Rising like the phoenix ft. The Phoenix Company

True to the name, The Phoenix Company has carved a niche for itself in the last 26 years of operation. Started by Mr.Chaganti.V.K.Maithreya as an advertising firm, today the enterprise has grown into a multi product store where the different aspects are handled by the members of his family- Mrs.Sunita,Mrs.Upasika and Ms.Aditi.

I got to know Aditi through my alma mater M.O.P Vaishnav College for Women and the very first product that I purchased from her was the ikkat reversible jacket which has been put to full use! The comfy cotton jacket blends perfectly with multiple attires and is surely a conversation starter. I’m not sure if they are still available but if they are, you have no reason to not buy them! You can DM them on Instagram for more details. They are extremely responsive.

I have been a user of few of their products and every time they outdo themselves with the innovation and quality. Let’s quickly peep into few of their offerings. They operate under 3 brands , FRATERNITI under which falls the tees,dresses,sarees,palazzos and much more. I’m a satisfied customer from this category. The elephant tee has traveled with me on my holidays and I love it! The dosa man tee is my absolute favourite!

The workout tees are made from a comfortable cotton material which actually acts as a booster during those lazy days when you have zero motivation to hit the gym! The wide range of sizes ensure that everyone has something to take back home!

I’m currently eyeing the red ikkat maxi from their latest launch (Just so you know,I’m accepting birthday gifts early this year :P)

The next brand is Asli Aesthetics,true to the name they have a range of aesthetically pleasing products including stationery,home decor,accessories,etc. My favourite from this are the doodle prints hand-drawn by the super talented Aditi. They are too cute to not hang them on our walls! My husband would agree with this 🙂 Oh! If you want something doodled to your liking, she does it too! Wedding invites,logo design,content writing and what not! The doodled mugs are extremely adorable and make an ideal gifting option. Economically priced and a memorable option to go for 🙂

Last but definitely not the least, men’s ethnic wear falls under the SAHIBJI category. Smart ikkat kurtas , which make the perfect gift option for the men in your life , can be purchased here!

In a world of fast fashion, they stand tall as a brand which offer cruelty free products that are made with oodles of innovation and love! Buy one product and you are sure to be going back for more – speaking from my personal experience.

How about supporting small businesses instead of going behind big brands which are only causing damage to the environment and aren’t labour friendly? Hit a like and share these brand stories with your circle and it would make a world of a difference to the budding entrepreneurs. After all,nothing is more powerful than word-of-mouth marketing!

They also organise pop-ups once in a while in their Chennai studio and you might want to visit one of them to shop for all their products under one roof!Follow them on instagram & facebook:)

*This is a non-sponsored post. All the items have been purchased by me and not sent by the brand for endorsement*

Straight from the land of sarees…

Mention the word sarees and the first thing that pops on our mind is ‘Kanchipuram’. The town has been known for manufacturing silk sarees for many years now. Generations of weavers have brought name and fame to this town through their artistic weaves that have become a common purchase for many households during weddings especially in Southern India. The fame has now spread across oceans and a silk saree drape is considered a fashion statement amongst designers and celebrities! 😊 Deepika Padukone and Vidya Balan would probably completely agree with me! Right?

Amongst the many weaving places (known as thari in Tamil), Sreetex has carved a name for itself in the wedding sarees and 9 yards domain. Both these play a major part in South Indian weddings. Established in the year 1995, they are a family run business operating in various fields with the focus on wedding sarees. Their product line also includes dhotis, ethnic and designer wear, bulk uniform sarees and the very popular revolutionary golu step!

I’m a happy user of the same and can confidently vouch for the quality. This was my mother’s find which came in very handy for this Navratri. It is a wooden structure which can be set into a Golu step and on completion of the festive season can be folded back and used as a book shelf for the rest of the year! No hassle of screws and nuts and bolts! Indeed revolutionary!

Coming back to the saree story, they are known for their collection of 9/10 yard sarees. This as a drape was very popular back in the days of our grandparents and is now only a special occasion drape (Read more https://vidyavenkatrramani.wordpress.com/2018/11/22/from-maroon-to-a-million/ ).

The price range starts at INR 1000 for Madisar and keep increasing depending on the material chosen. If you are looking for similar pieces for all the elders in your family, Sreetex is the right place to approach. They undertake bulk orders and manufacture similar looking sarees at very affordable prices.

