“We are so lucky to have all these vendors here!” gushes Saratha, the organizer of pop up marketplace, The Indian Trail 5.0. The event that was held over the weekend at Ruang Subang.
People began pottering about from 10 am on Sunday at the venue, perusing the items on sale from the 16 vendors present. The booths were carefully laid out, ensuring there is sufficient space for the customers to move about. “A few of our vendors are alone here today, so I will be helping them out if it gets too busy at their booth,” Saratha tells us as she gestures towards a saree vendor who nods gratefully. This is in spite of the fact that Saratha’s own saree line, Neta Weaves, is present at the event.
This gesture is what The Indian Trail is all about – empowering small businesses, and giving them the exposure needed to reach greater heights. Being the fifth installment of the pop up marketplace, this round is a special one for two reasons. Not only is it themed Diwali Dhamaka, in time for Deepavali, but Saratha who resides in Australia, was able to attend the event. “I wasn’t able to make it for the last two events, as I had personal commitments to attend to, I am so happy to be here this time!”
This gesture is what The Indian Trail is all about -empowering small businesses, and giving them the exposure needed to reach greater heights.
Here are the vendors who were present at The Indian Trail 5.0
Izarre, helmed by The Indian Trail organizing committee member Yaalini, was present with a beautiful array of ethnic inspired clutches and bags on display.
Fellow committee member Poornima’s line of children’s ethnic clothing, Weavetrail, was a real hit with parents.
Vipra Collection was present, with business owner Ranjita readily putting on her beautiful accessories onto potential clients. Many were pleasantly surprised to learn that she even offers classes to those interested in jewelry making.
Manasa made the trip all the way from India to be a part of The Indian Trail 5.0 for her first ever pop up booth. Mudra Magik is not a new player to the handloomed saree scene, and her cotton and Mangalgiri sarees were selling like hotcakes.
The Indian Trail stands out from other pop up marketplaces because they don’t just focus on one category of items on sale. Sri and Murali from Proppy Kuala Lumpur were present at the event, with an array of playful socks for both men and women. Sourced from the Phillipines, Sri talks to us about their best seller, men’s ankle length socks. “These may look playful but they actually look really good with formal shoes and office wear,”
Also present at the event was Theeba Saree Petticoat. The business has revolutionized the saree petticoat, and offers a range of saree shapewear that is wallet friendly, and won’t leave those annoying red marks on the saree wearer’s waist.
Singing Bowl Tree‘s beautiful handmade sarees had customers attracted to their booth like bees to a honeypot. Rightly so, her sarees were snapped up really quickly.
The Golden Tijori had a range of gorgeous statement clutches and shoes. These pieces were so intricate that it could even make a plain black dress pop.
Another popular booth was CottonSpice Boutique. This vendor had many gorgeous ethnic pieces, and they were sporting enough to provide on site discounts for those who liked their social media pages.
Who would have thought of ethnic block printed T-shirts and umbrellas? Hastha, of course. Another vendor from India who is spreading their wings into Malaysia for the first time, their T-shirts were a real hit with men and women.
Sue Ann of Cheeky Cupid had an adorable assistant who was helping her promote her baked treats, which included diabetic friendly muffins, brownies and madeleines. “My father was diabetic, and I decided to try my hand at baking without using any sugar,” Sue Ann tells us that her diabetic treats are made with stevia and honey only.
Fans of Jacob’s Corner Achar were buying bottles of the Homemade 3 Leaf Achar, Homemade Roasted Garlic Achar and Homemade Bentong Ginger Achar. The company has now ventured into catering, and customers had a chance to taste one of their signature coconut bowl meals.
Paper marigold streamers outlined the ornate wooden and acrylic rangoli designs at MS Handicrafts‘ booth, while earthen and wooden candle holders filled the empty spaces. There were even decorations for the base of a kuthuvilakku!
Nandini of Dauscheavasa set up a one of a kind photo booth with large paper flowers, for the customers to take pictures. The former architect painstakingly handcrafted each of the flowers on display.
The official photographer of the event was the team from Rajendaran Photography. The team had a booth as well for customers to peruse through their work.
This review would not be complete without Saratha’s own line of handloomed Patur sarees, Neta Weave. She explains that she often talks to her weavers about colours of the threads. “White is a colour the weavers shy away from, because they stain easily. White and black are also considered inauspicious colours in their culture. But I have been trying to get them to do more of both colours, or at least ombre colours where white blends into a light pink hue and so on,” Needless to say, the Neta Weave sarees were one of the fast moving items at The Indian Trail 5.0.
The organisers cleverly arranged for a kids’ corner where the little ones could get their faces painted, to keep them occupied. A saree styling workshop was later conducted by saree sifus, Sumitra Selvaraj and Roovaa Lijuan.
It is always special to meet the person behind the brand of products that you are buying, to have a chat with them and hear their stories. The organizers of The Indian Trail 5.0 have honed their passion for helping small businesses with this event, and we, the customers, couldn’t be happier.
Saratha, however, wasn’t the only one who felt lucky on that day. Every vendor we spoke to told us how lucky THEY are to be a part of the event. Looks like a job well done, Saratha and team!
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