Coping with the death of a close friend or family member may be one of life’s most difficult trials. Our grieving might be more profound when we lose a partner, sibling, or parent.
Although loss is accepted as a normal part of life, we might nevertheless be overtaken by shock and bewilderment, resulting in years or decades of melancholy or despair. Although the grief usually fades with time, mourning is a vital step in overcoming these sentiments and continuing to cherish the time you spent with your loved one.
Everyone grieves in their own way and has their own set of coping skills. Most people recover on their own over time if they have peer support and a good daily routine, according to research. Coming to grips with a loss might take months or even a year. There is no such thing as a “normal” grieving phase.
For Farah Ahmad, grieving came in the form of entrepreneurship. After losing her family members to COVID-19, Farah introduced Soul Quilts to her company. Let’s find out more.
A Story of Resilience
During the pandemic’s second wave, Farah’s life came to a standstill. Already responsible for the wellbeing of her family, she contracted Covid herself. Soon after, other family members followed suit. Her life was flipped upside down when her mother and younger brother both died as a consequence of post-Covid complications.
It was difficult to deal with losses, and moving on was a challenge. But fate bought something different in mind for her.
Farah’s company Sweet Root was already established before the pandemic. It was a Bengaluru-based physical retail company that was struggling since the pandemic. Sweet Root couldn’t cope with the competition of eCommerce firms; Farah knew she had to revamp the business. Sweet Root underwent digitalization, and it was time for new products.
For more than a decade, Farah had an entrepreneurial attitude. As she would try to cling to whatever her lost loved ones reminded her of, she noticed their clothes were extremely important to her. These old clothes provided her serenity. Soon, she figured that this phenomenon and longing is a common human experience.
Memory quilts were born as a result of this. Memory quilts are quilts that are made to celebrate individuals, locations, or even events or feelings. Quilters save fabric remnants from dresses, aprons, and shirts to utilize in their projects.
More About The Founder
Farah has a long list of credentials to her name. During the 1990s, she worked for Yahoo!, followed by Software Development India Pvt Ltd, and submitted a US Patent for a “Keyword Trading System and Method”.
She had always wanted to work in Academia, so she grabbed the opportunity to work as a Research Assistant in the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, where she would be overseen by the Professors.
More than anything else, the concept of creating capital, jobs, and distributing wealth appealed to her, and it was out of this ambition that she founded the Beaut Group, which now operates in the health and retail sectors.
What is Sweet Root About?
Sweet Root creates several baby and child products. These include educational toys and other accessories such as towels, carriers, blankets, etc. There are also some products for adults. One of its interesting offerings is the SensoBox. These curated boxes help in brain development through sensory stimulation. Objects include anti-stress toys, sleep masks, candies, decorations, and a lot more.
According to Sweet Root:
“We want to help you give your child the very best childhood memories. In our opinion, the best way of doing this is to see the world as your child sees it…Every item we carry is something we would give to our own child, with love and care.”
Enter Soul Quilt
Soul Quilt is Sweet Root’s offering of memorial quilts. There are three variations available as of now; baby clothes quilt, t-shirt quilt, and saree quilt.
Sweet Root’s Soul Quilt is an upcycling-based product line that promotes human connection. Soul Quilt supports the concept of donating clothes, but you’ll find that sometimes we are all left with emotional clothing that we are unable to part with. These nostalgic garments are turned into lovely quilts full of memories.
Contriving the concept of conscientious consumerism and minimalism is at the heart of Sweet Root’s Soul Quilt.
Soul Quilt offers quilts in four different sizes, as well as memory pillows. There are other ways to customize your quill, including embossing, and adding borders or names to it.
First, you fill out a form on the website for your personalized quilt. You will receive specific instructions for step two after your order has been received. This is how the simple process works out:
- You will either mail, request pick-up, or drop your clothes at Sweet Root.
- It will confirm receipt of your products. During the manufacturing process, work in progress will be shared with you.
- When the production is finished. Sweet Root will send you a picture of your finished memory quilt.
- After you pay the remaining payment on your order, your new quilt will be mailed to you.
On a deeper level, a memorial quilt, according to Farah, honors the life of someone who has passed away while simultaneously offering a ‘portal’ for the living to be in touch. Looking at a particular shirtpiece in the quilt, for example, might jog recollections of a shared event with a deceased loved one.
Growth And Thoughts On The Future
Every month, there is a 10%-20% growth in the upcycling of discarded clothing. As of January 2022, almost 30 thousand pieces of apparel have been upcycled. As more individuals become aware of the concept of upcycling their old garments, an estimated 300,000 or more articles are projected to be upcycled by the end of the year.
Sweet Root’s Soul Quilt was founded in April 2021 and has witnessed a month-on-month increase of 25% in orders. In a short period, it has produced over 1,500 quilts from over one lakh of clothing.
Farah wishes to expand Sweet Root in the future and reach out to help more humans reconnect to their loved ones.