While many in the city are finding it difficult to head to Kanchipuram to shop for wedding sarees, Sreetex delivers them to your doorstep (pan-India) and the sarees start at INR 4000 and go up to INR 20,000 for grander drapes. The collection includes silk, silk korvai, silk cotton and much more. Not just for the bride, you can also find sarees to gift to your near and dear ones right here! The greater number of pieces you pick, the better pricing you’ll receive. Isn’t this much better than spending a whole day travelling to Kanchipuram, hiring a mini-van to ensure no relative is missed out for the gala shopping event, breakfast and lunch at Saravana Bhavan, etc. and picking out sarees? Its all a cost-benefit analysis!

Not just these, they also house simple cotton sarees perfect for everyday wear starting at a throw-away price of INR 400.

They are literally a one-stop shop for all saree needs!

Here’s a sneak peek into few of their wedding collections! Shop them at https://shop.sreetex.in/

When two generations come together

It’s probably just a few weeks since I stumbled upon a page on Instagram which had ‘a mother-daughter initiative’ written on its bio! I hit the follow button instantly and have been drooling over their collections since then 😊

As I’m typing this, I’m wondering how it would be to work with my mother professionally while Amritha says ‘It is not that easy. We do have varied thought processes, generally because of the generation gap. But mum surprises me by understanding what I mean. The main drive for me personally to encourage my mother do this is to get her away from futile family gossips and engage her in something that will keep her busy throughout the day and keep her creative and fresh all the time. Though we do have a tiring work schedule, we enjoy doing it’. I couldn’t agree more about the gossip part. If only people convert the chatter time to do something more productive? SIGH!

Their collections start at INR 400 and go up to INR 3000 and everything is customized! Who doesn’t like their stuffs to be unique and one of a kind? (Just like Phoebe Buffay. Right?)

The one thing which I love about this venture is how each design is named which includes Shivam, Punnagai, Neelkant, Maragatham, Aarohi and Mayil which is one of the favorite creations of theirs and incidentally a best seller! Why don’t you take a few minutes to read the significance behind each design’s name on their Instagram page?

 

My personal favorite is the gorgeous SHIVAM design which features bead colour of your choice along with big sized rudraksh model kemp stone balls. Quite an apt name, isn’t it? Pair this up with a Kanchipuram pattu and you’ll surely be the show stopper 😊

‘We started this off with some encouragement from friends. My friends and I told mum that it would be ‘fun’ if we could start a business on Instagram. And what we thought as ‘fun’ became a good deal for us to engage ourselves in creativity and conversations with a lot of varied people across the world’ shares Amritha about the bazinga moment for this venture! While we wake up to 10 new pages every day, few catch your eyes and are sure to make a mark. Here’s one such page!

‘For me, they have scored on all the Ps – product, pricing, packaging, photography, public relations! Now that’s a 5/5 😊

Go and show some love to this beautiful amma and ponnu duo Jayalakshmi and Amritha  all geared up to rock the entrepreneurial world!

P.S – Can’t wait to attend a wedding soon – just to show off this beautiful masterpiece which has reached my jewelry closet!

Signing off with a wide grin simply because this is my first collaboration with a brand. Hopefully , many more to come 🙂

Until next time…

 

Delhi’s shopping paradise

Situated close to the nation’s premier health institution AIIMS is Dilli Haat or what I call ‘SHOPPERS’ PARADISE’. One visit to the place and you’ll definitely agree with what I just described it to be.

Back in 2016 when I moved to Gurgaon, this place was just ‘one of the touristy places’ that was on my list. Forward to 2018 , this has become ‘the indisputable queen’ of shopping places that I absolutely love!! (Sorry Pondy bazaar! you come a close second!) 🙂 😦

The stall set up isn’t permanant and keeps changing once in 15 days (avoid visiting on the 1st and 15th of every month since most of the stalls will be shut). 20% of the stalls are situated here on a permanent basis. The other stalls are occupied based on the theme of that month. Examples of the different themes being ‘crafts of India’ , ‘Clothings of India’ , ‘Organic festival’ and the like. Google a bit before you visit so that you don’t end up getting disappointed 😦

Gorgeous silver jewelry , clothing (WAY TOO MANY OPTIONS – NOT KIDDING) , paintings, home decor , footwear and MUCH MUCH MORE. More than 100 stalls of too many colorful things. You’ll be spoilt for choices. I’ll take you through each category in this post!

