Today we’d like to introduce you to Sonal Kapoor.
Sonal, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Project Patch began this year. This past December my mom was showing me the social media of a company based in New Delhi, India, Pins&Needles, that sells hand-embroidered items made by underprivileged women. Most of these women are from impoverished backgrounds and may live in slums and/or face domestic violence.
However, Pins&Needles teaches the women how to embroider, which in turn gives them a skill-set. They are then able to sell their own work, keep the profits, and embroider more.
After looking through the work done by these women, I couldn’t help but notice how intricate and beautiful the embroidery was. I immediately knew I wanted to get involved, and after a couple days of thinking, I thought patches would be a really effective route. I figured I could consistently buy hand-embroidered material from this community of women, convert them into iron-on patches, and sell them in my own community.
Today, I have established an online shop for Project Patch, social media, and even have had a few pop-up shops where I’ve sold the patches.
Has it been a smooth road?
I am just starting out with Project Patch, so there have already been a few challenges and I am definitely anticipating more. My biggest one, at the moment, is finding a way to get the product directly in front of consumers. I have found that when people see the patches in-person, they are more likely to empathize with the cause and be impressed with the embroidery.
As a college student, I have been able to do a few pop-up shops at various events on campus, and have driven a lot of sales and traffic to my website. Looking forward, I hope to one day get the patches in a boutique or physical store.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Project Patch – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We specialize in hand-embroidered patches. The mission of Project Patch, to empower and help sustain the community of underprivileged women in India, is what we are known for and definitely what sets us apart from the competition. I am incredibly proud of the various patches we sell.
Additionally, many of the designs of the patches are focused on female empowerment which ties in well with the mission. My primary goal right now is to expose every consumer to the mission and allow them to understand who their purchase is benefitting.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love LA. I am going to school in Northern California at the moment, and treasure every break that I get to come home. I love the weather, the freeways, the people, the distinction of the different neighborhoods, the culture, and more. Creating something like Project Patch in LA has been really great, as my community is so receptive and there are so many different opportunities to sell the patches at/advertise our mission at.
For instance, when I just started Project Patch I wanted to take pictures of the product in use for my social media. I hopped in the car, drove 30 minutes to Silver Lake, and was able to have a beautiful, urban backdrop for my product. LA offers so much, and I am really blessed to call it home.
Pricing:
- -patches are $10
- -hats with patches are $20
Contact Info:
- Website: projectpatchshop.com
- Email: projectpatchshop@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/projectpatchshop
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectpatchshop
- Twitter: twitter.com/projectpatchsho
Image Credit:
Smitha TK
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
