Patched perfect!

Nazooha Fazal

Taking the art of patchwork to a whole new level is ‘Patched’, the newest quilting specialist in Sri Lanka’s designer space. 

A visit to the studio, or rather the workshop of Patched will tell you instantly they love their colours and are confident in mixing bright and unusual fabric prints to churn out a range of patchwork products.

Holding on to its tagline ‘Celebrating Creativity’, they would craft with patchwork just about anything, even a lampshade!

Founded by Patchwork Artist Nazooha Fazal and her daughter Shabiya Ali just over a year ago, Patched was established to provide women headed households an income generating avenue. Having over two decades of hands on experience in the art and craft space, Patched Co-Founder and Chief Designer Fazal decided she wanted to provide a platform for such highly-talented ladies whose creativity remained within the walls of their homes.

Thus, Patched was born with the keen interest of creating an ecosystem to actively promote this art form in Sri Lanka whilst empowering women.

Speaking to Weekend FT, Fazal shared her journey with Patched and what it aims to become.

Start of a new venture

Looking at their product range it can be said Patched is all about modernising the art of Patchwork. While traditional patchwork is about soothing colours and symmetry, these guys go in the opposite direction. 

“Traditional patchwork has been around in Sri Lanka for decades, but it has not received its due recognition, mostly because it is considered old fashioned. Knowing this is much more than just attaching pieces of fabric together, as many perceive it to be, we wanted to do something different. So we thought why not use this so called traditional art and give it a modern twist,” shared Fazal.

According to her, the modernised version was well received and became an instant hit. “From the design side we found our thinking to be rather innovative, but we weren’t so sure if the market would share similar sentiments. Much to our surprise, it kicked off exceptionally well,” she added.

Patched was launched online with about 20 designer hand quilts and 50 plus lunchbox napkins. Within a week all products were sold out.

Birth of a patchwork artist

Fazal was always known as a needle and handcraft pro amongst family and friends. Her love for sewing and designing started during her school days where she won many interschool fashion and interior designing competition. While she continued to further explore her creativity at her own pace, she realised she was capable of much more, but required some formal training. 

She turned to renowned artist Daisy Vittachi whose name is synonymous with patchwork. From then on Fazal has been growing from strength to strength and continued to reach greater heights. She emerged as a gold medallist for four years straight at the ‘All Island Patchwork and Needlecraft Competition’ awarded by ‘Share of Joy’ and ‘Anchor’ (Coats Thread). Fazal now sits at the judging panel of the very same competition that put her under the spotlight.

“The awards boosted my confidence and I wanted to do more. Not only did I want to do more for myself but for other ladies like me who are tremendously talented but lack the capability of showcasing their work. I always wanted to set up a venture. Having met a number of talented individuals I wanted to support them in any way I could. And with that thought process was the setting up of Patched,” shared Fazal.

Women empowerment

Patched started out with just two women, who work from home, and within a year it grew to provide employment for 15 ladies. The venture strives to involve its ‘partners’ in not only the stitching but the designing as well.

“With our partners being the key pillars of our venture, we wanted to ensure they are valued. We ensure we hear their ideas and implement them too. We encourage them to try out new things for Patched, and if it works out we put it to the market,” she said. 

The entire team meets once a month for brain storming sessions where they propose and exchange new ideas, and suggest the way forward. This practice according to Fazal has helped to maintain enthusiasm amongst the team. 

Furthermore, staying true to its tagline, Patched refuses to put a price on its labour. Here the partners are paid what they ask.

“You cannot put a price tag to creativity so at Patched we pay what our partner feels they deserve. We pay what they want. I must say they are reasonable. This way they continue to be motivated and never have the feeling of being underpaid and exploited,” opined Fazal.  

The unique factor

In addition to its way of work, making Patched stand out is its designs and product range. They tend to get into products that one wouldn’t think of exploring. One such is the lunch box napkins. Patched has simply taken a straightforward core product and elevated it with innovative designs.

For instance, a typical school napkin would be a square fabric hemmed at the edges. Patched crafted it with an additional layer of bright fabric, secured with a Thai fold and quilted with a hand appliqued patchwork design. The range turned out to be a favourite.

Furthermore, what makes Patched standout from the rest is that every single product, no matter how small or big, has a handcrafted element. 

“We can take the easy way out and design with machines but we consciously chose not to. No matter how sophisticated your machine may be, it cannot match the work of your bare hands. Intricate designs call for it. And this is what I believe has allowed Patched to stand out and reach the stage it enjoys today,” noted Fazal. 

Forever exploring  

Patched experiments with different blocks, designs, and fabric before going live. Some take more than six months to hit the market. While not all the prototypes make it, a good number hit a high note. The kiddies’ prayer mats, applique infant tops, and the batik/patchwork sarongs are amongst those that became an instant hit, all the first of theur kind.

Fazal explained that the kiddies’ prayer mats was introduced as a gift item for the Muslim festival Eid, but turned out to be fast moving throughout the year. The applique infant tops is now a must have for young mums, while the sarongs are becoming increasingly popular amongst young boys who find it rather interesting to explore the Lankan home dress sense.

Price factor

Patched is more on the higher scale for two reasons, it uses only top quality materials, and pays more than a decent wage for its partners. 

“Nothing good comes cheap and it’s interesting to note that our customer base has realised that.  Initially we were thought to be high priced, but when they experienced our products first-hand the usual reaction was that it’s worth more.”

Wide customer base

Patched started off by catering to local retail customers but as of late has been serving international customers as well, mostly in India and Malaysia.  All are reached online.

Moreover, it is now creeping into a B2B model as well, having bagged orders for handcrafted patchwork items and disposable room amenities from leading hotel chains in the Middle East. Its list of clients include Hilton, Jeddah, KSA, Al Faisalia, Riyadh, KSA (Rosewood Hotels and Resorts) and Al Shohada Makkah, KSA (AKMC Hotels).

Fazal shared that for one of these hotels Patched has been asked to design and craft patchwork items for the kids arena. “We are in the planning stages of this. We are both excited and nervous at the same time. But I must say it is going to be a fun exercise as we can let our creative instincts run wild,” said Fazal enthusiastically.

However, she stressed that Patched is keen on driving its brand in the local market and aims to be a household name.

What’s next?

With the business growing at a steady pace, Patched is looking to expand in all areas, from capacity to client base. Acknowledging it has the potential to do more, Fazal said the current focus is on increasing its partners and aims to have at least 30 on-board before the end of its second operating year.

In the pipeline are also a number of funky consumer products that will hit its virtual shelf in the coming months. And if all goes as planned, Patched is likely to hit stores in the near future.

Message for budding entrepreneurs 

In a nutshell, “dream big” is what Fazal had to say. “If you have a dream, don’t sleep on it, act on it and work towards it. If you have a passion for something, then take the leap and make it happen, don’t wait for it to happen. Aim high and believe in yourself. Ask for help and build your contacts, it will take you places. And most importantly, be original, innovative and humble.”

Website:www.patchedstudios.com 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PatchedSL/?fref=nf

Instagram: @PatchedSL