Tip 1 – Do not start the buying spree from stall number 1 itself. There will be at-least 2 stalls selling the exact same stuff that you want (2 is an understatement). Do a bit of a survey around the whole place before opening up those wallets. To begin with , take clothing. From palazzos , patialas , kurtis , maxis , waist coats to sarees (cotton,linen,banaras,chiffon and what not!) , pashmina shawls , banarasi stuff , skirts and blouses – You’ll find them all here! Oh wait! Did I mention that you can find men’s clothing (kurtas , Modi jackets (not Nirav :O)) as well? Pick any kurta for INR 500 (the fab India (a little over rated , don’t you think?) quality ones. OR EVEN BETTER ONES)! No wonder that the husband picked more than 1 in that stall! Surely a steal?

Almost 75% of the stalls there sell clothing and hence there is always competition amongst them to give it at the lowest price possible (be an informed buyer *wink*)! Prices range from INR 250 to INR 5000 and are absolutely bargainable.

That brings us to tip 2 – Plan you visit during a weekday morning (shops are usually set by 11 am) and you can get the first customer advantage. You can quote prices which are 50% of what is being quoted by the seller. And if luck is by your side , you might win that price war!! (BEEN THERE , DONE THAT!). Don’t feel shy about quoting a price – no one will agree to it if they are not going to make a profit from it. GO FOR IT! If you lose , just walk ahead and you’ll find the exact piece in less than 50m!

Under the home decor category , you can find very pretty hand-made pieces like lamp shades , flower vases , key holders , plant holders , Swami mandapam and many more. Try to buy them all in one stall so that you can bargain to the maximum possible. If they quote INR 250 , reply with a INR 100 un-apologetically! (time factor matters :p). The paintings sold here are mostly sourced from Udaipur and are completely hand painted. They are definitely a bit expensive than the ones available outside (foreigners’ special probably :p). Bed sheets , cushion covers and quilts available here are of excellent quality and DO NOT LOSE COLOR! GOOD BUY!

Silver jewellery is one of the best buys at this place. Rather than statement pieces , go for some cute little daily wear earrings which can go with any outfit worn. Their prices start at INR 350 and are totally worth it! The toe rings found here are easily on my ‘best buys’ list. Junk jewelry can be found in abundance here.

Lets take a detour to some lip-smacking food before continuing the shopping spree. This place has one food stall dedicated to each state of India though only few are functional on all days. My favourite amongst them is the Rajasthan stall selling yummy kachoris and dhal baati churma! The top picks from their menu would be ‘mix veg paratha’ , ‘malai kofta’ , ‘aloo jeera’ , ‘butter roti’ , ‘paneer pakoda’ and ‘chaach/hot dhoodh’ (seasonal preference)! Also found here is a stall selling all kinds of namkeen ,papads , saunf and much more. Though a bit pricey , the quality is remarkable!

With tummies full , you can set out to SHOPPING 2.0!

One can never have too many clothes! So let’s take a minute more to understand what all are available here. Speaking of best buys , I would definitely include those printed cotton dresses (available for all age groups) , long skirts , super comfy palazzos, gorgeous kalamkari kurtis and linen sarees. 95% of these do not shrink or lose colour and are very economically priced! If there is a good tailor in your life , this place is a treat! There are around 20 stalls selling suit materials in different materials and price ranges. The very sight of it is visual delight 🙂 Pashmina shawls available here make for a great gifting option!

This gets us to tip 3 –  Always carry a big bag so that you do not have the hassle of taking back ‘kutti-kutti’ bags from the shopping spree. You might even end up losing a couple of them. No one likes that to happen , right? The one thing I like about this place is the ‘no plastics policy! Surprisingly , most of them adhere to it!

Dilli haat is a place which requires at-least half a day if you enjoy shopping and want to find everything under the same roof! People who want to zip their purses and spend the least amount possible , this isn’t the place to be! While everyone speaks high of the Sarojini market shopping , Dilli haat is a place for good quality products which needn’t be discarded within a year. Make an informed decision before stepping out and do not make statements like ‘I can get 3 tops for INR 200 in the other market’ ‘this is so pricey’ and the like! GOOD QUALITY CALLS FOR A COUPLE OF EXTRA HUNDRED BUCKS! 

