While driving past the designer boulevard on Jaipur’s Civil Lines, you cannot miss the quirky and young boutique salon called Tangerine. Fresh in its interiors and upmarket with its branding, Tangerine is the handiwork of none other than Natasha Singh Bissau. Natasha, an experienced and zesty professional stylist joins us in a Q & A to discuss her journey with Tangerine. Read further to find out the story of the boutique salon venture that Natasha had once dreamt of and which has now, become the talk of Pink City.
Q: What led you to pursue this venture?
A: I started Tangerine The Boutique Salon in 2014. However, the background that led to me to jumping into entrepreneurship goes long back. I received exhaustive training in B Blunt, Mumbai, and went on to work with a number of leading designers, fashion houses and magazines in fashion communication, and professional styling, before starting Tangerine.
Q: What are your aims and goals when it comes to leading Tangerine as a professional label?
A: Speaking in absolute, I want to make Tangerine the top beauty and styling address in Jaipur. Also, since Jaipur is on the global map of style and luxury, we want to tap into that by collaborating with photographers, and fashion designers who are exploring this landscape. For example, some time ago Tangerine did a project with acclaimed London based magazine, Suitcase. Likewise, we did a photoshoot for couple of Lakme designers. These side ventures, along with the core business keep my hands full, and hopefully I am on my way to create a truly young, vibrant beauty service brand.
Q: What struggles did you encounter along the way?
A: Thankfully, struggles have been few and far in between. I was sure about my professional goals early in life, so every milestone was just another step forward.
But like every other service industry, managing a salon comes with its sets of challenges. 99.9% clients walks out happy, but a miffed or unreasonable client can do a lot of damage, thanks to social media. We had a couple of instances where we had to handle the situation delicately. But like I said, it has largely been a joyous learning experience.
Q: Did stereo types attached to being a Rajput or/and a girl provide to be a hinderance to your journey in any way? If yes, how?
A: Not at all. I happen to come from a family that is open minded and wants their daughters to put their best foot forward in life. I was lucky to be married into a family equally supportive. They have been by my side on every step of my entrepreneurial journey. In fact I have received tremendous guidance from my elders in terms of business acumen. It is indeed true that Rajput women have had to overcome regressive practices in the past such as the Purdah system. Having said that, the times are changing, and like every other community’s women in India, Rajput women are making progressive strides, and I am happy to be one among them.
Q: How do you perceive your work to contribute to/ impact the society?
A: As we are growing, I want Tangerine to be a part of Jaipur’s social and cultural community in a meaningful way. Events like the Tangerine Women Campaign was a step in that regard. Over a salon visit to Tangerine, mothers got in conversation with their young and teenaged boys on topics concerning womanhood and femininity, topics which would be kept out of the purview of discussion. Nurturing young men to be understanding towards women is the first step in creating a sensitive and evolved future generation.
We have a few other creative ideas in the pipeline with which we look forward to socially engage the people of Jaipur. Let’s see how they pan out in the times to come.
