SAAKH blog

[saakhblog]

A Beautiful Book

At SAAKH, we love all things Clever Design. But you know that already, if you have been following us so far. Today we want to share a product that we first discovered a few weeks back - http://launch.saakh.com/moodboard/gallery/lamp/ - on Kickstarter. We have been falling in love with this product ever since. This is a book that we are confident will steal your heart away.

The Kickstarter's page describes it as "Lumio unfolds from a book into a multi-purpose portable lamp. Transform Lumio into many shapes to meet your needs!"

Please visit Kickstarter's page to read more about the product - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lumio/lumio-one-lamp-multiple-forms-infinite-possibiliti?ref=category . It is our promise that you won't be disappointed. Tell us if you liked this product. Did you come across or discovered a product like this? Share it with SAAKH's community.

[saakhblog]

Launch Page

Hi Everyone!

It has been long since you have heard from SAAKH. So I thought it was high time that I gave our supporters some update. As it happens with any start-up, we have been running into many issues and trying to figure out best possible solutions for them. But as promised earlier, we have developed a launch site with tools that would make your task of giving us suggestions easier.

Today we are introducing a new launch page for SAAKH. I would request each one of you to sign up. This is not just a static page, but there are tools we have provided in the site that would make it easier for you to provide suggestions or simply post what you like. It need not be a product but anything that inspires you - for example a painting, a particular neighborhood street, a nail polish color or anything that you just have fallen in love with while browsing the web or walking down the street. We would love to see what you love on the Moodboard.

So, Share your PASSION. Spread love for DESIGN. And have FUN with Moodboard!

Team Saakh

[saakhblog]

Business, Design and Technology

I couldn't hold myself from writing this personal piece on SAAKH's blog today. Today, I will graduate from one of the finest business schools in the world. I feel grateful to have had this opportunity and I feel ready to find that sweet intersection between Business, Design and Technology. Two years ago I enrolled in an MBA program with this goal, but I had never imagined that I would feel so empowered by the end of the program.

With the support of SAAKH's community, I am sure we would be able to build a powerful curated and crowdsourced platform that would give a platform to thousands of small producers and emerging designers. Thanks to all the members who have supported us so ardently thus far! We hope to build on your support and bring you some of the most exciting designs that have not been discovered yet.

[saakhblog]

Akiba Designs

The designer we are presenting today is a multifaceted person - she holds two degrees from Harvard, including a Masters in Business Administration; she was a consultant, working with one of the three big Consulting companies; she has done a marketing stint with one of the biggest CPG companies; and now, she has turned into a full-time writer and career coach. Like Irina, the jeweler we presented a few weeks back, Akiba loves to create designs for her jewelry in her spare time, and we love the creative spirit she has in store.

The pendants are mythological symbols from ancient cultures. Her source of inspiration is unique, and she likes to work with precious metals that never loose its shine and are always classy. For more information, write to us and we would be happy to connect you with the designer.

[saakhblog]

Exotic Spice Blends

Can you imagine our life without spices? We think you would be tempted too, like us at SAAKH, with these blends that we have discovered just for you. While blending spices doesn't seem a difficult task, getting it exact and right every time can be challenging for many of us. But we are not presenting you these Basik's spices just for your convenience but also for their extra-ordinary purity, creativity and exotic taste.

I found them a year ago while visiting Keywest and have been hooked to them ever since.These spices are made by a small business, run by two entrepreneurial women in Florida. They make their blends in small batches to ensure that you get the best flavor for all your cooking methods; grilling, sautéing, baking, slow cooking, dry rub, or on a salad. If you like eating good food, you will not be let down by these blends. Try these once, and you will be hooked to them like me! Intrigued to know more? Write to us and we will fill you with more details.

[saakhblog]

A hobby of beading

I love meeting artisans and designers, and I am always intrigued by the paths they have traveled to come this far. One such artisan I met four years ago at an Open Studio was Irina Braun. Irina is of Russian origin and has been living in Boston area for over three decades. I was impressed by the simplicity in her designs and the choice of beads that were put together. As per my habit, I started talking to her and asking her the history of her creations. I was surprised to find out that she is not a designer by training or profession and that she makes jewelry just because she loves beading as a hobby. Her full-time job is around selling Russian academic books actually.

  It is always a wonderful realization when I see that design has no boundaries and that the definition of an artist is wide open. Some people are just born with great understanding of colors and compositions, and even if it is not a full-time profession, many pursue their creativity in building products that are just wonderful to experience and unique in their existence.

I met Irina again a few days back at the Open Studios for this year. One of the things she said that has lingered in my head till now is that "EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A HOBBY". I thought it was aptly put, and I pondered over the fact that how busy the life gets and how difficult it becomes to pursue a hobby for some of us!

Do you have a hobby that you want to share with us? We would love to hear about it and share it with SAAKH's community. If interested in buying very AFFORDABLE pieces of Irina's, write to us.

