Meet Lipika Nair, Founder of Colour Cube Graphics
Lipika is an expert in Digital Printing, curates and designs her own range of exclusive digital prints
Let us get to know Lipika and her Entrepreneurial Journey
How did Colour Cube Graphics come to life? How long have you been working in this industry?
I have been in the Textile Industry for the last 27 years . For First 18 years been worked for a Swiss / American MNC selling dyes and chemicals to the textile industry in senior management position. Quit Corporate life in 2011 and embarked on my entrepreneurial journey and started Colour Cube Graphics in 2013 to cater to digital printing on fabrics.
What made you believe that being in this industry was your calling?
My passion for designs, colours & the fact that I have technical knowledge about printing made me believe that I can integrate all my expertise.
What are the list of services color cube graphics offers?
Colour Cube Graphics offers digital printing services on all types of cotton and blended fabrics (expect nylon). We then have the capability to convert the fabrics into soft goods such as: travel accessories and soft home furnishings. We also make customised masks & bags as per customer requirements as well. We cater to businesses of all sizes, be a brand just launching or a well-established retail chain.
What struggles did you face in your journey?
One of the main struggles as any entrepreneur faces is acquiring “Clients”. How to get new clients and how to retain clients. There is a lot of learning as along this journey. We believe that unless you offer any USP to the client either in the form of quality and/ or service very difficult to retain clients. Price war was not what we ever intended to get into so we had to create an end to end solution for our clients with a view that Color Cube Graphics is a one stop shop for our clients.
What did you learn in your way of working on Colour Cube Graphics?
Learnings were many, learning to run your own business is like learning to be the passenger as well as the driver of the car . One needs to be focussed on different areas at different times.
Learned the basics of designing so that I could provide quality inputs to clients and also learn the ropes of accounting to ensure we stay afloat.
Any brief moments or setbacks which you faced and how did you overcome them?
Setbacks are a part of any entrepreneur journey. We faced technical issues at printers and with vendors to be able to match the high required quality standards. We made errors in calculations in costings in our first project , however it’s all a learning process. I fully believe that you pick yourself up, get more organised and pull yourself onto the next step
How has the pandemic affected your business? How did technology come to your rescue during the lockdown?
Pandemic has been harsh on all small businesses , however we did diversify into masks for a while so as to keep the business rolling. After the first 3 months we have been lucky that the clients supported us to bring business through their channel partners to us. However we have not been able to use much of technology in our kind of business. Technology can surely help simplify our sourcing process.
Any particular moment that changed your perspective to your work? My former boss at Hunstman told me a simple mantra “you must build a team of people to make your business grow, so go ahead and invest.” I believe in this and continue to work in this direction.
What tips or suggestions will you like to give someone who wants to make their mark in the textile industry?
Making a mark in this industry is a long process . It works primarily on mutual trust and relationships. Make your business relationships stronger and people will support your business and make it grow.
How has your association with Vuja De been so far?
Vuja De has an interesting world of fabrics which is quite unusual and exceptional. Our collaborative collection of cushions and soft home furnishings will be out on their website www.vujade.in soon
Connect with Lipika from Color Cube Graphics for:
Digital Printing on Fabrics
Made-ups of Soft Furnishings
Write to her on lipika@colourcubegraphics.com