Block-Printed Cotton Shirtdress in Indigo from India, "Indigo Zigzags"

Hello! I am Jay Kumar Maheshwari, born in July, 1973 and I come from the beautiful city of Jaipur, also known as the Pink City of India. Friends know me to be a hard worker, punctual, and honest.

Since my childhood days, I was fascinated with fashion and designs. I completed my bachelor's degree and joined my parents, who are garment exporters. This has given me the space to develop creativity and innovation in designing clothes. The most interesting thing about this art is to create new designs every time. There are good times and hard times, but the process of learning never ends.

My passion for learning, as well as my father and other relatives, trained me to work in this world of fashion. Now I have my own workshop and a team of tailors who give shape to my imagination to design and create high-quality apparel. I established the workshop in 1990 for women's clothing, home furnishings and fashion accessories. Different people have different fashion sense and styles, so it's very challenging to create something which will suit everyone. We have to plan our collection, keeping fashion trends in mind as well as the needs of our current shoppers. One has to be always thoughtful about designs and newness, the market requirements, and the fashion forecasts.

I work with all sorts of fabrics like cotton, viscose, silk and knits. I have contacts in all parts of India where these fabrics get manufactured, so I source them directly from those people.

My designs are inspired by the beauty of nature. My wife is my strength and support, and works with me. We organize things better together.

I myself take care of the color combinations used for each design. We also use various beads and sequins to embellish the Chikankari hand-embroidery. The threads that we use are dyed by us to get the perfect shades. We try to give our clients the best. Working with me provides employment to my team of workers, education to their children, health care for their families and other necessities, apart from financial stability.

I wish to thank all of you for giving me an opportunity to showcase our talent. We want to be known for the quality of our work.

Jay Kumar Maheswari has participated in many fairs and exhibitions over the years, including Who's Next in Paris, the Sourcing Fair in Australia, Intermoda in Mexico, Global Sourcing in the U.K, the Buyer-Seller Meet in Chile and Brazil, and the ITPO show in Japan.