We all love beautiful surroundings, well-decorated workspaces, and lovely homes. Decorated surroundings not just cater to increasing aesthetic beauty but also helps in improving the functionality of the space. As a homemaker all women love to decorate their abode as per their personality, lifestyle and needs. We love to add a personal touch to the place we live and make it all the more personal and inviting for all the family members.
On the lines of decoration and beautifying spaces we are yet again back with an inspiring journey of a mom and a well-known interior designer Smitha Gupta Founder Urvi Concepts.
Smitha Gupta is the founder of Urvi Concepts Interiors, a full-service architecture and interior design studio specializing in turnkey solutions.
Over the past 20 years, Smitha has built her reputation by working on over a 100 abodes, hotels and workspaces of a discerning clientele comprising of NRIs, hoteliers and business families in India, Middle East, and South East Asia.
Started in 2001, Urvi Concepts Interiors was conceptualized as the perfect avenue for Smitha Gupta to channelize her professional training and her passion for interior design. Urvi has grown from strength to strength since, evolving from a one-person design studio to a full-fledged team. Let's hear Smitha's journey.
Where did the inspiration for your business come from? Anything specific you would like to share about your business? How did you decide upon the name of the brand- Urvi Concepts?
After completing my masters in civil engineering, I realized that my passion is in designing the interiors.
As an interior designer, I am inspired every day. It can be anything from rain to sunshine to sunset. Any beautiful object or memory of travel can inspire me to map my final design. When I need more inspiration for my work, I just travel.
Most of my designs are an inspiration from nature. I believe all patterns in design are inspirations from the mother earth. That is how the name of my design firm 'Urvi' originated, which means 'Earth' in Sanskrit.
Please tell something about the brand's journey, how did it all get started? Was it difficult to reach the target audience?
When I returned to India after completing my masters in civil engineering from Russia, I realized my passion for interior designing and pursued a certificate course in interior designing in Kochi. I then worked under at a reputed interior designing firm for almost a year and subsequently started on my own in 2000. My first assignment was to design my husband's office and I bargained it to get myself one cube in his office as my workspace. That is how 'Urvi' was born from a corner office to a full-fledged team.
The "Do what you Love" philosophy has worked very well for me. This belief gave me a good head start as I just followed my passion and loved every bit of my professional journey. For me, each project is like a baby that you nurture with so much care and passion.
My initial few assignments were from my family friends who helped me to widen my network of clients through word of mouth, which is the key to my success and growth. I have never had the need to market or advertise to promote Urvi to get new business.
Being a mom plus an entrepreneur how do you manage challenges on both the fronts?
Being a working mother, you will always face a huge challenge in juggling between work and family. But having help from the elders of the family, I could manage both my roles. When kids were small, the number of projects taken were minimum. Finding ways to devote time to both is the key to achieve work-life balance. Delegating work is an art in any business.
When you get to design for a particular project what is the process that you follow. What inspires you the most?
The first and foremost thing is to understand the needs and expectations of the client, which is essential to attain client satisfaction on completion of the project. After that, I follow the implementation process. For a designer, communicating to the client is identical to storytelling in regards to how the interior is going to look like and what are the materials used for it.
I always keep functionality and practicality in mind while designing and attempt to follow like and dislikes of the client. I feel that their homes should reflect their personality rather than mine.
With the increasing income of most of the households, people prefer to get the house decorated in the most polished way. They look into minute detailing as well. Can you share with our readers some easy tips to keep in mind while decorating their own houses or any other space of utility?
According to me, it is vital to utilize the space effectively and tastefully and activate empty space. Always try to incorporate natural elements into space. It would be great if one tries to make use of environmentally friendly materials.
Could you throw some light on your future plans?
I have always encouraged my clients to be eco-friendly in their choices and I wish to focus on environmentally sustainable designs in the future, particularly while choosing materials like flooring, walls, fabrics etc. My basic idea is not to harm the nature and make the surroundings as natural as possible to feel closer to Earth.
We would love if you could recommend any particular course in interior designing online or in any particular institute for readers who would love to peruse and have a career in this pace?
Personally, I feel you should go for an on-campus course rather than an online course as it is always better to get hands-on and practical knowledge when it comes to interior designing. There are many colleges offering a degree in designing all over India and abroad.
One advice that you would like to give other women on being a successful Mompreneur?
The main idea is to draw a line between family and work. Learn to smartly delegate the work. Live your dream, however, learn to time out too. Spend time with yourself by exercising or taking a good 8-hour sleep, following a balanced diet etc. That way you will be less stressed and more efficient.
Well, this was all about a wonderfully talented Mompreneur who manages her house, kids and work seamlessly without having other to compromise at all. Inspired by nature and earthy elements she is herself a down to earth personality who strongly believes in preserving the natural beauty without harming the environment. To know more about her beautiful designs follow her here.
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