Srinagar, July 30: To revive crochet and knitting, two girls from Srinagar have launched their online store to carry on the old tradition.
Omaira and Benish launched “Craft World Kashmir” – an online store of crochet slippers, bags, costumes, keychains, knitted winter wear, crochet elastics, wall hangings and bridal sets.
They started this online store using Facebook and Instagram pages and their business is growing every day.
“We are reviving the ancient tradition of knitted garments and crocheted products. We give our traditional knitted and crocheted products a modern twist. Our customers come from all over the world. They love our products,” they said.
Currently, they have 16 employees working with them.
“Fortunately, we didn’t need to invest heavily in our new business at the start. With the help of our supporters, we simply posted our creative designs of traditional crochet or Koeraishi products on our online pages,” Omaira said.
After receiving a good response from online media, the talented pair started receiving orders from different places across India.
“We have received orders from Bangalore, Delhi, Jammu, Mumbai and other states and countries. We managed a good network of clients within months of starting my business while only working part-time,” the duo said.
After passing the Post-Diploma in Sociology from IGNOU. The two friends worked at a private school for a while.
Not so happy with the job, the couple turned their “Art and Craft” hobby into a successful business.
They order raw materials from outside because they have trouble getting the colors and materials here as needed.
“We were worried about the material. At first, I was very nervous and thought my customers would disappear after the first purchase,” Beenish said.
The duo created different unique and traditional designs and reached as many people as possible at an affordable price.
“We treat our customers with respect and make it easy for them to order the product. We use quality materials. Our products are very creative and unique,” Omaira said.
They first knit wool or another material using a special needle or a technique called Crochet.
But now they have added handmade crochet jewelry which is the trendiest in Kashmir.
“These jewels are mostly seen in Pakistan. For the first time, we have introduced such floral jewelry designs for brides here and we are getting strong response and orders,” she said.
Previously, knitted and crocheted models were mostly present in every home. Women used to knit different clothes and other useful things. But, thanks to the efforts of these young ladies, crochet design has made a comeback in Kashmir with unique and creative designs.
Both girls learned the beautiful traditional art from Youtube. They work together to design the products and then distribute their work.
“Youtube and the Internet have helped us. We learned most of the designs from Youtube, but we add more creativity to increase the aesthetics of our products, Beenish said.
