Grandparents Day- A business carved from warmth

Social media is infamous for consuming all of youth's time and harbouring notions of virtual beauty and mobile addiction. However, among the positive sides, the internet has leveraged small-scale businesses bringing them to the masses. One such inspiring success story is Caught Craft Handed, run by Dadi-Poti duo Sheela and Yukti Bajaj which has gained up to 43.1k followers.

No matter how much you spend on branded cardigans, nothing can match the warmth of the sweater knitted by your grandmother. Yukti (26) has been very close to her grandmother. Growing up, stories from her brought comfort and security. As she grew up, she realised her grandmother's skill and passion for knitting.

Sheela's (78) love for knitting started at the early age of 12 when she was in school. Intrigued by their neighbour's knitting sweaters and other things, she approached them and learned all the techniques. While growing up, her love and affection for knitting turned into her hobby.

Sheela says, "My friends and I used to sit together and knit items. We all would measure the threads and compete among ourselves who would knit it first and make the finest. Healthy competition to practice our skills of knitting."

Sheela would frequently make sweaters and clothing for the family's kids. Back in 2020, when Covid turned our lives upside down, Yukti thought of turning their grandmother's hobby into a business. Working from home was, in a way, advantageous for her because it allowed her to set up an  Instagram account for her grandmother.

Yukti launched the page, Caught Craft Handed, in November 2020 and claimed that the response was a little lacklustre at first. Her grandmother used to pick her old designs, reopen them and try new innovative techniques. Sheela was disheartened by the reaction, but the two decided to carry on, and one day their hard work pulled off.

Turning her hobby into a business, Sheela emerged as an entrepreneur at the age of 78. She is now learning new trends to adapt new designs according to the customer market. She watches new techniques and tries them out with new colours and unique designs. Sheela is one of the most talented people. With every order, she tries to improvise her work.

Available at Caught Craft Handed are crocheted accessories for women of all ages, including earrings, bags, scrunchies, toys, warmers, and home decor, with prices ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 2,000. The extraordinary designs and the eternal warmth of tenderness.

Handmade things take time to be made. Sheela states that an outfit for a child between the ages of newborn and three years old takes her three days to sew and costs roughly Rs 1,600. This is also based on how much work is involved. A handwritten message and a few extras, such as headbands, scrunchies, or bookmarks, are provided with every item shipped out.

Yukti, who is elated to give shape to her grandmother's hobby says it's enjoyable to witness her grandmother's dedication to crocheting. "She (her grandmother) makes the goods, and I write tiny comments to go with the order. She fulfils every order with such love and enthusiasm. She spends a good share of the day knitting or crocheting while she sits with her yarn, as my dadi does not like watching TV. We occasionally feel too exhausted but she is always motivated."

The goal of their business according to Yukti is to make recipients of packages, happy, which makes them happy. Every day their DMs are flooded with compliments which keeps them motivated.

This article is a replug.