Lamp shades, beeralu establish new venture at LP
A section of the shop. Pic by Indika Handuwala
Reviving a family business started three generations ago, Shade House is the name of a successful venture into lamp shades kicked off by two sisters in 2011. It has today collaborated with a complementary business Priyani Lace, both of which are located at Liberty Plaza, launching a new chapter in their operations.
Shade House founder Ms. Prabodha Withanaarachchi started out this venture by selling on Facebook and to wholesale and retailers and later opening up a stall at Good Market where they catered to a high end clientele including the hotel sector and later at CAN Market at One Galle Face.
Ms. Umedha Withanaarachchi spoke with the Business Times on this new chapter of their operations where they hope to establish themselves as a brand in the market with a specific location while retaining their presence in their previous locations as well. “Our customers are those who search for something new, something affordable and something unique, which is why the pandemic is not a problem,” she noted.
With a workshop in Homagama where welding and other skilled jobs are carried out by men, Shade House engages unemployed women from Makumbura in Homagama who work from home to stitch and glue these fabrics onto their lamp shades. They also market brassware brought in from Pilimatalawa, cane shades in addition to batik fabrics and other customised shades for ceramic and clay pots as requested by the customers.
This business was initially started by the sisters’ grandfather and later their father continued the venture by establishing several shops in Colombo and one on Galle Road.
The two sisters have been able to revive this operation after completing their higher education qualifying with a Degree in Business Administration from the University of Sri Jayawardenapura and Ms. Prabodha subsequently earned a Masters as well from the University of Colombo. Later she also learnt the art of tie-and-dye to make the batik fabric since they had received requests for this as well.
“Now orders can be placed on any day since we have a permanent location and don’t need to wait for one day of the week to find us,” Ms. Withanaarachchi said.
Today the product that is manufactured is made at an affordable price and to suit their placements in homes as well with a shorter stem with a taller shade that is not easily breakable, Ms. Withanaarachchi said.
She noted that the pandemic was not a problem but an opportunity; because when the country opened up there were more people looking for goods with a value for money and were able to purchase from them.
Ms. Priyani Rathnaweera of Priyani Lace from Dickwella, Matara who is also located in the same premises markets beeralu lace products like kurta blouses, table cloths, runners and mats among other items.
She has been engaged in this operation for the past 10 years and has involved about 25-30 womenfolk from Matara to stitch her products.
Ms. Rathnaweera had also been selling her wares at the Good Market stall and realised it would be beneficial to work together with Shade House and can now be found at the same location at Liberty Plaza.
Her products have reached the export market and she too learnt this art from her family that has been engaged in this business since the days of her great grandmother.
Lamp shades and beeralu lace seem to complement each other. While Ms. Withanaarachchi seems to have studied the art of running her operations, Ms. Rathnaweera has learnt it through experience having also won a Gold Award in 2017 for Best Entrepreneur organized by Good Market.
Versatile in managing their operations the two ventures will be looking forward to catering to the upcoming season from their new location at Level 1, Liberty Plaza.
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