Spotlight on the home decor brand "Home Sake"

“Homesake.in” is a Noida (UP, India) based online portal for luxurious Indian handicrafts and home décor products with the perfect blend of the old world charm of antiques, romance of vintage decor and a streak of contemporary flair. Brought to life by a team of engineers, designers, managers and philosophers in 2014, Homesake focuses on celebrating the fundamentals of good and authentic design, maintaining the balance between great quality and affordable pricing and sensitivity to the fact that the quality of lifestyle of Indian rural artisans needs to be elevated by implementing fair wages policy and technological advancement of their skill sets. 

The core team at Homesake comprising of Azeem Khan (the coder/CTO), Shubham Sharma (marketer/CMO) and Avi Aditya Jain (the Founder), have spent months curating exquisite products for Homesake with the spotlight on antique glass craft, royal metal carving and dazzling crystalware. The products are designed by their in-house team, but handcrafted in collaboration with artisans from different states in India, primarily U.P., Rajasthan, Gujrat and Haryana. I sat down with the young and competitive Avi Jain, as I wanted to know more about the Story behind Homesake. 

TECD: Hello and welcome to TECD, Avi! Let’s start by asking you why the name Homesake? 

Avi Jain: “Homesake justifies our motto, i.e. "For the love of home". We strive to bring everything and anything to make your home beautiful, all at one place, with the added advantage of great customer service and shopping from the convenience of your home. Since home decor is something that's very subjective, we are constantly working on expanding the range of home decor related products available at Homesake. We are also striving to bring more technological advancement at Homesake so as to make the shopping experience more enjoyable and memorable.”

TECD: How did the idea to start Homesake germinate? 

Avi Jain: “The idea started from my very home. Being born in a family with an eye for decor, where each part of the home was carefully designed and decorated by my mother, I never realized the struggle people go through to decorate their homes. It's only when a guest comes and showers the questions about from where did u get this, or how can we get that, that I realized the big gap. The biggest challenge is sourcing good quality products at an affordable price. So started the journey of Homesake.”

TECD: What would you say is the USP of your brand?

Avi Jain: “Each product is carefully crafted, with minute attention to detail and assured quality. We are the only website in country, offering products in compliance with International Standards. Also, the experience and uniqueness of products is un-matched.”

TECD: In a short span of a year, you have managed to create a niche for Homesake. What has been your success mantra?

Avi Jain: “I personally feel that passion shapes your success. The more passionate you are about what you do, the bigger the success. Another thing that we at Homesake believe in is that every single day should be better than the previous day. So we work hard and are very critical about our productive and creative selves.”

TECD: You recently launched an e-mag. Do share more about this with my readers?

Avi Jain:"It’s one of a kind of magazine, entire in online format, with content crowd-sourced from bloggers and influencers across the Globe. 

The idea comes from the fact, that there are a lot of home-makers and professionals, who have an eye for decor. We wanted to be the platform for people with unique decor ideas and decided to compile it in a magazine format. The magazine will be free for all and everyone passionate about decor with a good sense of design aesthetics is welcome to contribute to the Magazine. We launched our first edition of this magazine on 14th of September'2015. It can be downloaded from http://homesakemagazine.com”

And now for the products and website review:

• Web Design –With an easy to navigate website and well categorized décor tags, shopping for what you want is a breeze. Incase of any queries you may contact their customer service support team by mailing them and be assured of a prompt response in 24 hours.  
• Pricing and Payment Options - With the middlemen eliminated their pricing is very competitive and affordable. Homesake accepts payments through credit card, debit card and net banking. They also have Cash on Delivery option available on select products. 
• Product Delivery and Shipping - Orders are dispatched within 2 working days or as per the delivery date specified by you at the time of placing the order. Most orders are delivered within 4 to 7 working days. All products are currently shipped to Pan-Asian countries only. (I received my package (here in Virginia) within the promised time span and the contents were in good condition.)
• Product Quality - I’ve used my salad spoon and fork, napkin rings and crystal votive holders on a number of occasions and love them. 

