Today we’d like to introduce you to Veronica Tharmalingam.
Hi Veronica, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Chennai, lived there until I was 12 and moved to Paris, France. Even though I am and will always be a Chennai girl, I wouldn’t say that it’s just my Indian background that shaped my work. It’s much more deeper than that, being of Tamil origin and growing up in that culture and being immersed in all the colorful sarees, gold jewelry and accessories of Chennai, Tamil Nadu and India contributed tremendously of course. But it’s mostly by watching my mother do her shopping for sarees and jewelry that I learned how to mix and match colors and jewelry patterns that are not common combinations that people typically go for. The stories she would tell me about her mother, my grandmother also helped me develop an eye for fashion and colors. I guess it is safe to say that it is kind of in my DNA… in the 30s and 40s, my grandmother was very avant-garde and a style icon in her city. Even before Fashion Week existed, she would tell her tailor to make an outfit inspired by a movie she saw and she turned heads wherever she would go with her sarees and would always mix and match her gold jewelry. My mother was the same. She would place custom orders at the stores for sarees and gold jewelry with unusual color combinations that would throw off and surprise the sales associates, and they would even warn my mother that it was not going to look pretty, etc. She would be so sure of her choices and of course, the results were always amazing, and the store would order more and sell out each time. She was a trendsetter and couturier herself. She would tailor clothing for herself and us (me and my brother) that would always have a wow factor. My mother had a very keen eye for fashion and what would be trendy in the future. So, I grew up observing all this and unconsciously soaking it all in. Ultimately, this is what led me to combine saree, raw silk and jewelry techniques together for my brand.
My vision for my collections and my brand, in general, is to empower every woman to cultivate her uniqueness. My bags and jewelry are a symbol for women to find and nurture the graceful authority and the regal elegance that exists within themselves. To own a Veronica Tharmalingam™ handbag and jewelry is to dare to express this inner warrior queen every day with class, authenticity, confidence and style.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
When I started down this road of adventures, I wanted to create a brand for jewelry, shoes and handbags. I started to work on the bags first and saw how hard it was to do it from scratch, to source everything and make a vision into reality. Did my first prototypes for the bags, then there were 4-5 different versions of that prototype before I got to what you see today for each bag. The whole process of finding my artisans, nurturing a good relationship with them and to work together as a team to bring the ideas to life was a six years process. During year 4, I started working on the jewelry too, which was much easier compared to the bags, I guess because of all the obstacles I had the past four years and the lessons learnt from them. I love what I do and am thrilled to wake up every day to work on it. Every day comes with new challenges and new learning experiences. So I wouldn’t trade it to anything. That’s the joy of being an entrepreneur, I guess.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am hoping that I am bring an empowering flavor to the fashion industry. Drawing inspiration not only from my time in Chennai as well as Paris, I credit my ancestors and my mother for shaping my love for unique color combinations and an overall passion for creating this unique work.
Setting the standards for brands moving forward, Veronica Tharmalingam™ pride ourselves as a fashion brand with a cause. 30% of our profits are donated to important causes including charities helping abolish child abuse and child labor, organizations helping to better the quality of life for Indian artisans and organizations in Sri Lanka and India to help provide better health treatments in rural areas. In addition to supporting Indian women and children through these efforts, Veronica Tharmalingam™ is playing a crucial role in the sustainable fashion movement. As a brand, we are working to make our carbon footprint as small as possible by only sourcing materials already available locally in the market and producing limited batches to avoid excess products. With an incredible handbag and jewelry line collection out now, Veronica Tharmalingam™ keeps a busy pace and is already working on a new collection.
I have both a handbag and a jewelry line at the moment. The name of the handbag line is the Rani Collection, which means queen in Tamil, while the jewelry collection is named Maheswary after my late mother. The handbags and jewelry are handmade in a 5-person workshop in the outskirts of Mumbai, where thousands of years of traditional savoir-faire are used to craft every fabric, every thread, every pearl, and every seam, each bag is created as a unique and exclusive piece of art.
The Rani Collection has six statement handbags that were initially designed for evening wear but evolved to daywear. I see these as show stoppers with bright colors and intricate details to make that statement even with a pair of jeans. All the handbags except for one are made of raw silk and are lined with the royal blue VT brand color inside. I am also a practical person and I do not like heavy handbags, so I made it a point to make my bags as light as possible even with the intricate artwork you will see on them. We picked very light and high-end materials. Another problem I wanted to solve was to have actual space inside the bags, even the clutch for example. I’ve always heard my girlfriends complain about their clutch or evening bags not having space to put basic essential things inside them. Even my smallest clutch can fit a phone, lip gloss, car key and 1-2 credit cards (YES!! For real). Another thing I wanted to ensure was that these bags were versatile. By changing the way the straps hook onto the bags, you can achieve multiple looks.
The Maheswary Collection is my jewelry collection. It started off as my own private collection that I hand-picked from skilled artisans around India. I had not initially planned to bring these to market, but again, the positive feedback I got whenever I would wear these led me to start thinking about incorporating them as part of my brand. I developed a deeper relationship with the artisans and they are now part of the team and work on statement jewelry pieces – there are literally only one or two of each model. The new collection we have on our website have up to five pieces for some of the earrings and rings.
I wanted the brand to be affordable to anyone who wants to have a designer piece without breaking the bank. So, I made sure we had some pieces that are under $ 200 in our jewelry collection and under $500 for some of the handbags. I was once that young student wanting to have a cute luxury item but couldn’t afford it.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
We are a new brand in town and a small business, so the best way to support us is by referring us to your circle of family and friends and think of our brand when you are looking for something special, out of the ordinary. We are a feel-good brand with our contribution to charity and our sustainability etiquette. So splurge in our slow fashion brand and tell your entourage to do so too.
Another way to stay in the loop is to subscribe to our newsletter which will come with a 10% discount on your purchase and exclusive access to our private events, seasonal gifts and more. We only email you very occasionally.
Pricing:
- Hand bags starting at $395
- Jewelry starting at $ 195
Contact Info:
- Website: www.veronicatharmalingam.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/veronicatharmalingam
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/veronicatharmalingam
- Linkedin: www.linkendin.com/veronicatharmalingam
- Other: www.tiktok.com/veronica_tharmalingam
