Started in 2012, InkyPinky is a line of mobile accessory products by Hansika Sawhney who wanted to add some glam to an otherwise boring phone. Her accessories cater to everyone’s needs; whether you want cool and funky or classic bling, her designs have it all.
“I always wanted to do something related to fashion and I saw that retail marketing in terms of clothing was saturated. On the other hand, no one was doing anything related to mobile accessories really and I thought ‘why not’,” says Hansika, who first started retailing dust plugs for the phone’s audio jack and then moved on to designing mobile covers.
Starting right
As a business developer for the design company 17 d north, the B.Com graduate from St Francis College for Women picked up the tricks of the trade that gave her the confidence to quit her job and start off on her own full-time. Talking about how she came up with the concept, she says, “I wanted to give mobile phones a fancy look and what was available in the market was the typical run off the mill. One is bound to get bored of the covers showing up everywhere on other people’s phones.”
Since she’s begun, the 24 year old has branched out into designing mobile covers for IPhones and is gradually making inroads with other smartphones available in the market
However, her dust plugs (which she retails from the US) seem to be a major hit with a variety of designs like bows, flowers, hello kitty, motifs, mickey mouse, crystals and so on to choose from. There are also those made of crochet, pearls and even a bejewelled owl pin.
The plugs, she says, are the perfect tool to protect the phone from dust particles accumulating in the jack which may affect sound quality in the long run.
Keeping with the market
A keen entrepreneur, she keeps a lookout for trends in clothes and incorporates them into her designs. “People these days want their phones to match what they are wearing. When they are travelling, they would want something sturdy which will not break if they drop the phone by mistake and if they are going to a party, they might want a crystal that will go with their outfits,” explains Hansika who also customises accessories besides selling ready made products. “When I do customise, I try to keep it as close to the customers needs as possible by asking them what they want. It’s importat to get the specifications right and I produce it exactly like they want it,” she says.
Building the business
So how does a home grown venture like InkyPinky manage to keep the business coming in? Like most noveau enterprises that have taken off courtesy social networking sites, Hansika attributes her popularity to Facebook which brings in most of the orders. “I get orders from Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai as well. People go through my designs on my Facebook page and send me the specification or product number by mail and I send it to them by courier.” What also makes quite sought after is the competitve pricing of her line. Hansika says she tries to keep the price to a minimum and not go beyond the ` 1000 mark, even with custom orders. “When it comes to phone covers, people like to have multiple covers, so I try to keep it reasonable,” she says before getting back to work.
Price: dustplugs ranges between `250 and `350 while mobile covers cost about `850
Details: www.facebook.com/inkypinky.in
Contact: 98857 90915