[saakhblog]

Our first Guest Curator\'s entry

I was thrilled when I got this suggestion for SAAKH from Akiba, one of the greatest supporters of SAAKH. She was visiting Florida when she came across a boutique that sells wonderful eclectic finds from the African continent. I must agree that it indeed has a unique range of offerings. We are surely going to get in touch with the boutique owners and find a way to collaborate so that its products can reach a wider global audience. Thanks Akiba for your wonderful find!

                                 Photograph courtesy @ Touch De L'Afrique website

This is a great beginning for our mission to crowdsource. If you missed our post on what is crowdsourcing and why SAAKH wants to do it, please take a moment to read this post. I believe, each one of us is capable of finding such unique products and helping these artists/designers/producers in providing a market for their products. So help us in our mission and become a part of SAAKH's guest curation.

[saakhblog]

Honey, honey, honey\...

Honey has been a well-known, ages old, tried and tested natural remedy for many ailments and medical problems. Honey is a great immunity builder; it can cure wide range of ailments, such as yeast infection, athlete foot and arthritis pain, to name a few. Not just that, if you are trying to shed some extra pounds, just switch from using processed sugar to honey, and within no time you will notice the difference. And lastly, did you know honey is also a great natural anti aging skin care product? Throughout the centuries, legendary beauties like Cleopatra have used raw honey as part of their skin and hair care treatments to keep them looking youthful. If I were to jot down all the qualities of honey, this space would not be enough.

I recently met Laurie and Dean who breed and keep bees, market treatment free honey, run beekeeping conferences and classes, write, and do research. They also pack and sell honey from beekeepers who do not treat or medicate their bees with anything including antibiotics and who do not feed their bees with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, pollen substitutes or any other artificial foods. Laurie has been at the forefront of this movement for nearly 50 years! We at Saakh admire such producers and want to do our best to promote such movements. Would you like to support one such producer? Let us know and we will be happy to support it.

[saakhblog]

Design and Technology

The last decade has been eventful, to say the least, when you think of technology and its influence on our day-to-day lives. We at Saakh admire all the technologists out there in the world who are changing our lives in a way that we wonder how did we manage without it earlier! But why am I thinking about this today? As I mentioned in my introductory post, I have been learning and writing codes so that we can connect with our community better on our website and other online platforms. And each time when I manage to make a piece of code work, I am glad for all the engineers out there who have made our lives simpler in so many ways.

Today, we are launching our contest feature and you can take part in it via our Facebook page. We have tried to make it seamless so that you do not have to spend much time on the submission process. So all you have to do is submit your details and wait for your chance to earn those extra dollars that you can use to buy some fabulous products!

[saakhblog]

Jonathan\'s Spoons

I discovered Jonathan's hand crafted and award winning spoons in a craft fair. If you are like me, you probably have been hunting for a functional yet good looking wooden spoons all your life. I have tried everything from a supermarket quality to a niche brand, but still hadn't been able to settle down on a spoon I really liked until now.

If you touched them, you couldn't miss the smooth feeling of the spoons and the extremely thin edges of spatulas. The black color is not an artificial paint but is a flame-blackened surface. Jonathan produces a wide array of spoons and finishes, including a natural cherry finish, a flame-blackened surface with a sanded edge to reveal an accent of warm cherry wood, as well as flame-blackened stripes and spots. To inquire or buy his spoons, contact us or watch out for the Saakh's launch.

[saakhblog]

Felt and soap?!

My reaction exactly when I first discovered them (the soaps) today. One of the perks of my job is that I get to discover and find all those surprising things that I would otherwise not have imagined they exist.

These soaps are enclosed in fine merino wool, and they last for 6-8 weeks in the shower. What else? They are NATURALLY EXFOLIATING and ANTIMICROBIAL. Use just as it is for a washcloth and soap in one!

The soap is a locally made artisan oatmeal soap with a smooth almond scent made in Rhode Island. You have to use it to believe it that how smooth it feels and how refreshing it smells, especially on a hot sunny day like today in Boston!

[saakhblog]

Anurag

In the series of introductions, I am delighted to write my first note here. I am Anurag, and I am based in India. I was thrilled with the opportunity that Saakh provided me, as it allowed me to curate fine designs from a nation that stands for myriad craft traditions and rich design sensibilities. I went to a design school when design was a mere concept in India and was at a very nascent stage. People hadn't realized the importance of design in daily life then. My fascination with colors and the countless textures of textiles made me specialize in Textile Design. Somewhere along the design school, my interest in traditional skills and hand crafted materials got fixated. By the time I graduated, I had traveled across India for projects and for fun in buses, trucks, jeeps, camel carts... you name it. This allowed me to live life to the fullest and also soak in the vast expanse of skill and ingrained traditions that people follow. Being born and brought up in an urban city, I could appreciate the richness of the rural rituals even more now. The clothes, the utensils, the houses - everything was unique and was an inspiration. This encouraged me to travel even more, both domestically and internationally, and learn about various cultures and lifestyles.

Even though I have worked in this industry for over fifteen years, my fixation with crafts and my love for fine hand crafted products has not stopped growing. I continue to do my best to promote it, by trying to introduce new thoughts to the artisans, taking up conservation projects and most importantly, believing that I can share the age old crafts with the entire world. I know there isn't one solution or market that will be the answer, but as we plod along with changing times, I look forward to taking these challenges and addressing it through Saakh.