What sets apart a home from a house is the “details”. If you are looking for that special touch, browse through the entire collection of Homesake and get shopping today! To get in touch with Homesake, write to them at info@homesake.in or connect with them via their FB page. Thank you Avi for reaching out to TECD. We wish you all the very in your entrepreneurial journey! 

(The views and opinions in this post  w.r.t. the product review are solely mine).

(Image copyright/credit: 1,2,3 - Homesake ; 4,5,6  - Product styling and photography Sruthi Singh)

Engrave (Website and Product Review)

If you are on the lookout for personalized gifts and unique lifestyle products then “Engrave” is the place for you. An India-based, e-commerce design collective, the company specializes in personalized gifts and souvenirs. As the name suggests, Engrave undertakes customized engraving mainly on wood. Their most sought after in this category are the laser engraved plaques and name plates. Another popular category is the range of canvas prints that bring beautiful images to life and makes for wonderful wall decor. 

Founded by Nimish Adani (a graduate of IIM- Lucknow), Engrave was conceived almost 4 years ago when he came across an iPod with a name engraved on it. He loved the idea of how it brought about a bespoke quality to an otherwise clone that was produced in millions. Having realized that the concept of engraving wasn’t popular in India, he decided to start a company that would help create more meaningful and personalized gifts.

Over the years, Engrave has branched out and evolved to be a marketing platform for Indian artists and craftsmen showcasing a range of products with a soul. This endeavor was undertaken by Nimish Adani with the single minded objective to make Indian craftsmen into independent entrepreneurs. As of today, they have artists like Abhinav Kafare, Mukesh Jain and Bulbul Sarkar (only to name a few) to their list of talented artists they promote.

The Engrave team reached out to me to review their products and website. I chose the mortar and pestle and wooden serving spoons from “The Acacia collection” by Bulbul Sarkar. What’s wonderful about this piece is that this kitchen gadget combines style and the utilitarian aspect artistically. Crafted out of domestically sourced Acacia wood, this piece brings texture and rustic charm to one’s kitchen. 

Now for the review:

• Web Design and Navigation convenience - The website has well labelled tabs that make navigating through their many products an easy task. In the case of products that need customization such as plaques and name plates, it is an easy three-step process before you place your order.
• Competitive pricing - Customers of Engrave enjoy the benefit of reasonably and competitively priced products as Engrave does not incur the huge real estate costs of a traditional retail outlet. Further, their in-house production and design facility helps them to offer high quality products at low-costs & pass on the benefit to their customers.
• Convenient Payment Options - Payment Options like Credit Card / Debit Card / Netbanking, Bank Transfer, Cheque/DD, Cash on Delivery (at an extra charge), gives you the ease to choose the payment option that is convenient and right for you. (However, do make sure to read the terms and conditions carefully and before you proceed to confirm the order.) 
• Online Customer Assistance - They have an efficient online customer assistance in place to answer any queries that you might have while shopping. In my case, I did have a few questions about the product and left a mail enquiry with my email address. They promptly got back to me with the answers within 24 hours. 
• Product Delivery - Engrave ships to all major cities and towns in India only. The product is ensured to reach you in 7 business days. I received mine (here in Virginia) within 3 business days of ordering and was thoroughly impressed with their quick and efficient shipping process.
• Product Quality - I’ve used the products on a number of occasions and love them. They are sturdy and serve their purpose well. 

I enjoyed my shopping experience with Engrave and would definitely bookmark them for future reference. To see more from their wonderful collection, click here. 

Up next, a tour of my very own kitchen :) Have a great day!

Image Copyright/Credit: Collage 1,2, & 4 images by Engrave, 3 - Sruthi Singh

(Disclosure: Engrave sent me the products to review free of charge. The views and opinions in this post are solely mine.)