BRAND NAME - House of Neer
FOUNDER - Smriti Gorawara
STARTED IN - September 2020
USP - Delicate Embroidered Apparel
Inspired by her grandmother’s garden full of fresh flowers, NIFT graduate Smriti Gorawara started doing hand embroidery as a creative outlet to pass time during the pandemic and it snowballed into launching her own apparel brand. House of Neer offers ethnic apparel made with the softest cotton, silk, chanderi and more, all with the touch of delicate hand embroidery by Smriti and her team of artisans. Blur The Border chats with the designer on creating delicate daily essentials that are rooted in conscious living.
Smriti's Picks
Who is the one influencer you wish to see wearing your products?
Dia Mirza. I think she really embodies the ‘House of Neer aesthetic’.
Is there a podcast, book, or social media handle that you’ve found helpful for your business?
The Instagram account @whynotstitching, they talk a lot about hand embroidery and I love their work.
If you could collaborate with any Indian or international brand, who would it be?
Cécile Bahnsen - she is a Copenhagen designer who was a finalist of the LVMH prize in 2017.
BTB: How How did you come up with your brand’s name?
SMRITI: House of Neer is actually derived from my mother’s name - Neerja, which means lotus. My grandmother was immensely fond of flowers, which is why she named my mother Neerja. That is also what inspired the whole floral aesthetic of the brand as well. A lot of my childhood memories are of my grandmother’s home which had a huge garden with a variety of flowers that she planted and tended to herself. I think somewhere I dedicate these floral aesthetics to her, as my grandmother has been my biggest inspiration.
BTB: What inspired you to start your brand?
SMRITI: I lost a few family members and pets during covid and I started embroidering as a way of distracting myself from the gloom. It was supposed to be just a hobby. But I started seeing a positive response to the work I had shared on our Instagram, which kind of snowballed into launching my own brand.
BTB: What role did your experience as a designer and marketing professional play to help establish your brand?
SMRITI: Before I started House of Neer, I worked as a textile designer, and eventually deviated to event designing where I worked on experiential space design which in fact opened up the whole branding aspect of things, like how to develop brand guidelines, colours, how to stick to your aesthetic while establishing a space and how the flow goes from collaterals to your product and how it all needs to be coherent. This really helped me put together the core aesthetics for the brand and envision what my brand would look and feel like.
BTB: What gap are you looking to fill in the market?
SMRITI: Honestly, in my opinion there really isn’t a gap left in the field of fashion in any sense. Maybe for brands that are technologically driven fashion brands there is a gap in terms of innovation or invention. For regular fashion, clothing or textile brands, there really isn’t a gap in terms of the tangible product, but maybe in terms of storytelling and how the brand is perceived, there could be a gap of establishing your personal connection with the consumer. What we are trying to do is to stick to our core aesthetics and offer products that people resonate with.
BTB: What are the different embroidery techniques you use for your collections?
SMRITI: I learnt these embroidery techniques in college - the contrast stitches, buttonhole and mirror work. It all started out as an image that I had in mind, which I then translated on to hoop embroidery, and you will come across many people who enjoy doing that, me being one of them. As we grew, we scaled up to traditional frame embroidery, we are also working with the ‘ari needle’ and the ‘zardosi needle’.
We are not trying to be a cluster or traditional textile art. We are just trying to create pretty things that are important to us.
Your last purchase from a homegrown brand was…
A pair of linen pants from The Loom.
What is the show/book/song you are currently obsessing over?
August by Taylor Swift. And the latest season of Black Mirror.
In your spare time, we’ll find you…
Chilling with my dogs.
Homegrown brands I am loving right now…
I love the brands Gyaarah Baees, 11.11 (Eleven Eleven) and Rahul Mishra.
BTB: How do you keep your personal aesthetics relevant in the fashion world that is often dependent on trends?
SMRITI: Fashion trends have been traditionally driven by the runway but now with social media we are also seeing a trickle-up effect with people finding great ways to make their individuality stand out, combining signature pieces from different brands in their own style. But the macro trends are always going to be there, as customers are often driven to those and ultimately that is what sells. I think as a small business, it is important to acknowledge these big trends while keeping the brand’s core aesthetic intact. For example, for the Barbiecore trend we are creating a pre-festive drop with 4-5 styles in the bright pink or magenta colour with our delicate floral embroidery. Finding a balance between the two can be a great way to incorporate trends without losing sight of the brand’s signature aesthetics.
BTB: What is that one product that has received a lot of love from your customers?
SMRITI: The Seafoam 3-piece Set (a tunic, pants and stole) in cotton silk fabric has been one of our bestsellers and we received a lot of love for this set on our social media as well.
Our floral canvas totes and stoles are also loved by our customers.
BTB: What does a typical 9-5 day look like in the life of a solopreneur like you?
SMRITI: Not a 9-5 at all, that’s for sure! I start my day with a meeting with my artisans to brief them on the day’s tasks after which I head to the store where I attend to customers. In between all of this, I have to manage the artisans and tailors to ensure the orders are fulfilled timely. It is a lot of jumping around, managing all the different parts of the business, but it is fun.
BTB: What has been the impact of opening a physical store on the brand?
SMRITI: I think opening a store has helped us expand our customer base to include people who wouldn’t shop online or through Instagram. As we only keep a sample piece in the store, it provides an opportunity to educate customers on slow fashion. And they get to customise the garment entirely, including colour and size, which I feel is an experience they enjoy.
BTB: What are some personal victories you have achieved that have helped your business?
SMRITI: This interview, hah! As a brand that is barely a year-old, I had not imagined to be sitting down for an interview. Apart from this, a few influencers and celebrities have been reaching out for collaboration or to source some pieces from the brand, so that feels extremely nice.
BTB: Is there any other brand doing great work in this space that you would like to highlight?
SMRITI: I Oh there are so many great ones, like Eka, Pero, Gyaarah Baees - I love the work these brands do, it is so inspiring. Even the brand Half Full Curve, they create beautiful festive outfits for curvy women, I find their ideology so inspiring and amazing.
BTB: What are some challenges you’ve encountered while running the brand and what have been your takeaways from the same?
SMRITI: One I think the biggest challenge has been managing everything as the brand scales up. House of Neer started as a personal project for me, where I was used to sitting in a corner and embroidering and making an outfit for myself. As people started responding to the designs positively, I started selling these under the brand name. As the team grew, managing people became challenging as this is not something that comes naturally to me, but I am learning with each step. I think my biggest takeaway is to rely on other people, so I am looking to expand my team by early next year, maybe even have a proper office in place.
BTB: Where do you see your brand in the next 5 years?
SMRITI: I conceived the brand’s aesthetic when I was studying for my master’s degree in Italy. Prior to that, my aesthetic was really all over the place and I didn’t really know what I wanted to make. But studying there really helped me understand how to build a brand language and aesthetic, how to actually start a brand. So I would love to see my brand’s products to be placed in a store in Italy - maybe in Florence or Milan.
Artisan Embroidering
Artisan Embroidering
Dyeing
FOLLOW HOUSE OF NEER'S INSTAGRAM @house.of.neer
THANKS FOR READING!