Washed in Time Designs!!
I am Jyoti the designer behind SageMadeDesign. I live in San Jose, with my husband and toddler son. I have always been a designer, coming to silicon valley the tech hub of the world as computer graphic designer and apply my creativity in the virtual world. But, to put it mildly, it was not all rosy. Soon creativity was taken over by procedures, nonautonomy and mundane routines driving the need for a change. But, the million dollar question in this situation is to narrow down the work that will suit the best? Luckily for me, the seeds of individuality and artistry were sown early in the childhood where my father, textile materials/printing/thread expert all his working life would let me “HELP”.
As father’s little helper, he taught me to compose fabric colors, identify materials, screen print, mess up and wonder what if I had done it some other way?? Another thing from my childhood that has helped in the journey was my attraction towards things that had an essence of time, rawness and ruggedness. I have always been good about finding stuff that makes you wonder: How old is it? How many more times? How does this thing keep looking better every time? Be it my collection of earrings, my shoes, my bags or the patterned torn off jeans.
So, here my logical engineering mind took over trying to sum my experience as a computer graphic designer, knowledge of fabric materials/patterns and attraction towards rawness. With some encouragement from the family, I decide to scrap the mundane in 2011 and get formally educated as Fashion and Interior Designer at West Valley College of arts. Learning about color theory, materials, history of arts, abstract modeling, design tools and so on. In summer of 2014, I obtained the formal assosiate degree and about the same time became a mom to a lovely boy. Between late 2014 and 2015, I worked as an interior design consultant on the need to basis, which provided me time to pursue and create my own designs and prototypes for home decor. The idea was simple, i.e to combine my childhood passion for things that have an essence of time/rawness/ruggedness and my knowledge about fashion and interior design.
I started by prototyping pillow covers. Pillow covers that offer rustic charm, fresh but vintage look. Was it difficult to design the prototypes? At times it felt like a puzzle forever, but with right assistance from my interior design friends and father, I was able to find that perfect sample of natural burlap, heavy duty canvas, sturdy but light leather, spray paint technique, themes, stencils and a pair of expert sewing hands to build that unspoiled rustic look. Here it was: SageMadeDesign was born in Dec 2015. My first ever pillow cover got sold the fourth day I put it on Etsy, providing me enough encouragement to keep prototyping and create a wide product portfolio offering designs that keep looking better with time.
Now, about one exciting year in, I have combined 35 prototypes of pillow covers, wall hangers and designer bags. Have our materials, supplier, equipments, test procedures, quality checks narrowed down. SageMadeDesign is now a family owned and operated venture. All my designs are tested rigorously before selling them to the customers. My father oversees making and logistics. All the making is now done in Jodhpur, the art capital of India and inspected multiple times for quality assurance both in India and USA. Each bag is hand cut and sewn on precision equipment. My husband, an avid nature lover helps me with photography. He even wants to shoot all the product photos in nature. Pardon his amateur photography, the designs are much better in person :D We use only 100% natural fabrics, heavy duty military grade cotton canvas, heavy duty cotton fibers, genuine full grain leather and top quality hardware providing a truly "SageMade" experience. I want to start using more upcycle materials in the designs to make them even more eco friendly.
I have huge aspirations for SageMadeDesign. I've fulfilled my first dream, which was to be an individual thinker and my own boss!! I'm very excited about this move. My next goal is to make more of a local presence in the state of California. This includes getting my designs into salons and boutiques. I have already taken a small step forward by having my design available at a local bay area boutique http://www.ricochetwearableart.net/ Beyond that, I want to grow SageMadeDesign into a business that reaches many, many people!!
