When designer Samriddhi Balasubramaniam lost her fashion job to the COVID-19 pandemic, she found herself at home without work. 'I really needed something to do with my time and hands because I was driving myself crazy.' Samriddhi had always been artistic, even as a child and art was her form of expression. She would constantly create unusual and quirky crafts - wool jewellery, bookmarks, charms of out M seal and so on. Very organically it became her career path when she decided to pursue fashion design in college. But she didn't realise how much her jewellery brand 'Unbaked' would pick up. 'In 2020 everybody was on their phones, and so I think it was just the right place at the right time kind of situation.'
About her brand, she says, 'Unbaked offers a product that's so unique to the customer, that gives them a feeling of cultural connect and rootedness that they could get from precious jewellery, but at the same time, while cutting out all the seriousness, making it super fun and whimsical and quirky and really helping them express their unique selves. I put a special stress on creating pieces that last really long, and we use really high quality materials. So it's kind of the best of both worlds, I would say.'
She believes that Unbaked is truly unique. 'There's nobody else there creating something like I'm creating with my hands, with my creative expression, with my unique view on the world. And I think I have to just keep that at its core.' Samriddhi's design process for Unbaked is non-linear. Sometimes she sketches, draws and plans, but most of the time it's very intuitive. 'What is really important to always keep in mind is that you have to be really confident about your unique design voice and your contribution as a creative towards your business.' Among her best-selling and memorable pieces is the 'Malli' earrings, inspired by jasmine flowers as part of her 'Madras' collection released in 2021. Another versatile piece is the 'Madras Checks' drops, which also features freshwater pearls and is set in 18k gold-plated brass.
She admits that her journey has been with its fair share of struggles, such as being just one person managing everything. She's sometimes had to focus on the business aspect of things, which has tampered with her creative process and put too much pressure on herself. 'As creatives we're such perfectionists and want to control everything. The way to overcome it is to relinquish control and ask for help in areas where you may not be as well-versed, say marketing or sales, so that you can take time to focus on something else in your business.'
She also rues the fact that brands, especially handmade brands in India, tend to underprice their products a lot. 'That kind of brings down the value of the craftsmanship for all of us who are in that same market. And so I think it's been really, really key to keep pushing and saying, 'No, this is what I'm going to charge because I know how much my work is worth. Also, you have to identify your target customer and just speak to them. Because if you don't do that, you'll kind of just get very dispersed all over the place and you might lose your grounding as a brand.'
Samriddhi is really diving into the culturally-connected and rooted aspect of her design that she's taken four years to arrive at and be really confident about. 'I'm hoping to have more people work with me and execute my vision!'