[saakhblog]

Liza Chrust Friedman

As a member of the Saakh team, I guess it is my turn to introduce myself.  My name is Liza Chrust Friedman and I am a photographer and graphic designer.  When Ipshita and I met a year ago, my husband and I were looking at Hanover, NH for business school.  We had dinner together and we instantly hit it off.  With our passion for design and artistic eye, we talked about design, art, and fashion and how they affect our world today.   Prior to officially joining Saakh, Ipshita and I would discuss the company and all the great ideas she had to create an amazing website that could serve indie designers and artisans around the world.  I always looked forward to our conversations over coffee and was delighted when she asked me if I wanted to join the team.  As Design Head, US, I look forward to implementing all that I have learned in my career and making Saakh an incredible company.  

My background consists of a BFA in photography from Parsons the New School for Design where I met extremely talented artists and had the opportunity to explore all  my creative outlets.  After college I started freelancing for different photographers and publications, some of which include Men's Health, Elle.com, In Style, and MTV.com.  Being in Manhattan for the past 10 years has given me great opportunities in the art world to meet some amazing people.  When I was working at the .com companies, I learned how to produce  successful websites and what consumers are looking for in the online world.  While at MTV.com I was able to photograph over 25 celebrities, some of which include Nick Jonas, Ke$ha, Taboo, etc. 

Since moving up to New Hampshire, I am excited to take the next step forward in my career and work towards building the great company that I truly believe in.

[saakhblog]

Hi..

We thought it would be good to do some introductions and tell the stories of people behind Saakh. So this is my turn. Hi, I am Ipshita, and Saakh has been my brainchild. These days, I am wearing many hats, as is usually the case with any founding team of a start-up. Part of the day, I am a student, earning credits to finish my MBA and graduate this June. For a couple of hours in a day, I am learning and writing the codes for our website. But rest of the time, I am a designer who is passionate about DESIGN in general. Once upon a time, I studied Engineering in my undergrad, but the fascination of design took me to do a postgraduate in Design. Ever since, I have stayed a designer at heart. I can live, breathe and eat design for all 24 hours in a day :)

Having faced issues firsthand that an independent designer encounters in bringing his/her products to the market, I had always dreamed of building a huge, universal marketplace that would ease this pain and serve all the wonderful independent designers and small producers around the world. This thought became the base for founding Saakh, and we are now working to make it a reality.

The word 'Saakh' comes from the Urdu language and means trust and credibility that we aim to build for our indie designers' community. In today's times, when brands have become larger than life and it is almost assumed that high quality designs come with a high price tag, we believe, on the contrary, that design has a universal language which needs no big brand name and good designs can be well priced, making it affordable for a larger mass of people. We believe we can make Saakh a marketplace that represents no single brand but stands for all things unbranded that speak the same language of design and quality. If you believe in our mission, we invite you to join us and support Saakh! Write to us at [email protected] if you have a suggestion for us.

[saakhblog]

Launching Soon - SAAKH.com

What does SAAKH plan to do?

SAAKH would be a curated online marketplace that plans to crowdsource unique, well-designed products from indie designers, small producers and artisans. We invite you to join us to discover, share and purchase unique designs.

What is crowdsourcing?

There are a number of ways experts have described 'crowdsourcing'. One explanation can be found at Wikipedia. Here is a video that explains the phenomenon in a very simple  manner -

Why crowdsource?

There are thousands of independent designers around the world who produce some of the finest designs and products we can imagine. However, it is impossible for these small-scale producers/designers to invest in the infrastructure required to compete with big brands out there. SAAKH aspires to provide a marketplace for awesome products made by such talented emerging designers. As you can imagine, to find each of these wonderful products and designers is a mammoth undertaking, but we believe that with the help of a community that is passionate about well-designed products and loves supporting local producers, indie designers and artisans, we can reach out to thousands of such designers and producers around the world and help them in building sustainable businesses.

So how do I contribute in crowdsourcing?

Do you know a designer who makes most amazing products? Or did you just come across a product while walking down the street or browsing the web that you think is unique and cool? Or do you want to support a local boutique or artisan? Just tell us about that and we would do the rest. Soon, we plan to launch apps and widgets that would make it easier for you to share your findings with us with just one click. Thus, watch this space closely! and for the time being, write to us at [email protected] or post your finding on our Facebook page. Oh, and did we mention that if the product suggested by you is picked by SAKKH, you would be incentivized for your effort!

What products will be sold at SAAKH.com?

We believe great designs come in all shapes and sizes. Hence we do not plan to restrict a product by following a strict category. However, at this point of time we do not plan to sell clothes and shoes, but feel free to post your findings in these categories if you wish to. Just to give you a broad idea of our product categories, here are listed some - home, kitchen essentials, decorative products, technology, work, travel, non-perishable food and spices, gifts, bags, jewelry, bath and body and the list can go on....