Crafting a Brand

A conversation with her mother at the height of the pandemic changed Aakriti Rawal's trajectory.

- Payal Ganguly

Aakriti Rawal (29)

Founder, House of Chikankari

Her mother Poonam Rawal and she were talking about giving some extra embroidery work to their family tailor and the discussion veered towards the craft of chikankari. That discussion led her to turning entrepreneur.

"As a young person, I was fascinated by the handicrafts we have in India and how to make them accessible to younger people," says Aakriti.

Armed with an MSc in strategic marketing from Imperial College in London, and her keen interest in the field of fashion, Aakriti quit her job and launched House of Chikankari in 2020 with her mother on WhatsApp and Instagram business. At the time she was working with a startup renting out luxury labels, a business which was deeply impacted by the pandemic.