Celebrating a New Beginning

Happy New Year, green heart-ers, from our hearts to yours!

Year in Review : A note from our Founder 

Hi green heart-ers. Mahima here! We made it. It is officially 2021! Phew, what a year.

The past few days, I've been reflecting back and thinking about all the little things this year brought along the way. For starters, I never thought I'd be away from home & our Delhi office for so many months at a stretch. This challenged in more ways than I could've imagined. When the lockdown was first announced back in March, I was scared and I truly wondered how we'd make it here. Just like any other small business owner, we were thrown away by the uncertainty. All I knew was that we had to find a way to make it through, for our team, for our tailors, for their families and for our community of vendors. ⁠ ⁠

And so we did. We came together and we found a path ahead. We took it slowly, and each month we looked back at all that we had learnt. Our goal has always been to craft with a green heart, and make sure that you feel connected to that heart. We hope that through these times, for each of you who supported us - SUI brought a cheer your way whether it was our lives, our content, our clothing, our stories or our team. I thank all of you by standing by us and for supporting us for with that support, we are walking into 2021 with a heart full of green love. ⁠ ⁠ Our Wildflower chapter, stands for this journey and the fact that together we all bloomed amidst these moments. I hope you all walk into the new year, with the spirit of a wildflower.⁠ ⁠ From all of us at SUI - thank you for the love, we'll see you soon in 2021!⁠ ⁠

With a lot of green heart,

Mahima

A new year, A stronger Green heart 

A new year symbolises a fresh start and, with our 2020 the way that it was, we are looking to make the most of the year to come with even more determination than usual. This year, we have all been challenged in our ways of thinking, our habits, and norms; realising what actually is important to us, our communities and our planet.

In a way, it’s been a year of reflection and change as we took stock of the issues in the world that need to be addressed and tried to understand the effects of our own actions from racial and class disparities to, of course, climate change discourse. In our blog just before this one, we tackle this subject matter in a little more detail - you can read it here. But, moreover, we also looked inward to find how we ourselves had been mismanaging our own mental health in a time when we needed to isolate for our own and others’ safety. We had no choice but to confront ourselves for, we believe for the most part, the better.

So, with all this in mind, we asked ourselves (and we also ask you) to think on how this year has changed us, what lessons we learned, and how that shapes our goals for 2021. Here’s some of our thoughts...

“This year, for all that it was, has certainly taught me to cherish my hobbies and artistic expression that much more. When we all went through the first phase of lockdown, it forced me to revisit things like playing the guitar and watercolour painting (though I’m not the best at it, I’ll admit), things that had taken a backseat in my life in the past couple years and I found myself being more drawn to taking moments to myself (completely to myself) as I adjusted to working from home. It was a welcome sort of peace where I could do whatever I wanted with no expectation or true goal other than enjoying my time. And so, with the new year, I hope to keep devoting a little bit of time each day to those moments, appreciating the simple act of doing something for myself.” - Shanthi

“The year 2020 has been difficult for all of us but at the same time has been the most valuable year for me. It made me realise and learn that my home and valuable relationships keeps me safe in every situation.I got a chance to filter out real people and friends. The boredom that came with the first phase of lockdown compelled me to revive things I used to love as a student. I picked up gardening again and experimented with natural dyes. This year gave me immense time to analyse and set career goals for myself.  At last i have learned that being stuck at home is not a disgrace.”  - Anukriti

"The initial few months of this year were difficult as I finished my Masters and started looking for opportunities. But as soon as country went into lockdown the job opportunities became miniscule. The time shook me in several ways. There were a sea of emotions good and bad. But it definitely gave me some time to introspect and realise value of human existence and mental well being. Simultaneously I developed new interests and pushed myself out of my comfort zone. I believe this major change in my life would help me in my endeavors" -Kanishk

2020, what a year! A year I truly laughed, truly cried, or was it just a year for introspection. Was it a year I learned more about life or was it a year I accepted the things I already knew about? Well, I don't know and that's 2020. It's a time that can't be put into words but different from the rest of the year. A year of growth and reading through grey lines and forming a perception. Am I being a reader or a writer? I don't know. Now, on the last day of the year, 2020 did tell me that I know that time goes on and everything changes at the flinch of an eye and I would love to quote the famous saying here "Men may come, Men may go but I go on forever. Initially used in the context of brook but the perfect depiction of life. Happy 2021!! -Celina