to live that dream has been a real inspiration! I am very patriotic and my devotion to my country made me think of a line, which would showcase the talent of rural India, which is flourishing with natural resources. My idea was to channelise these resources in the right way. So was born ‘SriaNvi-ecofriendly lifestyles’, which helps bring inspiration to life.

What was the biggest hurdle when you started off?

Building the business from scratch without a sound capital investment was a huge challenge. Another hurdle was to change the mindset of the weavers to create new designs and encourage them towards modernism. In addition, we had to reiterate to them the enormous strength and potential of their art and how it can be used as a tool to not only improve their financial well-being, but also to contribute to develop the economy as a whole.

Where do you see yourself / your venture in 10 years?

The vision is to expand and broaden the base of our operations. We would like to service clients across the globe. I would also like to focus on brand penetration and make SriaNvi a synonym for ‘natural living and green design’.

BLINDS MADE OF BANANA FIBRE

What will be you biggest challenge going forward?

Looking forward, I would say that the biggest challenge is in building a mature and competent team that understands and has the knowledge to implement a green living. I also feel that although there is a green buzz, we need to make a sincere effort to make people understand and adopt more environment-friendly lifestyles.

Who or what has been your biggest support?

My biggest support is the group of people around me in my day-to-day life — family, few friends and well wishers, who stood by me at the outset of this venture and have been an invaluable source of encouragement and support.

What do you tell yourself when the going gets tough?

Take a break… take time to think fresh! And change the course if you need to achieve your goal.

What would be your one piece of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?

Find happiness in whatever you do. Dream big and pursue your dreams with passion. Let the fire in your belly help you stand by your convictions. Don’t let any setbacks extinguish that fire.

For more information go to http://srianvi.com/