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 jewellery magazine, The Gems and Jewellery magazine of India. After many years of having a very exciting stint with the media, I decided to change my gear and that is how my life, my journey changed.”
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 and women both. I haven’t gone into the mainstream of creating serious apparel, or serious ensembles or big large furnitures; 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 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 she reinvented herself, she replied, “There’s been a lot of lessons that we have learnt, 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 of the product line that could add. 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.”
On her 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. 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.”