Reena Mathur | Famous Fridays

Reena Mathur | ReeMat Designs

I met Reena Mathur, couple of months back at an event organised by Brown Girl Magazine in NYC. She stood their by her jewelry counter attending all her customers as I curiously glanced through the display of her exquisite jewelry - trying some pieces on.  When the two of us got talking, Reena filled me in with details about ReeMat Designs, and I knew it in my head that I wanted this lady on my FF page. 

A ball of talent- who's designs have been worn at the Miss USA pageant by Miss New Jersey Chhavi Verg, tells us all we need to know about her journey towards the creation of ReeMat Designs!

1) Was Jewelry Design always the preset career option for you?

Growing up in the eighties in India, ones career choices were set early. If you were academically bright, you either became a doctor or an engineer. Coming from a family of engineers, I pursued Civil Engineering from Mumbai University and went on to complete my M.S in Construction Management at Stanford University. 

2) So how and when did you make the switch?

After working in the bay area for several years , I moved to the east coast to work on various construction projects in NYC. Priorities soon changed as motherhood took over. Raising two kids, building our new home became a full time project. As the children became independent, my creative passion for jewelry designing unraveled and with the encouragement of family and  friends I launched ReeMat designs - a line of handcrafted jewelry.

3) Give us an insight about your jewelry.

Our statement jewelry pieces are handcrafted by artisans in India and designed/ curared by ReeMat Designs. These works of art are crafted using various materials including semi-precious stones, wood, kundan, and even recycled paper. Each piece is painstakingly designed with a "fusion twist", combining the contemporary with the classic.

4) How do you keep the global element in your jewelry alive? 

Apart from creating my own designs, I've teamed up with several design workshops in India, and artists in Delhi and Singapore. Currently, ReeMat's stone collection is displayed at high-end boutiques in New York, California, New Jersey and many other states nationwide.

5) What sets ReeMat Design apart from others? 

ReeMat's mantra is "jewelry with a cause", donating a portion of our proceeds to various charitable causes is an important part of our journey towards building the brand across various platforms.

Thank you Reena for the inspiring interview and showing so much warmth during all our conversations. Wishing you tons of luck for the future!

You can view her entire collection here

The Culture Tree + Desi Babies book reading!

As a mother of a ten month old, I do have qualms about raising her here in America. Whether or not - will she grow up learning to communicate in her mother tongue, having knowledge and respect for Indian culture or feeling at least a tad bit connected to her Indian roots. 

Luckily, I'm not the only mother with worries stated above. After meeting mompreneurs like Anu Sehgal, owner at The Culture Tree and Reena Puri & Mital Thelan from Desi Babies, I feel extremely proud that there are women out there who are making an effort to infuse the richness of our culture amongst these tiny tots. 

When Anu invited me to an event hosted by her and Desi Babies, I was more than happy to attend. It was a book reading for babies and toddlers for the book Meet my Hindu gods followed by a coloring activity into My first Indian colouring book

Reena and Mital- the authors of the book Meet my Hindu gods have taken great efforts to illustrate it in a manner that would appeal to the kids. Adding fun as they get to learn about their hindu gods.

The book has some cutest of drawings and the choice of words makes it a perfect read for children. 

The hosts were so kind to hand me a personally autographed copy of their book for my daughter. I can't wait to start reading this to her and teach her about Indian gods in the form of most innovative stories. 

Throughout the book reading, the kids listened to the narration patiently and displayed equal enthusiasm during the Question and Answer round. When asked about who their favourite gods were, I was amused at how promptly and confidently they spoke about their choices. 

All the mommies kept themselves entertained indulging in mimosas and samosas, as they happily watched their kids get engrossed into being a bit more desi. Sonia Puri who runs Sonia's petite patisserie added a dollop of sweetness to the event by baking some adorable cookies for the kids. Well let's just say kids weren't the only ones eating them😜 They were irresistibly cute and delish!

Being part of an initiative like this, put a broad smile on my face as I walked my way back home after the event. Making a promise to myself that I'll do my best to teach my daughter about our culture and knowing in my heart that I'll always have company and support from these lovely ladies!

MEET THE TEAM
From the left: Sonia Puri, Reena Puri, Anu Seghal and Mital Telhan

           

 

Posing with the authors, and delighted to have an autographed copy of their book. 

My little one enjoying her story time at home, as I narrate stories of Lord Ganesh and other gods.

Book reading in progress

Checkout how cute these cookies look, adorned with logos of Culture Tree and Desi Babies on them.

Sonia Puri,  owner - Sonia's Petite Patisserie

Holiday Party!

Hey folks! It finally snowed here. There's something about the first snow that puts a smile on my face. I feel like everything around starts looking prettier with fresh snow on it. Anyways,  I hope y'all had a fun and relaxed weekend! Mine turned out to be a not so relaxing one. We were switching apartments and all I could see around me was stuff, stuff and more stuff that needed to be packed into boxes. But more about that later...

Coming back to what this post is about, me and my friend - who is a fashion designer,  hosted our first holiday party together. We invited a bunch of friends we know from the fashion and blogging world and had a super fun night alongside cocktails and conversations.

The venue Cibar lounge, NYC deserves a special mention here because of its beautiful ambience and some great choice of food and drinks! If you're making a trip to NYC, I highly recommend trying this hidden gem. Whether you're lounging with your friends or on a date night, it's the perfect spot. Also, they have happy hour Monday to Friday between 5-8 pm so don't forget to make the most of it. Though this place doesn't serve dinner but they have lots of small plate options. And since we tried almost everything on the menu, I can totally vouch for their food. Infact just thinking about it makes me wanna revisit! 

