Stringing 8217;em along

More remarkable, she has done so well that the family pitched in to make it their entire business. Her husband, an architect, was the first to join while her son, an engineer followed later. The newest recruit is her daughter-in-law. Family members are not only designers but artisans too.

Vaidya has achieved a fan following without much fuss. She does not have a factory, she does not employ anybody, she personally does even the most mundane jobs. She does notunderstand what marketing is all about, there is no business strategy or planning and she certainly does not woo clients.

Instead, they trooped in voluntarily and business boomed. Her simple philosophy was, if you do a good job, there will always be takers. A self-effacing Vaidya got into the business as a diversion from a family crisis and poor health. Lacking formal training, she never expected that things would turn out quite so well.

She started by stringing a mangalsutra for a friend which sparked off many similar requests. Vaidya chose to do imitation jewellery as she reckoned that chunky precious jewellery would not always be safe to wear. Besides, changing tastes signalled a demand for accessories that would find wider choice in imitation jewellery.

Learning through trial and error was frequently frustrating till she picked up the intricacies of the trade. Initially, she designed inexpensive jewellery. Once an order for 5000 mangalsutras netted her a mere Rs 3,500 despite the heavy workinvolved. Soon she realised that imitation jewellery was not paying enough and made the switch to semi-precious ornaments. Today, she deals in real and cultured pearls, American diamond sets and nagrah stone jewellery.

Women in Pune prefer the traditional Maharashtrian jewellery and Vaidya started making these. The typical traditional nose rings, bracelets, earrings and exquisite pendants have now become her trademarks. Another interesting market opened up when clients started bringing in precious heirlooms which they wanted redesigned according to current trends. She soon acquired an expertise in this branch, too.

Trust is a key to her success: clients trust Vaidya completely, handing over valuable jewellery confident that she will not return fakes or swindle them. Vaidya creates her own designs and also does exclusive work on orders. She is judicious in her use of heavy metal which hikes costs and prefers gold-plated silver, to combine competitive pricing with novel designing.

Husband Sudhakar Vaidyafinds jewellery designing creative in comparison to his former calling, architecture, which he says was dull. quot;You don8217;t have to keep knocking on the doors of town planners and municipal officers and it is also more remunerative,quot; he laughs.

The Vaidyas have opened a small showroom, basically for convenience. A growing clientele meant visitors at odd times. Still, she would prefer to ensure it remains a family business with each member earning at least Rs 4 8211; 5 lakh a year. Vaidya believes that word-of-mouth publicity and timely delivery has taken her business a long way. And if you want to judge for yourself, watch newsreaders with Mumbai Doordarshan for some of the jewellery they sport: they are among her most loyal customers.