Leaders

With in born managerial talent and perception to look at things from different angles whilst multi-tasking, who else can better lead from the front other than women with vision?  

Their compassion, empathy, and ability to listen add to their leadership traits. Among the courageous women who are chasing their entrepreneurial dreams, we have Shivangi Musaddi, as a guiding example.

Marching forward with the power dream of making the world a better place, Shivangi has been adapting to sustainable business practices and helping several women push fear out of the window and face life head-on. As a person who is determined to drive change and associate herself with sustainable businesses, she founded Blank Studio ­ a new-gen garment manufacturing studio focused on ethical, eco-friendly & sustainable design and manufacturing. She believes that Eco-Friendly will be the new trend. For which, she with her team is making eco-friendly products intending to satisfy the production expectations of designers focused on slow-made fashion. Shivangi says, "We are a team of women with one common mission ­ to preserve, promote and revitalize Indian textile and craftsmanship through collaborative design, manufacturing, and knowledge exchange".

Recognizing her passion for bringing sustainability and fashion together while supporting several women, Women Entrepreneur India engages in an exclusive conversation with her. Below are the excerpts.

Give a brief overview of your brainchild and highlight the idea behind the venture.

The idea is to help designers create a sustainable line of clothing. We are a Manufacturing Studio that helps designers in all aspects of garment making; right from sourcing the fabric to cutting, printing, and finishing the product. We bring our expertise in pattern making, fabric sourcing, and garment stitching to our customers in the US, UK, India, and other countries. In partnership with several artisanal communities, we are now working with sustainable brands/designers across the globe.

We train and employ women from marginal communities to make them earn a livelihood and bridge the gap between skill development and employment. We have been aiding them to become working individuals with good income opportunities.

Take us through your educational and professional background?

I did my bachelors in management studies at HR College, Mumbai, after completing my schooling in Kolkata. I got to work with Deloitte for over a year and also had a couple of interning experiences with reputed brands. Through the journey, I realized that a corporate job was not my thing. While helping my parents with their luxury retail brand, I was very much intrigued with design & management and pursued a Master's Degree, in Luxury Management from the International University of Monaco. After which, I moved to Paris and worked as a Luxury Conultant. Each stint has taught me something valuable and shaped my approach to work and business. I have been able to hone skills like critical thinking, planning and execution, relationship building, and effective communication to name a few. These skills form the bedrock of working effectively in my business today.

What prompted your foray into entrepreneurship?

Deep inside, I always wanted to come back to India and work on a social enterprise; supporting marginal communities. With that vision, I decided to start my sustainable fashion label and approached several manufacturing facilities. After multiple bouts across the country, I noticed that none matched my requirements. In most cases, quality was really compromised and many of them had a minimum quantity restriction. I couldn't go for bulk orders because I was starting just then. Given the situation, I realized the need and opportunity for a design and production studio providing impeccable quality, with no minimum orders, and at affordable pricing. That marked the concept of Blank Studio in 2017.Eventually, my friends started approaching me for manufacturing services, and we have now grown to serve global designers.

Throw some light on the uniqueness of Blank studio.

Blank Studio is a bespoke garment manufacturing and production house focused on satisfying the production expectations of premium/luxury and sustainable fashion labels.

We are a key partner to some of the most cutting-edge upcoming fashion houses producing jackets, coats, tops, shirts, blouses, dresses, and pants. We cover all aspects of apparel manufacturing and provide a full-service solution from design, development, costing, fabric & accessories, sourcing, sampling, production, shipment, and phased delivery. We are very flexible with the quantities and are affordable as well.

“Committed to transform blank studio into a zero-waste production company”

One vital USP is that we are into small-batch manufacturing, wherein our people are trained to stitch a garment from scratch and finish a product all by themselves. Unlike large-scale production, where someone stitches the sleeves and collars are put together by someone else. Another important aspect is our transparent approach with both employees and designers in terms of production and manufacturing. All our designers are miles away and we ensure that they know what's happening throughout the production process.

Moreover, Blank Studio is conscious of reducing the creation of waste and scraps. The tiny scraps generated from the production process are sent to our partners to convert them into tree-less paper. With any leftover fabric from the previous collections, we create tiny products that can be sold by the designers. We also ensure to be mindful of the sales forecast and not overproduce.

Most importantly, our strength lies in the skill and dexterity of our demanding seamstresses, which is why some of the new upcoming designers have placed their trust in Blank Studio.

Shivangi Musaddi,Founder,Blank Studio

Shivangi is the visionary and inspiration behind Blank Studio. She has built Blank Studio from strength to strength, owing to her unique vision of building a sustainable business while empowering women of marginal communities.