How the loss of her loved ones to COVID led this serial entrepreneur to produce memory quilts

The summer of 2021 is one that Farah Ahmad will never forget. The second wave of the pandemic changed life, as she knew it, forever.

“I tested positive for COVID at a time when my family needed me the most. My mother and younger brother, both died as a result of post-COVID complications. My life was turned upside down,” she says.

Dealing with loss is very difficult and as Farah sifted through her mother’s and brother’s clothes one afternoon, she discovered that these pre-loved garments were very dear to her and offered her peace.

“I realised I wasn't the only one who took comfort in clothes of the deceased. Many individuals have lost loved ones, and I hoped that curling up in these quilts will provide them with comfort as well, hence Soul Quilts was born,” she explains.

Farah Ahmad is a serial entrepreneur and inventor with over 10 years of experience in leading companies in the wellness and retail sector.

In the dotcom business paradigm, she worked for Yahoo! Software Development India Pvt Ltd and submitted a US Patent “Keyword Trading System and Method”.

“I'd always wanted to work in academia, so when the opportunity to work as a Research Assistant at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, under the supervision of Professors presented itself, I jumped at it. The idea of creating wealth, jobs, and spreading prosperity appealed more than anything else, and it was this thirst that led to the founding of the Beaut Group, which now operates in the health and retail sectors,” she recalls.

Memories, preserved in a quilt

Farah was already running Sweet Root, a physical retail store in Bengaluru that fell into a crisis when it couldn’t compete with online giants and deep discounts.

The time had come to think out of the box, and hence Farah decided to diversify into the upcycling segment with memory quilts and baby quilts. Labelled Soul Quilts, the product range enables human connection through upcycling.

“We promote the idea of donation of clothes, however, we find that we are still left with clothes of sentimental value that we are not ready to part with. These clothes of sentimental attachment are crafted into beautiful quilts and keepsakes for families. The whole idea of conscious consumption, minimalism is also at the crux of it,” Farah says.

A memorial quilt, on a deeper level, Farah says, acknowledges the life of someone who has died while also providing a physical medium for those who have been left behind to reconnect.

“Looking at a specific shirt fragment in the quilt, for example, can bring back vivid memories of a shared experience with a departed loved one. Our real-time link with someone we love is severed by death and loss, but memorial quilts reconstruct the pathway through a beautiful, tactile, very personal object. We transform important fabric from someone's clothing or other belongings into gorgeous memorial quilts,” she adds.

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Handcrafted with love

Putting her ideas into action, she made a memory quilt from the deceased's clothes (her mother and brother), which provided her with a great deal of comfort. Her friends supported her as she progressed from ideation to execution, and slowly but steadily, from one quilt a day, the numbers began to grow. Orders began to flood in from all over the country, and abroad.

The quilts are handcrafted in-house by craftsmen, and Sweet Root’s ideation team works on the design pattern once the garments are received. Once the design is approved, a concept note is given to the customer for approval, and production begins. The customer is kept informed at all times, and the turnaround time following the ideation stage is two-three weeks. The amount of cloth articles required for handcrafting a quilt are based on the quilt's size. Every piece of cloth is utilised to make a patchwork memory quilt. The team includes textile and fashion designers from India's top design schools.

“We have a strong offline and online presence, which helps us connect with our customers. Sweet Root Store in Bengaluru establishes trust as a physical location where customers may meet us in person to discuss their quilting ideas. Customers also share their feelings, not only about the quilt but also about the person they have lost in their lives. Knowing that change is the only constant and that nothing is permanent is an emotional journey. It makes me believe that ‘life has to end, love doesn't’,” Farah says.

Sweet Root's Soul Quilt was started in April 2021 and has so far seen 25 percent growth in orders every month. It has made more than 1,500 quilts from over one lakh clothes within a short span of time.

These high-end memory quilts are priced based on the size of the quilt (single, double, and family-size quilts), with prices starting at Rs 3,600.

Farah says being part of the Goldman Sachs 10000 Women programme at IIM-B has been a stepping stone to think ‘outside the box’.

“Upcycling will always hold a special place in my heart. We plan to provide a wide range of products for the home decor and children's segment, all manufactured from repurposed fabric. We are open to receiving some sponsorship and support as part of our social responsibility to make quilts out of unused cloth articles for children in slums. We hope to make this a venture filled with human connections, sentiments, and social responsibility,” Farah says.