Tip 4 –  Most of the stalls have card/paytm options though cash is still the preferred medium of payment. One advantage of cash payment would be , you can get it at the price of your choice! Load your wallets and enjoy shopping 🙂 (ATMs are available near the main entrance of the market)

How to get there? – Metro is the quickest , cheapest and safest mode of transport – The market is situated right next to the INA metro station. Also situated over there near the other entrance where the car parking facility can be availed is DR.APJ.Abdul Kalam Memorial which is worth a visit. The entry is free and is usually less crowded on week days.

That brings us to the end of this post and I’m already dreaming of walking around with a big shopping bag full of palazzos , kurtis and getting ready for the Delhi summers!

If you have been wondering who the model is , its one of the husband man’s colleagues to whom I introduced this shopping paradise and she went crazzyyy!! While she was busy filling up her bag full of treats , I froze those moments and decided to feature her on my blog! 🙂 Ore kallula , rendu maanga 😛

I’m off to dumping all winter clothes inside and getting out those cotton kurtis and skirts outside! Delhi winter , why did you go off so soon? 😦

Until next time! 🙂

Bidding goodbye to the salon

Homemade body care products are totally the ‘in-thing’ these days! Everyday I wake up to 5 new Instagram pages selling soaps, scrubs and everything else. Trial and error is the only way to know how workable each one is!

With a super duper sensitive skin, I shun away from trying anything new. And then there was bottled bliss, a homemade skin care brand run by two gorgeous women Mansi & Sonal.

The first product I laid my hands on was the ‘mixed herbs foot soak’. This is all that you need at the end of a long tiring day when the foot needs some pampering. (We’ll probably go from toe to head in this case :P)

I’ll probably tell you how to go about with this one. In a bucket of warm water (hotter the better), add two spoons of foot soak (smells heavenly) and soak your feet. While the soothing process happens, take a couple of minutes off to quickly brush the feet to take off the dirt (turning the process into a mini pedicure at home). Continue the soaking process for another 20 minutes.

The immediate reaction after 20 minutes would be ‘oh! So soft!’. It does make the feet look brighter, softer and crack free! Use this twice a week and a visible difference can be noticed.

The rose cinnamon lip scrub is one of my favorites from the entire product range. The granules ooze out a cinnamon flavor and makes it so hard to not gobble them up! Rub a teeny amount of Vaseline on to the lips post the scrub and tadaa, you are good to go!

Next in line is the detan face pack or should I call it the ‘yummy choco latte face pack’? At the very first look of it, do not mistake it to be a ‘choco mousse jar’ (agree?).

The smell is heavenly and the entire process of de-tanning the face got a whole lot simpler with this one! I have been using this for a month now and the skin feels extremely fresh, soft and few shades brighter!

Feet-Lips-Face – DONE!

Well, what’s left? Head and hair!

Thanks to a new city, new weather conditions and the ever-increasing pollution levels, my hair fall had reached an even more alarming level than the pollution itself. Then there came the ‘Anti-hair fall oil’. I didn’t have my hopes too high on this one only because I was an unsatisfied customer of many such oils!

Bottled bliss proved me wrong. The smell of it is a mix of coconut, shikai and other leaves. I usually prefer to apply it and go for a hair wash in an hour. Since it tends to leave an oily texture, I don’t prefer using it on an everyday basis. But for a weekly pre-wash oil, this passes with flying colors!

And for those who do not like the concept of oiling the hair before a wash, I’ve got some good news for you in the name of ‘Organic Hair Masque’.

To me it looks like a paste of ‘arappu shikai’ in ‘tambrahm terms’. Splash on the paste such as it covers the scalp. Wash it off after half hour and WOW!!! – the smell which lingers on for that entire day is truly mesmerizing!

Quick tip: You do not want to see a layer of fungus on top and it breaks your heart to throw the entire bottle away! Hence, make sure you do not bring the bottle in contact with water.

Did I also mention that these products do not burn a hole in the pocket? Quite a surprise, isn’t it?

And you are also sure to save a lot of bucks by avoiding those monthly spa and salon visits!

This is just 1/10^th of their entire product range. Start following bottled bliss on their social media handles (Instagram – bottled_bliss, Facebook – Bottled bliss) and shop right away!

That brings us almost to the end of the first product review from ‘curd rice shots’! Any comments on the writing style? Well, feel free to let me know!