Entropy – The Art of Randomness on your T-shirt

Fashion and accessories are gradually undergoing a change. It’s no longer the run off the mill, same printed clothes that you wear anymore. Clothing reflects your style, personality and even your mood. Since it is who you are then why would you compromise on a standardized t-shirt or kurta from malls which you could find someone else wearing!

Keeping this in mind, two sisters from the sun city Jodhpur Shradha and Shruti founded Entropy an exclusive handmade t-shirt store. Shradha, 27, an Engineer by profession who used to work in a software company, and Shruti, 25 who holds a Masters degree in Biotechnology have put their minds and hearts together to create something unique.

It all started with a plain white t-shirt that Shradha sketched on with a few random squares to give it a smart look. They named their first t-shirt ‘Start’ and from there began the journey of two sisters with such creative talent who founded one of the coolest t-shirt companies for the world to see.

The Inspiration

“ Well, Entropy was not a pre-planned venture. You can say, it just happened,” claim the girls.One day Shradha laid her hands on a plain t-shirts with some old fabric pens, it became an instant favourite for Shruti. Soon their friends started asking to turn their boring plain t-shirts into something fun yet elegant. “We then realized we can turn this into a profitable venture and so began Entropy,” add Shruti and Shradha.

Branding

When it came to naming their t-shirt brand, both Shruti and Shradha mention that the name just popped into their heads.

“We think our science roots have got a lot to do with this name! Yes, it’s different and not related to t-shirts, but it truly depicts our designs. Entropy, according to thermodynamics is the degree of randomness, just like our designs, which are random and unique since they are hand designed. There will always be some random differences in two t-shirts of the same design,” the girls explain.

Investments made

“We’ve tried to keep the investments under five figures and our plan is to be able to keep it bootstrapping after that,” mention Shruti.

The Team

The girls admit that until now it has been a joyful ride. They are very glad to be on a path, which begins with their interest and passion. They firmly believe the best part about them is that even though they are sisters, they are two very different people.

Being a small team of two at present, both the girls share the load but broadly, Shradha is the designer who also takes care of online marketing while Shruti manages accounts, stock, logistics, shoots etc.

“Our views, interests even our laptops are different (the age old Mac vs PC battle)! So this gives us two views to look at every single problem. None of us can get carried away with an idea as other half will try to keep it balanced,” quips Shradha.

Challenges faced

While small things kept them on their toes like planning, banks, registrations, deadlines, shoots, courier, Facebook/Twitter…list goes on, the girls mention, “One of the biggest problems that we were facing was availability of women’s t-shirts in small quantities when we were just testing waters. That took time as we could not compromise on quality, fit and color. Finally we found our suppliers through Sourabh (of ToubeBas.com) and all thanks to him, we could start.”

“Our website is also quite different from usual shopping website. Most of the features such as the tree, buttons are hand sketched. Once we visualized it, we were quite clear we wanted exactly the same design. Well, it took time but at the end it was all worth it. Our excellent web-designers (Imagefly) have been really patient with us”, claim Shraddha.

Sourcing raw materials

Procuring good quality, good fit and good stitched t-shirts was their primary lookout. After seeing samples from almost all corners of India, both Shradha and Shruti finally got a manufacturer from Ashfaq of Dash n Dots, in Bangalore who provided them with the kind of t-shirts the way they exactly wanted.

What makes their product so unique?

Shruti explains, “Shradha has a different approach towards designing. Her designs are not well planned or thought (random again!) instead, she’ll sit with a t-shirt, take a colour and will scribble to come up with something very different every time.”

Entropy’s every t-shirt is hand designed which makes them quite different from factory made 1000-per-design t-shirts. Like all handcrafted goods, no two t-shirts will be 100% identical. They have a different finish, which will definitely make you feel special.

“Inspiration for design can be a simple thing like grass or something as iconic as the Taj Mahal. Our designs are simple but fun. They don’t scream cool, but they’ll never look boring,” adds Shraddha.

Themes, pricing and marketing

The girls have categorised their products as:

• Simple: Simple, geometric, abstract designs
• In love with Science: Going back to our roots through these science inspired designs. You can channel your inner geek-chic with these.
• Nature: Designed with elements of nature
• Hamari Dharohar: Cultural and traditional designs.
• Road and the City: For the City-girl, who does not fear the big bad world.

All of Entropy t-shirts are priced at Rs. 450/- except for the collection of “Hamari Dharohar” as it asks for an extra effort at the price of Rs. 550/-.

Entropy does not charge for shipping. Their t-shirts can also be ordered as gift with a personal note without spending extra. On a thoughtful note, they have also kept the option of ordering your gift in advance (within one month), and it will be delivered on the mentioned date.

Until now, their entire marketing has been online. Facebook, Google ads aside, Entropy is also debuting on other shopping sites which will help to broaden their customer base.

“We keep our Facebook/Twitter pages quite active with some interesting content and prompt reply. Some local exhibitions and tourist shops have also started keeping our t-shirts,” beam the girls with pride.

You can check out Entropy on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/entropy.store to place your order today!

What’s your story:

Started something new just like Shruti and Shraddha? A t-shirt company, a cake shop or a hobby store? Write to us at tanya@tanyamunshi.com and we’ll feature you on our website.