Today we’d like to introduce you to Zeba Parkar.
Zeba, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Realizing a common passion for stylish footwear over brunch, we (friends and cofounders, Zeba and Tanu) came up with an idea of launching a new line of traditionally crafted and contemporary designed flats in North America. We are both engineers and have used our expertise to better understand the fabrication and construction of shoes. We’ve spent the year developing a support system for bringing Mochiis flats to life.
Our mission is to preserve the original art of making these shoes (known as juttis) and introduce it to the rest of the world. Mochiis is an effort to rejuvenate the industry and provide our artisans with a steady source of income. For our customers, we are keeping costs low by sourcing directly from the artisans, and selling direct through e-commerce. Our business model is a win-win for both artisans and customers.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course, it’s not been all easy. We started with an unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign – but we had enough interest from our supporters that we decided to launch our online store. Developing a reliable supply chain has been much more challenging than we anticipated. Finding right partnerships, communicating with our partner artisans that reside and work in a completely different time zone has been difficult too, although we have learned to work around each other’s schedules quite well. Also getting the word out about the business and scaling has been an ongoing challenge, and we have been looking at unique ways around how to connect with our customers.
Mochiis Footwear – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Mochiis works closely with artisans around the world to bring unique and fun fashion shoes and accessories for women. Our goal is to keep various traditional art-forms alive while harnessing advanced technologies for efficiency and affordability. We aim to create a meaningful connection through beautiful and accessible products that showcase craft and creativity. We also strive to build awareness of international handicrafts. Our ultimate goal is to delight our customers and become a premiere approachable brand.
As a company, we are really proud of our unique designs that are fun/vibrant but also very practical at the same time. Owning a pair of Mochiis flats is like owning a very functional piece of art that you can enjoy and take places with you!
Our business model is to be a direct-to-consumer brand through e-commerce and strategic partnerships with local small businesses. That means we can offer high-quality handmade footwear at a very accessible price point – which was earlier confined to more luxury shoppers.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
So far in business, as engineers turned footwear designers, we have been proud of bringing designs that have not only garnered positive reviews from customer but also being appreciated by the art community. In the summer of 2018, we won the 2018 Award of Excellence winner at the Edina Art Fair (#1 art fair in MN), one of the top fine arts fair in the nation.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mochiis.com
- Email: support@mochiis.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mochiisfootwear/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mochiisfootwear/
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/mochiisfootwear/
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
