About Us

rupalee in Hindi means Pretty Girl.
rupalee was founded in 1996  rupalee manufactures and distributes under  labels of rupalee, Pajama Fair and Ojasvy. 

rupalee uses modification of traditional Indian handcrafting techniques to fit the tastes of the discerning International Consumer. rupalee makes apparel, Christmas Ornaments, handmade jewelry, greeting cards and decoration crafts.
 
rupalee concept evolved and expressed through rupalee's slogan, "Fair Trade with Style", to build upon traditional methods and designs, to encourage innate creativity of the traditional village craftswomen. 
These are unimaginable places to craftswomen in their villages, some of whom sign their work with their thumb print.


Production Process at rupalee:

Once the orders have been placed the production process begins. Each village is organized around a group leader. The group leader coordinates production work and ensures product quality. The group leader is usually very enterprising and able to keep the village artisans on track.

 

During the production process our outreach training process is put into action. Typically initial training is done by Anuja or her core staff. Their student is usually the group leader from the village. The group leader then shares this knowledge with the village artisans. On occasion Anuja travels to the villages to train all of the artisans at one time.

rupalee  organization provides winning solutions for all. You as a Customer benefit from the hands on customer care and design work offered by our staff. Ultimately you receive high quality, fashionable items at a fair price.
 

Excerpts from rupalee:

Committed to Empowerment of Women
This is a testament of how one woman can make a substantial difference in the lives of so many. Poonam Singhal, a former scientist, wanted to start a business where she would have time for her growing family and at the same time utilize her creative talents as well as contribute to the improvement of life for women in her native land of India. As a result of this desire, Singhal started rupalee  company that specializes in handmade ornaments and jewelry that are manufactured by women in India.

Due to unexpected trials and tribulations of running a business, Singhal decided that she wanted to close the business, however, this decision was reversed when she arrived in India to make her announcement. She realized that the women had begun to rely on her for their salaries and in turn their power to make choices in their lives. Singhal realized that there where too many people that depended on her. As a result Singhal turned rupalee  into a grass roots company where women can empower themselves in a creative and realistic manner.

A major strength of rupalee s is that it is able to pull its resources together to produce quality products. Experienced employees of rupalee train the unskilled women and provide them with the raw materials. The women would make the ornaments in their homes and rupalee would wholesale the ornaments to stores in the United States.

One of  more memorable moments while working with the women was when she had to explain the concept of a Christmas tree and what a snow flake and a garland is in order for them to complete an order for Smith and Hawken. As a way of demonstrating their understanding of the concept, the women decorated a banana tree with dozens of garland. As one might imagine, their creation was a major cause of laughter and merriment in the village. It is moments like these that make Rupali  such an important part of the women’s life and vise versa.

Founder says that she has seen that empowerment comes in all different forms. It’s all about the ability to choose. She says that many of the women depend on the money to provide options for them. A simple thing like being able to buy a pair of earrings on their own without asking her family or husband is liberating. Usually, when approached to work, women of the village are not forthcoming. It takes one or two leaders within the village who have to be sought out first and employed in order for others to follow suite. Once the women realize that is an empowering experience more join in and stay on.