Welcome to Ladies Who Launch, a series where we profile women who inspire as much as they educate with the brands they have created. For Mahima Gujral of the conscious clothing brand SUI (Hindi for needle), dopamine dressing doesn’t just involve putting her clothes on. They are pieces that carry a green sustainable heart while balancing pragmatism and creativity which can be seen in her latest collection titled Sunshine—one that has power in the way it addresses how our inner child would like to dress. Here, Gujral takes us through her creative process, the Sunshine Collection, and how she carves out spaces for her work and personal life.
On starting the business
Working within the sustainability space has been challenging since day one. In the early days, it was all about explaining to everyone including friends and family – why we ventured into this space, what I meant and why I believe it mattered. 7 years in, I do believe that Sui has been able to show our customers, community and others too – that there is truly a way to dress well, wear beautiful clothes, and look good while making sure that your wardrobe has a lower impact and that the piece you purchase is made well, and made sustainably.
We are still on this journey, but my vision when I began was to give women clothing that was made well, with the promise of it still being versatile, comfortable and styling – and I hope that bit by bit we are solving that and alongside educating them to buy more intentionally.
On finding your tribe
A year before I began Sui, I volunteered for Fashion Revolution Singapore which was how I met many of my friends today within the sustainability space. I also joined Crib, which was one of the communities back in the day supporting women entrepreneurs. Through these mediums, and by networking & meeting with like-minded business owners – I was slowly able to find a tribe that became my support system as I grew Sui.
For women starting out today, I would advise them to definitely connect with others in the field they plan to work in whether it’s reaching out via Linkedin, Instagram or going to events to network—reach out & ask for guidance and feedback because each conversation will leave you with food for thought & likely open another door.
There are also amazing communities today in Singapore such as Launchpad which are built for women who are looking to meet other women entrepreneurs so I would highly recommend finding one that is the right fit for you and signing up for the same.
On being creative
Creativity is everything to me because it’s a means to express myself & put a story and medium to the ideas & values I may hold. It has helped me immensely in our design process and also in growing the business from a brand perspective because creativity is what allows give a unique voice & story to the work we do at Sui. I’m a creature of experiences, and travel, reading and nature are the mediums that have fuelled my thinking in my early years of launching Sui.
So I think for me, it is about constantly allowing myself to have experiences, to be in touch with nature, to read or to stay updated with what’s happening in the industry & allowing my creative process to break boundaries. I also believe thinking outside of the box, is about trusting oneself with those crazy ideas – sometimes they work and sometimes they may not. As an entrepreneur and business owner, who’s in the sustainable fashion space it is key for me to think outside of the box—because that is how we can thereby create a beautiful product and make sure that we are doing it with the right values.
I find myself constantly thinking of ideas – whether it’s design, marketing or strategy-based. The best ideas often come to me when I’m relaxed or out on a walk. That being said, yes I do try my best, especially on Sundays to try and switch off from work or avoid looking at my phone to allow my brain to switch off. It is important because that refresh helps perform better once you’re back at work. For applications, I use Apple notes and a good old diary! I also work on Microsoft Teams & Google Drive as our team is between two countries which helps.
On good & bad working habits.
Waking up early, moving, soaking in the day before it begins – this is a habit that came to me a little after beginning Sui and became more prominent in my life with motherhood. But I’ve learnt to recently compartmentalise life by reminding myself that work is a part of “life” and not the other way around. As entrepreneurs, we tend to burn ourselves out and mix that with motherhood as I have a toddler—and life can be exhausting on many days.
Taking a pause, when things are stressful or being present in other aspects of my life is a habit that has helped me avoid burnout and also work better.
Through tough moments, I have learnt that every experience good or bad is a learning. So while it is not easy, bad days are days I often ponder whether it’s worth doing what I do but eventually, I move forward reminding myself that in all of that lies areas of improvement and often too, things not in our control. I reflect a lot and talk with my family— these steps help me feel better.
However, I tend to overthink all that I do but I’m learning how to overcome self-doubt and separating my brand from myself so that bad business moves or bad business days do not affect me. It takes work!
On separating work and home.
I work often from home so my main tips are to schedule your life, take breaks, and have a cut-off time for ending work so you can switch off! Also, have a space at home which is specifically your workspace, where you are productive and your family and loved ones understand not to disturb you during those hours. I truly believe it’s all about balance.
Some days you may need to mix the two but if you’ve scheduled and built your life to a perfect day—it will work out! Not easy, but it can be done.
At the same time, when you are spending time with family whether it’s an evening with your kids, dinner with your partner or Sundays with your family—be present! Work is a part of one’s life and it is often tough to separate it from our personal life too, but with practice, it can be done. Each part of our life deserves us to work hard at it and be present, and our work is one part of this!
On the power of shopping for your inner child
We need to remember what they loved, whether it was a colour, certain silhouette, motifs or even remembering the energy of our inner child & bringing that out in our current personal style. For the Sui Sunshine Collection, it was more about how having my daughter ignited that inner child within me and reminded me how as children our minds are free and we allow ourselves to explore, cherish nature, and remain in the present. The personal memory for me, the freedom to explore I felt when I was younger and allowing myself to feel the same as Mahima today.
I even looked at images of myself when I was five-or-six years old when I was enjoying my garden back home in India, and the collection started taking shape from there. However, this thought could only come to me because I now spend every weekend going to the park with my daughter and allowing her to explore the world around her.
Sui’s Sunshine Collection addresses this through the prints and motifs it consists of and the breathable & freeness of the silhouettes. We’ve also added words to our outfits in the form of prints or embroidery which are “Thrive” “Breathe” “Go with the flow”—as reminders to remember that feeling. I’ve always wanted our community to feel empowered and also be in touch with themselves when they wear our pieces, and that’s the feeling I’m going for. Sunshine so they can feel light and comfortable too.
Clothes are a huge part of our identity and play a huge part in being a mood-lifter and one of my goals will always be to make sure our pieces at Sui, empower the wearer.
We do not quantify our impact at the moment as believe sustainability is a lot more than that—it is about the values it embeds. Our Sunshine Collection, just like every collection we design at Sui, stays true to our core value of crafting with a green heart which consists of responsibility towards the planet, worker welfare, supporting craft & community, low waste, and education.
On her perfect day.
I would divide my perfect day into two parts, one for myself and one for my family! I’d spend the time with myself exploring, going on a walk and ending at a café to read and just lose myself in a book. And then I’d spend the day with my husband, daughter and dog—going to the pool or the beach, swimming, eating and just enjoying our time together. The best days for me are simple ones, where I can allow my mind to be at ease.
I also love the green paths in Singapore so walks at the Botanic Gardens, Green Corridor, and other similar walks are some of the things I’d do in the morning if I had the time. I also love visiting the boardwalk at Marina Bay Sands as I adore the view from there and now love taking my daughter there. Another neighbourhood I love is Tiong Bahru. It just speaks to my heart so I love to visit it when I can get the time, go over to the flower market, grab a coffee, and explore.
I attempt to have such ones every other Sunday and sometimes catch pockets for myself on some mornings. It depends but I do have a goal to make them more apparent! My husband plays music as his passion, so I love going over to watch him at his shows and enjoy that too. Lastly, as I love to read, I often find myself at Kinokuniya at Taka or the library@Orchard Road.
For more information about SUI, click here!
The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
