A chat with Hiruni Mendis... 

Gold winner for Young Marketer at Cannes Lions in 2013, Hiruni Mendis, 29, is a young entrepreneur building up her business ‘Kalynda’ where she designs and creates handmade sarees. With over 10 years of experience in the corporate sector, she’s got a great mind for business and a good eye for fashion. 

Here she speaks to us about her brand concept, her inspirations and the process of creating unique handmade sarees. 

When did you start designing handmade sarees? 

I worked for Johnsons and Johnsons in the media and corporate communications sector until the end of 2014 and then I just started to do my own thing. From January until March of last year, I was conducting my research trying to decide how I can do things differently and then in June I started my business. Initially the sales were slowly picking up, and we did around 4-5 sarees a month but in November, business picked up until we were making 10-15 sarees on average. 

What made you switch from the corporate field to the fashion industry? 

It’s something I always wanted to do. Even though I started out from marketing and public relations, I always wanted to do something of my own. I never wanted to excel in the corporate world. My two passions were dancing and fashion and so I thought I would get into fashion, try my hand at sarees. Even when I was working I would always give fashion tips for my friends and tell them which colours would work etc. 

What’s does “Kalynda” mean? 

Well, I wanted to come up with a name revolving around the sun and we had a short list of words meaning sun in different languages. ‘Kalynda’ is sun in Sanskrit. Our logo is also of the sun and is a representation that we are a friend to our customers. 

Where do you look for inspiration? 

I look for inspiration from the world and what’s in trend. These days it’s a lot of florals. I know that in the future pastel colours and nude are going to be popular. 

What’s your signature style? 

My style is very different. It’s simple and elegant. I’m not a fan of all the glittery work. I do love mixing colours. And a lot of my collections would vary a lot on what is in trend while embodying the concepts of simplicity and elegance. 

What’s your brand based on? 

Well, coming from a marketing background, before creating the product we created the brand. We wanted Kalynda to be the friend that you would go to when you need something. A lot of saree brands just give the customer what they have and not what the customer wants and I wanted to fill that gap. Our whole brand is built around friendliness and the personal touch I offer to my customers. I personally like to talk to my customers, see what they like, figure out a design and get their comments and I like to deliver a lot of my work personally to them. We tried selling in a shop but that just didn’t work out for me because I like to personally meet my customers and handle everything. My brand is about building a personal and friendly relationship with my customers on the trust that they can call me anytime for whatever they need. 

What kind of saree work do you undertake? 

I make sarees, Kandyan and lehenga choli for any occasion. When I make a saree, I only make one of that design so everything of mine is very exclusive and every saree is handmade. I do collections that I make from whatever inspires me and I also do custom made sarees where someone approaches me with a rough idea on what they want. I would sketch a design and after it’s approved I’ll create it to their liking. 

What’s next for you? 

Well, I’m definitely looking forward to a bigger workshop but at the same time I want to keep the business small because I don’t want to go out of that concept of being a friend and adding a personal touch. 

By Panchali Illankoon 
Saree pictures - Oshadi Senanayake 
Photographs by Waruna Wanniarachchi