Chances are you already know about home and lifestyle brand Freedom Tree if you love home décor and design. The brand’s unique design sensibility and holistic approach to home design are known for lighting up corners of any home effortlessly. With a range of furniture, textiles and ceramics, all designed in-house, Freedom Tree brings forth a bold, colourful and eclectic mix to pick from. Founder by Khosla more than two decades ago, the brand has now ventured into an exciting new direction: apparel. We talk to Khosla about what it takes to run and grow a business in different directions.
The new womenswear range includes dresses, co-ord sets, and wraps featuring the brand’s signature style of fresh prints perfect for a summer day. The brand, which launched a limited collection of unisex resort shirts a few years ago, found it the most logical next step to launch a line of women’s clothing. ”Freedom Tree designing a range of womenswear was an idea whose time had come a long while ago. We just wanted to get it as right as we could. So often we have seen people pick up our prints and wrap themselves in them. We found the right moment to bring it to life. In the past years as we all were more home-bound and that naturally became an even more important focus. Now as we step out, even more boldly....it is apt that we step out in these fresh colours and take that free-spirited attitude from Freedom Tree home with us! The same sense of joy and delight in print and effortless ease in the silhouettes,” says Khosla.
Image Courtesy: Freedom Tree
The range features bio-based, eco-friendly and bio-degradable fabrics like cotton satin, viscose, and modal making it super breathable and mindful. Khosla goes on to share more about Freedom Tree’s conscious approach, “For a long time it (sustainability) has been the DNA of how we work. We term it responsible design. For us, it's two things. First, it translates into the sustainability of livelihoods. Working with the small guys, the small-scale industry and artisans, preserving skills and know-how, and upskilling communities. Secondly, it's the sustainability of materials. Using less energy in processes. Using responsible water based-paints and pigments, recycled yarns and upcycled materials. Thoughtful production so there is less waste. Design for home always has a timeless element, so we want to bring that ethos to our newly launched line of slow-fashion clothing,”
Image Courtesy: Freedom Tree
While balancing the new product line may come more naturally to the brand and Khosla, the founder points out how the biggest hurdle she faced was one she considered more internal. “The hurdles are always internal and self-inflicted I feel. In feeling less than adequate as a mom, caring for the family or in running the home. At some point you have to [guilt-free] make some sacrifices to keep your enterprise going,” she says. The brand, which saw humble beginnings initially, with Khosla securing a bank loan in the initial days, has now grown in presence too, along with its product base. Freedom Tree now has stores in cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai and Goa.
When quizzed about a piece of advice for entrepreneurs, she said, “There will always be bad days, even a bad year. Never lose sight of the goal you set out to achieve when you started something. Keep that core in sight. Let the peripherals fall away to keep that goal steadfast and centre. That goal will have a real purpose and will be core to doing what you want to get up and do. Everyday.”