Do you know, what it feels like to feel a dream? Two weeks back, if you had asked me that question, I would have secretly laughed inside my head 🙂 But today a week after the launch of Rustic Motifs e-store and the phenomenal response we got from family, friends and total strangers, I can tell you, it is out of this world to feel a dream, to see it in real and to experience the joy it brings with it.

When we set out with the idea of Rustic Motifs, there were a lot of uncertainties in our minds. Then, fitting all our ideals and revolutionary views of changing the world around us into a profitable and working business model seemed quite a daunting task, but one we decided to take on anyways.

Self doubt and fear of failure is part of the growing process for any start-up and the Rustic Motifs team was no different, but the toughest was when people around us tried hard to bracket us into a type of business, “ Ah you are like another Fab India” or “Oh, so you are going to be handicraft sellers”. For them, the need to bracket us into an existing model was part of their acceptance process, but for us who had set out to define our own business model, it was a challenge we have worked really hard to overcome.

Today, when people call us and tell us, that they find our products and presentation very different from any of our direct or indirect competitors, it is like a validation of our beliefs and we definitely see it as our biggest achievement.

We are no different from other business’ when it comes to our plans, of being profitable, in the run for long and making our presence felt. Where we think differently, is in what we expect of Rustic Motifs, here we have our priorities clearly chalked out. Creating value for our artisans and our customers, bringing a change in the way Indian artforms are perceived in our country and around the world and making a difference to the lives of all who are touched by Rustic Motifs and its creations, is what we would say is our single most priority at the moment.

This is a sentiment, we have tried to incorporate in everything we do at Rustic Motifs.

If you have visited the Rustic Motifs e-store you will notice, unlike the other e-commerce sites, there are not too many things trying to grab your attention and make a sale. It is because, we want our visitors to relax when they are visiting us, take time to explore our offerings and read about our artisans, just like they would do in a physical store. For us making a sale comes second to making our customers feel one with the brand. We believe, if we achieve the first, the second will eventually happen.

We have been questioned by experts on our logic, but we know we are right in doing what we do, when our customers share their feedback, a customer who recently bought from us says, “I felt I could breathe while browsing your site. There was no hurry, no pressure on me to act fast, I could think and I could spend time evaluating which products would look good in my house. Reading about the artisans who created the products just made it more personal.”

The point I am trying to make here is, it is a conscious choice to take the unbeaten path, to make new inroads and to learn from our mistakes. At Rustic Motifs, we are not scared of the unknown, what scares us more is getting typecast as the known!

So this post goes out to all those who know Rustic Motifs and to those who will eventually know us, be prepared to be surprised always 🙂 We are the thought that emerged outside the box, part of an open, interesting and creative world craving to be explored!

Post By Merlin Francis