NewsX was recently joined by Archana Kumari Singh, Founder of House of Badnore for an exclusive conversation as a part of its special series, NewsX A-list where she spoke about her label and her excellence in design. Talking about the reason she started House of Badnore, Archana said,” I started my professional life as a journalist, I was a writer and then I went on to join a niche jewelry magazine called, The Gems and jewelry magazine of India. After many years of having a very exciting stint with media, I decided to change my gear and that is how my life, my journey changed. And that is how I chanced upon a career with Fraser and after heading the operations of Fraser for 15 years and when I learned all about product designing, all about the luxury line of products as well as luxury detail, that is when I thought it was time for me to think about something of my own, that would connect me back to roots.”
Speaking about the products and the range of her brand House of Badnore she replied, “House of Badnore is a brand which basically has accessories for men, women, and home, so it was a thought out process but I wanted to cover the whole gamut of the product line, so there are some things for the home, some things for men women both. I haven’t gone into the mainstream of creating serious apparel, or serious ensembles or big large furnitures, so it’s all accessories because I do feel accessories are what completes everything around you.”
Asking about the USPs of House of Bandore, Archana said, “I wouldn’t say that we are a vintage brand, we are vintage-inspired. There’s a lot of romance around vintage, royalty, so we did want to pick up the vintage aspect of it, but we did not want to recreate vintage because that particular space is very crowded. Everything that you see that we have brought out is inspired from the past but it is for the contemporary world, for a global platform. It is luxury, but affordable luxury; the products are aspirational and reachable.”
Talking about the impact of the pandemic on her brand and how did she reinvent herself, she replied, “There’s been a lot of learnings that we have taken away from this, a lot of big companies brutally and ruthlessly lay off people in order to survive, but small enterprises like mine not only had the privilege of surviving but also had the privilege of being able to give, So at House of Badnore, we thought that we would do our bit for the community. Through the lockdown period I had actually thought out of the product line, that could add, because that’s what we do at House of Badnore, for the first two, three months there was no movement of business, nothing was happening, so all I could do was think and dream. As soon as the workshop started to function, I decided to add so many products that would involve different skill sets, crafts so; we were able to farm out work to people in order to keep them sustained.”
Asking for advice for upcoming entrepreneurs, Archana said,” I would tell them to actually listen to the universe sometimes, there are signs and signals that the universe sends to you, if you want to actually find it, then the best may not come your way. So allow things to unfold, don’t try and hold on to many things you cannot, hold onto your future. Let the future unfold on its own. Trust the universe; trust the blueprint of your destiny.”