Yes, MIRCHI KOMACHI will turn two on 22 September!
It’s NOT like MIRCHI KOMACHI has survived for two years. MIRCHI KOMACHI still lives on my savings, to be brutally honest. So it’s still not a proper “business” which feeds even a single person.
Yet, I could NEVER continue walking for two years without your support.
I am grateful from the bottom of my heart to:
- The people who bought our clothes and happily wear them, spreading the word
- The people who encourage me daily on chats, SNS, emails
- The people who spare their talent and precious time on shooting with us
- The tailors and the printer who’ve been cooperating with us despite our small lots and my poor Hindi
- My guy who helps me in every way and celebrates every tiny step of MIRCHI KOMACHI like his own victory
MIRCHI KOMACHI’s Progress In Its Second Year
Apart from some invisible progress, these are the visible ones:
- New items - Parka, Trench Coat, Jumpsuit
- Started “Men’s”
- Started block printing as the first incorporation of Indian traditional handicrafts
- Started working with models again (after the dark ages with myself as the model!)
- Participated in an event outside Mumbai
- Started working with two multi-brand online platforms
The list is not grand, but I’m proud of it.
How’s It Really Going Behind MIRCHI KOMACHI?
Last week I was talking with one of the fabric merchants I got acquainted with.
He asked, “what’s the scale of your sales, actually?”
I told him, “sometimes XX, sometimes YY”.
He goes, “daily?” I say “per month”.
He goes “XX lakhs?” I say “XX pieces”. His jaw dropped.
The theme of the current cover photos of our website is “Evolution”. We shot the story “from a fishbowl to a pond, finally to an ocean”.
We’re still in a fishbowl now, dreaming of the ocean.
If I say “I’m not trying to get a huge win, to become viral”, I’d be lying.
And I have a huge doubt that what my marketing is completely wrong and ineffective, that the brand should grow faster if it’s run properly.
But I try not to compare with other brands, and I search every day for the right and effective things to do. Please guide me if you can suggest anything.
Once in a blue moon, I rant about my self-doubts.
But after that, I remember how I’m blessed to do what I want to challenge.
Thankfully my parents are well, thankfully my guy is supporting me, there’s hardly any objects on my way. Too blessed.
I’m living my life with full responsibility in myself.
My life is full of failures because I didn’t stop doing things for fear of failure.
My life is messy but it’s like patchwork and that’s me.
Our Missions, Our Vision
I need to mention this again.
We have two missions as a brand:
- To incorporate fabrics with Indian traditional weaves and handicrafts to untraditional daily wear, and create Indian unique street style which can be seen nowhere else on the globe
- To help Indian women to design their life as they like
Both not by MIRCHI KOMACHI alone, but we want to be a strong part of the movements.
Though we have hardly done anything for above, I always have them in my mind. I WILL DO these. Making/selling clothes is not our purpose, it's one of the contents.
The vision of MIRCHI KOMACHI is the future where Indian 'female street pirates' proudly swagger in the streets and through life. The women - regardless of physical sex - we call 'female street pirates' are the women who enjoy Indian own aesthetic and swag (without being influenced by the 'dominant' people in the world), who freely express their dressing/feelings/thoughts/sexuality/uniqueness (giving no fxxk to the 'dominant' gender/people), design their own life.
The Message Behind The Cover Photos This Year
I’m planning to renew the cover photos = the big slide photos on Home page of MIRCHI KOMACHI website soon.
(*We won't make it on time for the anniversary day due to the September rains and Ganesha Festival this year...)
The theme this year is “not every day is sunny, but I’m moving forward”.
It’s based on the Japanese animation film “Kiki’s Delivery Service”. Have you seen it? If you haven’t, please do.
Kiki is a 13-year-old witch. As a tradition, she spends a year away from home as training. She starts a delivery service with her ability to fly on a broom to feed herself.
In the beginning, the big town was not kind to her. She felt alone, had no place to go, had nobody who cared about her. Even after starting the business, not everything went well. Rather, days were filled with difficulties.
But eventually, she makes friends, gets to know herself, starts settling down the town, and learns how to deal with life.
I thought her story applies to many of us, especially women from outside Bombay or big cities, who’re working and trying to make a space for them by contributing each talent (yes, NOT by finding "a prince on a white horse"). We feel isolated in a big city, we face difficulties in daily life, we doubt in our ability. We struggle, we discover ourselves, and we start walking again even though the situation never becomes perfect.
Doesn’t this sound familiar??
I keep walking. MIRCHI KOMACHI keeps walking. Even one inch, move forward every day. The situation never becomes perfect, sometimes I rant, but I love India and Bombay and living with its people.
Bonus Video
Ewww sorry I don't have any good video!
Maybe this one by The Lil Flea made in November 2018 Bombay Edition.
The one singing first is me.
Looking forward to seeing you all somewhere somehow in the coming year!!