Indicana: Indo-Western Tunics and Scarves
It’s time for the featured introduction of another online retail store for women’s modest and fashionable clothing—Indicana Selections owned by Fouzia Husainy of Canada.
April Deal at Indicana: “Enjoy an additional 10% off on all items in the store with a minimum purchase of $100.00 CAD. From the 10th of April 2009 to the 25th of April 2008. Enter coupon code “PROMO 10” at check out. Happy Shopping!”
Fouzia’s vision was to bring something unique and exotic to the North American modest clothing market. Being from India, she’s fascinated by the rich arts and crafts there. She’s enamored of the rich clothing in vibrant colors embellished with different kinds of embroidery, and so she has been inspired to bring some of this beauty to North America in her custom-designed clothing. People loved the first designs she had made and imported, so now a full-fledged business has grown out of her passion—Indicana. The name Indicana comes from India in Canada.
Even though her designs are all inspired by India, that doesn’t mean they are all similar—after all, India is a huge country. Each state in India excels at and prides itself in its unique form of embroidery. So by employing these different embroidery forms in her clothing, Fouzia offers fashion which embodies modesty and an interesting mix of cultures.
Some of Her Own Designs Are:
Georgette Chikan Work Hijabs
Chikan work is the oldest form of traditional hand embroidery in India passed on from the 18th century. It dates back to the Mogul era when Queen Nurjehan practiced it as a hobby. Her embroidery designs are now depicted on the Taj Mahal, the Agra fort, and many other historical monuments.
Plain, Solid Hijabs With Sparkles
silver thread stitched on georgette shaylas
The Ezee Sports Hijab
She had this style custom designed to help young hijabi girls who are active in sports. It’s a pin-free, one-piece hijab made of breathable, absorbent cotton spandex fabric with a white piping detail.
She also has unique shayla designs in beadwork, block print, and mirror work.
In Her Words
Q: When did you launch your web site?
A: “My daughter designed my first web site. Then after a year, in 2005, I had a static web site professionally designed to showcase our products and receive inquiries. Now I have my complete, dynamic, e-commerce website which is completely functional.”
Q: Were you in the same business BEFORE you launched your web site?
A: “Yes. But before I first imported myself, I was working for the Hudson Bay Company where I got the motivation and aspiration to have my own retail store.”
Q: Why did you get into the business you’re in?
A: “I had a great passion for designing and selling women’s clothing from an early age as much as I had an eye for fashion and interest in art and literature. After coming to Canada, when I found the niche for stylish and tastefully designed modest clothing, my interests were kindled and my vision materialised.”
Q: What has surprised you about the business you’re in?
A: “It needs lot of patience and hard work to make available in the market something new, unique, and exclusive which caters to the taste and requirements of your target customers. It’s surprising to see a lot of the common crowd looking for cheap stuff just to save a few bucks and not caring about the quality of the products I work so hard to uphold. There are others who want you to sell them gold for the price of silver.”
Q: You were expecting the customers your store targets. Who are some customers you weren’t expecting?
A: “I have lot of unexpected non-Muslim customers who love my designs. Also big companies who buy scarves in the wholesale from me.”
Q: What exciting products or projects do you have coming up?
A: “We will be inshallah launching our Spring collection 2009 of exclusive hijab and kurti designs. And we will soon be introducing fine quality mixed cotton bedsheet sets with different embroidery designs.”
Q: Is there anything else interesting you want to say?
A: “My passion for doing web pages for my own site led me to open a website designing & developing business by teaming up with my nephew in India and hiring expert designers and programmers to work for us. The company is called Noesys Technologies. We are working on different kinds of websites now—not just retail but also restaurant websites, law websites, news websites and various other dynamic & static websites. Our rates are very reasonable and the most competitive and our service is exceptional, alhamdulillah.”
October 24th, 2009 at 7:07 am
Fouzia’s designs are amazing! These hijabs are incredibly elegant. I can relate to her talking about her customers… it seems so many people are concerned with price instead of quality these days… it can be tough to create something of true value at such low prices. Also, too, I think as businesspeople and creators we have to do a better job of demonstrating the value of what we offer, as well. That way, it gives people more reasons to invest in quality.