Nagaland: Erui Designs illuminates prospects of embroidery, jewellery making

Meribeni T Kikon
Wokha | January19

“My brand Erui Designs is not just about creating a product out of hobby or passion. My goal is to generate employment, promote self-sufficiency, and financial independence,” asserts Noyingbeni T Erui the dynamic proprietor of the brand. 

Currently pursuing PhD in Gender Language from Nagaland University, Meriema, Erui picked up embroidering in 2018 as a hobby until Covid-19 happened. On July 11, 2022, she decided to officially turn her hobby into business by creating an Instagram handle @erui.designs. 

Embroidery is an art that takes a lot of time and effort. The way the orders rolled in, the young entrepreneur found it difficult to do it alone. That is when Erui started training a few interested individuals who now take on those orders, allowing her to focus on polishing a new skill- the art of making handmade jewelry. “We branched out to jewelry in the month of April 2023 and there has been no turning back ever since,” she said. 

Erui Designs is a personal venture which exudes all types of handmade embroidery and Jewelry, both modern and Naga fusion traditional. The products can be found in Made in Nagaland, Kohima branch and in Delhi through the same platform. 

The brand has now hired four part-time employees, two each for embroidery and jewelry making, while local delivery services are engaged for delivering the parcels. The brand has collaborated with Lotha Naga Cultural Society for Mr & Miss Tokhϋ 2023 and also with Vogue Entertainment Nagaland for the first ever Miss Hornbill International 2023, both for designing jewelry.

Creating and crafting dreams 
Erui’s friend Sekholu Tetse-o introduced her to embroidery, which she says, fascinated her from the start. “She taught me the trick of the trade and my interest in it grew. Her works are really neat and inspiring and one can find her art at @alora_handmade_with_love,” Erui informs. 

Later, to polish her skills in Art, Erui learned jewelry making from Imtisenla, proprietor of @sheisyoujewelry, through a skill development program launched by KROS College, Kohima. 

Sharing the vision behind Erui Designs, she said, “Firstly, I wanted to contribute towards creating employment.” According to the Annual Periodic Labour Force survey 2021-22, Nagaland has the fourth highest unemployment rate in the country. As of April 2023, over 70,000 job seekers were under state live registration according to the Director of ESD&E, she maintained. “At this rate, entrepreneurship maybe one of the many solutions which can help curb unemployment,” she observes. 

Erui also dreams of empowering young people to be self-sufficient. “We are too dependent on the government and on our parents or guardians to have it handed to us,” she said. 

“People’s responses to my works in both ventures were positive from the beginning and that was only a cherry on the top. Strictly speaking, I would not call jewelry making or embroidery a passion. I have bigger purposes to attain, so these are just beautiful means to an end,” Erui asserted.

“Nagas are genetically gifted people, especially in terms of art and if we don’t keep these gifts alive by assimilating into current trends, it will lose its relevance, and eventually the loss of the art itself. I wanted to protect these gifts and pass on to more people at all cost,” she added.

Conquering challenges 
Speaking about the challenges she encountered that tested her determination and resilience, Erui said it all started when she decided to put aside the job of an Assistant Professor in English, in order to focus and give full time to her venture. It was seen as a foolish thing to leave a blooming career and go from fair to fair doing sales. 

Another challenge was sourcing the materials to balance cost and quality. It took a lot of trial-and-error process in the beginning. Another struggle was finding the right buyers who recognised quality finishing and were ready to pay for it.

Despite facing all those challenges, she never grappled with self-doubt or felt uncertain about the path she chose. Instead with perseverance and dedication, Erui overcame all those obstacles and continued striving towards her goals. Eventually things started working much better for her, since clients who has seen her work now keeps returning for more purchase. 

“It warms our hearts when people who don’t normally wear jewelry keep coming back to purchase more because they like our designs,” she said. 

The great shift of her journey came when she introduced the jewelry division. It has a wider audience and people began to notice and appreciate her designs. She adds, “I think a lot of people came to know about the brand when we designed the jewelry for Mr & Miss Tokhϋ 2023 and Hornbill TV caught it live!” 

This recognition marked a pivotal moment for her as it provided validation for her efforts, boosting her confidence to step forward to pursue her goals.

Production process
Erui dedicates a week per month to the art inorder to have a balance along with other responsibilities. The creative process comes easily as long as she has the materials and time, an entire collection can be generated in a day. 

“Sometimes when my mind is full, I like to unwind by making unique pieces and add it to the special collection. We don’t recreate those designs so they remain super exclusive,” she disclosed.   

Erui shared that the hardest part of the production process is creating content for social media. “It takes almost as much time as creating the jewelry itself.”

On entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship, Erui says that entrepreneurs are not given enough platform or respect like the way they deserve. Whether it is micro or macro business, from vegetable vendors to large companies, entrepreneurs mobilise the market and keep the economy running. 

“People mostly revere white collar jobs so much but forget that without entrepreneurship, a society will collapse. Even if a society is reduced to the barter system, that’s still business,” she added. 

For those wanting to follow her footsteps, she encouraged them to have courage and not lose sight of their vision. To the upcoming entrepreneurs, Erui urges to have goals which encourages growing together in order to create something that lasts, and also, to take criticism seriously but not personally.  An entrepreneur must never compromise quality over profit, must value client’s satisfaction, and protect one’s employees, she suggests.