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| Haseena Khader, Lovely Queens, Koduvally, Kozhikode |
18 years ago, when Haseena Khader ventured to start a small stitching unit in her village Manipuram near Koduvally, Kozhikode, she had to face the whispering campaign of the orthodox in the area. However, her Gulf-employed husband was all support for the effort as Haseena was not yet in the family way. The inauguration of the outfit by cine actor Mammukoya was another sore sight for those who considered that for women clad in black, fashion was not a necessity.
But soon the villagers came to appreciate her dresses. Customers started approaching her from far off places. Slowly the three-machine, two-employee shop was on expansion mode. By self help efforts and bank loans, she was able to transplant the unit to Koduvally town.
Once she received an order for about 100 dresses. When it was delivered, the client insisted that their label ‘Lovely Queens’ be removed from the dresses. That day she resolved to make Lovely Queens a widely known brand.
Business builds relationships too. Once she stitched a dress for a 2½ year old. Later the child’s parents started assigning all stitching jobs to her. And recently they came to order her wedding dress, she says.
Despite the extended working hours due to increasing orders, she finds time to manage the house and two children. Cooking is her favourite activity after dress designing. During nights when her shop closes early, she visits the shops in Kozhikode to select stones and pearls for the wedding dresses. She finds a charm in that activity and wouldn’t like to delegate it to someone…
From New York, a woman interacts with her on internet. Based on the gown shown by her, Haseena designs the dress in her shop at Kozhikode. Within a week the finished item will be couriered to the client.
From a small beginning, her effort has now become global.
Courtesy:
Sharmila, Grihalakshmi, September 2010
Contributed by: Administrator
