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THE WONDROUS LOOM!Anurima Das profiles Vikas Rajesh Bansal, Founder of The Loom Saree, a brand with a focus on handloom creations.

There’s no end to versatility when it comes to handloom. Handloom is a precious, handmade wonder that you cannot replicate with anything in the world. The power of handloom has travelled far and wide today and more and more brands and companies are digressing from the path of power loom in order to explore handloom makes. Many have been heard saying that the comfort they get wearing handloom clothing, especially saris, is unmatched to none. Traversing on this idea of handloom, Vikas Rajesh Bansal digitised his family’s age-old loom business into a one-stop digital store for handloom for the world.

He proudly mentions that his knowledge and love for looms makes him very rich but he owns up that he is not so educated like many of his contemporaries. However, we discovered that Vikas’ knack for handloom and his eye for detail have won him a customer base that many crave for.

Women from across India vouch for his loom make and mention how his saris fit well within their budget, and not for once do they feel cheated on the price and quality front. Hailing from a small town in Maharastra, Vikas dreams of making it big riding on the wings of handloom.

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We spoke to him to discover some hidden aspects about The Loom Saree.

TELL US ABOUT THE BRAND.This is actually a family business; we used to sell only silk saris under the banner of Shagun Silks & Sarees. However, I thought that we should use social media for our business and I started a social media campaign. For the first three months, there was no order, so it was a big disappointment. Then I got my first order and after a few months, one customer came to the store and wanted to buy a cotton sari and she asked me why I don’t keep options of such saris online, which gave me an idea. So I started a new page by the name of The Loom Saree on November 17, 2017.

HOW DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF FROM THE OTHER HANDLOOM RETAILERS AND BRANDS?We have looms and we hail from a background where we have worked at the ground level of manufacturing hosiery. That’s why I have a clear knowledge of threads and looms. Since I’m working directly with handloom products and getting my products made at our own looms or with people we know, I can manage to put a good price tag for my products. Added to this, I don’t work with wholesalers and this is the reason I am able to keep the profit margin low. That’s

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why I can prioritise customer choice and sell on a small price tag just suiting my business and weaver needs. This has, by God’s grace, helped me bag a lot of customers, especially people who have been cheated with bad pricing.

WHERE ARE YOU BASED IN AND FROM WHERE DO YOU MAINLY GET YOUR HANDLOOM?We are mainly based in Jalna, which is around 40 km from Mumbai. We procure saris from looms all over India, from Bengal, Bhagyanagar, and Bhagalpur. We are also going to launch Benarasi soon as part of The Loom Saree banner.

HOW CHALLENGING HAS IT BEEN SO FAR FOR YOU, BEING IN THE HANDLOOM BUSINESS?Of course there have been challenges, but handling customers online is far easier than in the store. As far as prices are concerned, we go after volume. Thus, prices are less, my margin is also very less. Also, sometimes the workers work in the farms or like now since it’s election season,

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many looms are closed; that’s another challenge. So, being from a worker-intensive industry, overcoming such challenges on a day-to-day basis is part of what we do. However, I don’t see this as a drawback as I have learnt to respect and give value to my weaver community. The more we believe in them and support them in their livelihood, the more they will also help us equally.

I trust them and offer to pay them more than their quoted price for better quality and faster work. During the rainy season, the production is less than in summer. But even the rush at the store falls during that time, so we dedicate that period to loom visits and the like.

ARE YOU IN TOUCH WITH ANY DESIGNERS WHO WORK WITH HANDLOOM?Yes, many have contacted me, but I don’t have the time to guide them. Besides, I want to start my own label sometime soon.

HOW ARE YOU DIFFERENT FROM OTHER BRANDS?To tell it in a few words and to sum it up in a sentence, I would want to mention that we definitely know the market, perhaps, better than many others. Also, I can vouch for the price range I offer.

I WANT TO LAUNCH A WEBSITE, AND IF WE DO REALLY WELL OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, THEN PROBABLY I WILL EXPAND AND OPEN A FEW OFFLINE STORES.WHERE ELSE DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR BRAND BESIDES INSTAGRAM AND WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS? We promote on Facebook, and my customers promote The Loom Saree via word of mouth. I am not too keen on any collaboration. Right now, I am concentrating on building a website. I want to launch a website, and if we do really well over the next few years, then probably I will expand and open a few offline stores. But for now, I want to mainly work online so that my customers can reach me in a click.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FABRIC?Both cotton and silk, but I prefer cotton a little more than silk.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE WEAVE?My favourite is the Ilkal weave.