Imagine visiting your Nani’s house and seeing several crochet items near her bed. It looks beautiful, isn’t it? You can create these items using crochet hooks to interlock loops of yarn, thread, or strands of other materials. But this story is not about how to make crochet items. It is the story of Entrepreneur Nani, an 89-year-old Padma Parikh becoming an Entrepreneur by creating crocheted items. Today, her products have found customers not only in India but in many other countries like Australia, the Netherlands and Korea. Let’s learn more about her and how she turned her passion into a business.

The Habit of Keeping Herself Engaged

The 89-year-old Padma Parikh, known as the crochet ‘Nani,’ doesn’t like sitting idle. She has been fond of making handicrafts since childhood. Padma used to give these handmade products as gifts to her family members on every occasion. She would devote four to five hours a day to create the crocheted items.

Bansari and Heer Shah, her granddaughters, recall, “We would eagerly wait for her on our birthdays as we would receive beautiful crocheted purses and blankets as gifts from her.”

In 2020, the sisters incepted ‘PB Handmades’ (Padma Baa Handmades) to take their nani’s talent to the world through social media. That’s how Padma’s passion turned into a business with the help of her two granddaughters.

Turning Challenge Into Opportunity

Padma sells several crocheted items such as birds, blankets, sieved bedsheets, keychains, earrings, cradle lace, purses, cup coasters, and more. Her handmade items have established a customer base in India and abroad.

Padma remembers when her granddaughters showed her a video of a girl making crocheted birds and building a business selling them. She observed the picture and attempted to crochet the bird out of wool. It took Padma three days to figure out how to create the bird crochet; it took a lot of patience. She fixed the mistakes without getting frustrated, and finally, her crochet bird was ready. Once Padma completed crocheting, the sisters posted the pictures on the Instagram page, and soon PB Handmades started getting orders.

Padma purchases raw materials with the help of her granddaughters, and her daughters help her pack the products. The product prices range between Rs 400 to Rs 5000.

“We receive orders from India and other countries — including the USA, Australia, Netherlands, Japan, Korea, China, and Canada. Whenever we receive a new order, it brings smiles to Nani’s face. She always tries to be creative with every order she gets,” adds the sisters. “The colourful crochet birds are our best-selling products.”

Utilising Her Spare Time

After completing all her household chores, Padma sits at her favourite place, the swing, and starts crocheting. She flaunts her crocheted purses and models for the product photoshoot. Being blind in one eye hasn’t reduced her dedication to creating these beautiful crocheted items.

“It takes her a month to crochet a blanket, a week for a purse, and a day to make the customised birds. Nani leaves me amazed with her passion for crochet,” says Heer proudly.

Padma believes that running a business has not only empowered her but has become a means to fight loneliness.

“I want to keep myself busy. When I engage myself in work, I do not overthink. Crocheting soothes me and I don’t feel exhausted doing this because I love doing this.” Padma’s story is a reminder to all of us that age is just a number and you are never too old to start something new and excel at it.