Meet the SHEROES - Dhruva Patel

What got you started?

I am 26 was born in Ahmedabad, schooled in Bangalore at Bishop cottons, finished college at NIFT in Chennai and graduated as an Accessory Designer May 2008.

I practically grew up as a farm girl on our farm where we lived in Ahmedabad as a joint family. My father is a cardiologist and practices sustainable organic farming along with my mother who converts all the organic yield into deliciously served delicacies onto our table which fuels my thoughts. I have an aunt who manages our very green and creative nursery with beautiful flora & fauna. They all have been a great part of my inspirational process taking me into designing. That was where I got my first instincts towards designing, surrounded by nature in its full grandeur, nothing could be a better inspiration than that, and this is what pushed me into this direction.

Design to me then was simple, it was anything that had beauty not just the looks but also a soul and the whole essence of it. Nature in itself is design which I was so fortunate to witness. When I was in high school I realized I wanted to be in designing. I knew I was going to design accessories either jewellery or lifestyle accessories, but much after that my mind was set onto Footwear and Leather goods and that was the time that I had made it in with NIFT Chennai where they had an actual Leather Footwear and Accessories course which suited me the best! 

Tell us something about your work

I design handbags and accessories crafted in leather and a variety of other materials. The process of design for me is very crucial, it is the best part of designing. I begin with the essence of the season for which I design following the fashion forecast to an extent so that I do not get off track, while on the other hand I try to bring about what happens around me, just having a great coffee that gets my mind running. Nature as I mentioned earlier is the ambience that I like to design in, it is an eternal source to my thought process.

It begins with brain storming with words that reflect a theme, attached with functions, colours, textures, materials and so on. In this process a good board begins appearing and thereafter come sketches, details and all that is required to bring a design. Colour board which I make for the colours of my design is made. After I sketch all the details they are converted into software files for accuracy in design size. The design process is never ending. It continues till it is in the hand of the beholder. 

What inspires you?  

My Inspirations comes from day to day life, objects of nature, cultures, traditions, people, history and art. It could come even from the most insignificant thing which can be interpreted into something unique. Inspirations for me is a concept well interpreted indirectly, which gives the opposite person something to ponder about.

Message to all the SHEROES out there

Keep going, never give up.