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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Meet Karishma Shahani of Princesse K


Hi fellow riders, today we are talking to Karishma from Princesse K, an independent handbag label based out of Mumbai, India. Created and fashioned by Karishma Shahani, the ideology of the design house is to produce an interesting mix of constructed designs for the discerning woman who has a keen interest in fashion.

Karishma also writes on fashion and lifestyle and her work has been published by various fashion magazines in India over the last few years

So Karishma, welcome to The Orange Bicycle blog where we tell your story the way it is. So tell us a little more about yourself – anything you want to share with us and our readers that will help us know you better 

Karishma: Well I started my career as a journalist where I worked for a leading daily followed by a fashion magazine writing about entertainment, lifestyle and fashion. I also started a boutique called Whym, where I was promoting young designers straight out of design school.  Post this I got a Master’s of Science in Luxury Goods & Services from the International University of Monaco and came back to start Princesse K.  

Wow you are definitely a woman of various talents - from journalism to fashion. So how and when did you get on with the idea of Princesse K?

Karishma: The idea for Princesse K came to me in April 2009. While studying for my masters I paid extra special attention to the handbag industry as it has always been my favorite accessory and the best part - one size fits all!!

We agree…I mean women and handbags…can they ever have enough? So tell us a little more about the handbags you make.

Karishma: The main theme running through our products is that they are all animal friendly. We don't use any leather or leather products while making bags. Instead we use a combination of fabric, faux leather and embellishments like gota flowers or embroideries to create trendy yet animal friendly bags.


So why Princesse K? Quite a glamorous name for a brand. Is there a story there?

Karishma: The name is inspired by Princess Grace Kelly who was the princess of Monaco and is a timeless style icon. While studying in Monaco, which is a principality, I got to learn a lot more about Princess Grace Kelly and started appreciating her style which inspired me to name the label after her. Of course the first initial of my name also starts with K.

Ya we always thought the K came from Karishma. So what inspires your work/creativity?  

Karishma: Ethnic Indian elements inspire me. I like to combine the contemporary with the traditional and create a unique but fun product.  Through my creations I strive to create the most utilitarian product and at the end of the day it is versatile, user friendly yet stylish.


So any great artists/designers work you admire/look upto?  

Karishma: My favourite art movements are Impressionism and Expressionism. Vincent Van Gogh, James Ensor, Monet, Matisse and Renoir are a few of my favorite artists. 
In terms of designers there are many just to name a few would be - Alexander McQueen, Lulu Guiness, Valentino, Manish Arora, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Anand Bhushan, Kallol Dutta, Anamika Khanna and the list goes on and on.

So besides what you do, how do you relax…what are your passions/hobbies? 

Karishma: Reading, writing, watching movies, discovering new cities.

So are you working on anything new?  

Karishma: I am currently on working on the next collection which will see a lot of use of traditional Indian fabrics with a contemporary twist. 

For all our dear readers, who are in various parts of the country, where can they find your stuff?  

Karishma:Princesse K is available in various stores across the country. Here is a link to where all you can find us - http://princessek.com/locations/

So tell us, some advice for all - five things that you think are necessary to be successful at what you do?  

Karishma:Be passionate, informed, do your research well, figure out your finances and don’t sweat the small stuff, always look at the long term benefits.

That sounds like a cool formula for success. Thank you Karishma for your candid chat and thank you for being part of The Orange Bicycle. We wish you more success. All the best.

And now for our pick – we definitely recommend the ikkat print clutch – Indian is the way to go. Come check her Indian themed bags and clutches at The Orange Bicycle – it’s different, its new and its stylish.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Ccube coming up! Meet Piyali And Anuja



As promised, here we are with our first interview with our first designer.

Firstly I want to start by saying a big thank you to each and every designer we have on board at The Orange Bicycle. We started with a mere concept note and an idea. They all believed in us even when we had nothing else to show for ourselves – not even a name for the store. They came on board and helped us create the story of The Orange Bicycle. We may not have said it before or enough but thank you guys for believing in us, in our idea and in our business.
So come 2011, we thought, we had to know these guys. As of now they were our suppliers but really they are much more than that. They are all a bunch of creative souls who churns out ideas faster than we can spell creativity. And frankly it was time to know them better. And so we thought, in today’s day and age of Facebook and blogging, there was nothing better than a blog interview with our designers for us to know them, their passions, and their ideas and hopefully give them a platform to share their story with our customers.
There is no particular order we have here, each week, we will do a story on one of our many many designers and hopefully we will know them just a little bit more, a little bit better.
This week we talked to Piyali and Anuja from Ccube and frankly hearing from them was very much like our own story. Ccube was born after a conversation between these two friends. So let’s hear from them what happened from that conversation.

So tell us a little about you two…and where did that conversation end?
Anuja had a childhood passion for handmade stuff and Piyali (something to do with being a Bong) a passion for all things beautiful in a home. So we had a conversation and at the end of that long conversation, came the realisation that it could be a great combination of a visualizer and a creator who could work in perfect sync with each other.
So what was the idea?
The idea was to create cushion covers (soft home furnishings) that are fun, contemporary and at times quirky. Designs that are unconventional and that bring about a refreshing look to your interiors.
Wow…so that conversation went well. Why are you called Ccube? Quite unusual
Once the idea was in place, the search for the name began and after pondering over endless suggestions (oh yeah, tell us all about it…we went through months for that decision), the final choice was made. Ccube it was – C for creative and C for contemporary or C even for Customised. The choice is yours!
So what inspires your design?
The inspiration for our designs comes from our everyday life: some things that we stand up & notice (The Wonders of the World Series) and some quite artistic elements that we tend to overlook in our daily mundane life (the Pop Art Series) and the natural beauty around us (The Flowers n Leaves Series)
So where all can we find your designs?
You can find our products @ BLISS, MUMBAI and THE ORANGE BICYCLE, BANGALORE.

And finally for some personal recommendation from their line that we stock at our store – “The Wonders of the World Series” is an awesome collection with colourful, bright city scapes – London, Paris, Italy, and Mumbai and so on. If you haven’t seen them already, you must and trust me, no matter where you live, one of these pieces will surely bring about some colourful change to your living room.

Thank you Anuja and Piyali for your short and sweet story. It was great knowing you girls and here’s wishing you great success. Looking forward to more inspiration and colourful quirky designs.


Tuesday, February 1, 2011


With a new year comes time for change, time for color, brighter days
and to find something that matches the optimism that the new year brings!
Our story becomes more and more juicy, zesty and mmmmmmhhhh!

The story of The Orange bicycle has many delicious, sweet, tangy chapters
of designers and their creations. 
Each chapter is again a story in itself,
an expression of emotions, thoughts and imagination .
We will  take you further on this ride with us by
 bringing you these stories at regular intervals starting this week...
watch out our blog...or follow us on Facebook!