Well, I won't write anything further, want you guys to check out these pics! They pretty much sum up  our party.

Girl Squad

My Co-host, Stuti Majmudar - Owner, Stuti Anand

Monika Rajwani - The Frye company.

Sadia Majeed -  Owner, The Fashion Edit

Neerja Patel -  Owner,  Neerja Public Relations

Nikki Dodani - Blogger, The Nikki Standard

Ritu Bhatia - Blogger, Chiffon Talk 

Mala  Vora - Jewelry Designer, Malasbymala

Perfect Date night spot! Isn't it?

Holiday Party OOTD

So, yesterday I attended my first LadyDrinks event.  LadyDrinks NY is an initiative that connects South Asian women entrepreneurs by organising events every month. I personally think its a great initiative to bring our community closer. Over the past few years, I've heard so much about their awesome events but never took the effort to be a part of it. This month they hosted their holiday party at the Empress.One in NYC and I decided why not! 

It turned out to be an evening well spent amongst a group of highly inspirational South Asian women! Plus, I always look forward to going to the city!  This time of the year makes it even more worthwhile when every street in the entire Manhattan is in the holiday spirit.

Other than that, I had so much fun getting dressed up for my first holiday party of the season. 

Outfit Details:

Perfume - Flowerbomb by Victor & Rolf // Necklace -Anthropologie  // Watch & clutch - Tory Burch // Boots - G by Guess // Dress - Dear Hannah 

Shine bright like a Diamond!

They say diamonds are a girls best friend, and when you get to try them on while indulging in some bubbles and sweets, how can one resist!

Brown Girl Magazine hosted its last event of the year: Shine Bright Like a Diamond with Sanghavi Solitaire. It was an evening of pure luxury, as I tried on some stunning and extraordinary pieces of jewelery by them.  Cant wait to share pictures already!

Elegance wrapped around my wrist. Three words for this diamond bracelet- Simple, Classy, Stunning!

Meet Nafisa - The whooping 5 carat rock! It was love at first sight.

Had my heart on these rose gold danglers.

With Vinit Jobanputra - President,  Sanghavi Solitaire Inc
and Trisha Sakhuja - Editor-in-Chief, Brown Girl Magazine

Love posing with this beauty PriaVanda Chouhan - Owner at Desi Galli and brand ambassador for Sanghavi Solitaire.

Lovely meeting Jasmin - owner of Jasmin Rehman Makeup Artistry.

Lastly, some treats for my sweet tooth! Those were some really delish cupcakes by KareenaKakes

Famous Fridays | Sonya Gill

Sony Gill - Founder, Take My Sari

From being a Social Media Consultant, former ad agency owner, author and a fitness model,  Sonya Gill claims a lot of titles under her belt. She truly defines woman entrepreneurship to its essence. Today, we are here to throw some light on her newest venture - Take My Sari

I first met the very energetic Sonya at the launch party of Take My Sari. The event was hosted by Neerja Public Relations, couple of days back in NYC.

Take My Sari - an app designed for the South Asian market that allows us to sell our "closet treasures" we no longer wish to wear, but are too good to be discarded. 

Bravo Sonya! I think you hit the bull's eye with a concept like that. Lets hear all about it from the mastermind herself.

Tell us all about the conceptualization of Take My Sari

I came up with the idea almost 2 and a half years ago alongside my first business when I went back home to Vancouver for my sisters wedding. My mother who was fed up with the amount of clothes, jewelry and shoes we already had asked if she could just give it all away to Goodwill or The Salvation Army. And that is when the idea conceptualized.


What sets this fashion app apart, from its counterparts?

The user friendliness of it and that there is an entire e-commerce platform built in for individual vendors so they can treat it like their own shop. There is also an option to make money on top of the sales you make monthly. So for example, if you sell up to $1000 a month, we will give you back a percentage of Take My Sari sales. It is called the Profit Sharing Program.


Where do you see Take My Sari in future?

I see a lot of vendors and exclusive designers using this app and I see it revolutionizing the way that South Asians shop. Renting is not something that was always done so openly, but I feel our community is finally ready for it.


Share you fitness mantra with us.

I’ve been working out since I was 15 and fitness for me now has just become a regular part of my day. I simply cannot start my day without getting a workout in first thing in the morning. I started competing in fitness shows last year as a way to challenge myself and I absolutely fell in love with it. I have learned so much about my body and what it is capable of and how much of what and HOW we feel has to do with food!

My next competition is in April of next year, but leading up to that, I typically keep a high protein diet, and start my mornings off with fasted cardio mixed with heavy weight lifting sessions.  My biggest fear is getting soft. So the minute I start to feel soft, I know that I’m enjoying myself too much or not lifting enough. It’s enough to get my a** into gear.


Your favorite Indian ethnic wear?

I love saris. They are just so beautiful. Always reminds me of a classic 50’s hindi movie.


A piece of advice you'd like to share about Startups.

Startups are not for the faint of heart. They are a LOT of hard work and if you don’t have thick skin and the drive to persevere, I wouldn’t recommend it. However, they are also a lot of fun. Knowing you can build something from scratch to execution and in some cases, IPO’s and acquisitions is exhilarating to say the least. You can look back on something and say, not only did I survive, I thrived.

Thank you Sonya for gracing my FF page today! Wishing you lots of success in your new endeavor.

With Sonya at the launch party of Take My Sari