The Family Cottage stocks a wide variety of fabrics whether it is ethnic cotton patches, mirror work suits to meet your daily needs or a designer range of Lucknawi suits right from Lucknow. They also deal in age-old traditional jamawars that will give your special occasion an added touch. The store is a brainchild of husband and wife team - Manish and Deepali, what started as an exhibition of 15 days, came up as a store called The Family Cottage. The response to their exhibition was tremendous so their friends insisted them to make it a permanent venture and thus their clientele grew. Deepali got married when she was in college and though she has no formal training in designing but what started as a hobby turned into this venture. According to Deepali, "It's been three years now and I have always been inclined towards this as I think I have a creative instinct. My sisters and friends used to like what I wear and they all encouraged me. I was free after my marriage but I wanted to do something on my own. As for the product range in Rajouri no one thinks of putting up Khadi and cotton, usually stores here have very heavy formal and semi formal range, I deal in very light range cotton suits, also formals, semi formals and casuals as well. There is a particular income group, which cannot afford labels and buy an outfit for Rs 8000 to 12,000. We try and give the best to the customer in their range. I can make whatever you have in mind, even experimenting with gent's shirts."

The specialty of this place is that they make a Formal or a Semi formal type of outfit to suit your budget, even if it is in the range of Rs 200-300, by doing certain type of embroidery and embellishments they try and design something innovative. The store undertakes customized tailoring & customized designing that gives just the perfect fit. The range includes sarees, suits, lengha cholis, Indo-western wear, and children's dresses, tops and blouses for young girls. The material used is georgette's, chiffon, net, tissue, imported viscose and lycra, khadi, cotton and poplin. The response has been overwhelming as women can find everything at one place, according to their budget both formal and casual. The garment can be made in 3 days if you pick up a piece off the rack. Deepali initially started this with one tailor but now she has her own production unit. The store gives a plethora of options from customized tailoring and designing to readymades, embroideries - both hand and machine made with embellishments. Customers come in from Rohini, Pitam Pura, Vikas Puri, Janak Puri, Paschim Vihar, Gurgoan, Rajouri Garden, Punjabi Bagh and Kirti Nagar basically from North and West Delhi. Price range is between Rs 150 - Rs 5000. Deepali designs herself and also has two designers working for her full time, as work has become hectic. Deepali also takes part in exhibitions and has a set up in Dubai. They are planning to even send their stuff to England to diversify. The Family Cottage caters to the whole family from kids, to newly wed teenagers and grandmothers.

Deepali says "The name came up due to the fact that the whole family can find something for themselves. Also we have done up this place in cane like a small cottage, so the idea of The Family Cottage came up. I want the customer to be satisfied in the end, they should feel that whatever they have spent is worth it. My family has been very cooperative and my husband has helped me all through. If you have a solid support system at home you can work with ease. My mother, father, father in law, mother in law all help me a lot. As I need to spend time with my daughter as well, so my husband helps me with that. I was a bit apprehensive when I started with 200 pieces, but as it grew the demand came in and thankfully it worked for me. I enjoy my work and like my set up here as I have a loyal customer base. We are very particular about our delivery dates. Also we don't want to specialize in anything. When people come here they should be able to find everything as every woman needs a formal as well as a daily wear suit at different times. Our western shirts for women have been quite a hit. Even if a customer picks up a piece for Rs 150 we suggest them 10 different designs, as each piece should be unique. We work on our own designs, follow trends, also sometimes a customer gives an idea and we make specific sizes accordingly". Deepali feels that Rajouri Garden is the posh market of West Delhi and people prefer coming here as they find variety, it's less crowded and better than Karol Bagh which is too crowded.

Jyoti Narang