sangeetha kowsik

Well, in addition to my design skills, it's my relationship building. It's the fact that I have maintained my friendships and my relationships from jobs that I've had from, like, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago, and I'm very - I treasure those friendships, those relationships, the working relationships, and I honor them, and I keep going. I don't just ghost, you know? That's another huge advice - don't ghost anyone. Don't ghost. I follow up and maintain those connections over time.

To always maintain your relationships. Even if you were laid off from a profession, laid off from a job or whatnot, make sure that you still are cordial on good terms with any single company that you've worked for, and make sure that you maintain your friendships, your working relationships within those companies, and also make sure to get your recommendation letters from them, too, as you exit any company.

I feel just to keep going. Like, I know it's very difficult as a woman of color - a lot of opportunities are denied to us, a lot of doors are closed, a lot of institutions, they're gatekeeping, but one thing is that they will never forget you in a way. Because you have a unique name, you have a unique way of looking, and it's to keep going, to keep hustling, to keep making, to keep honoring your relationships, to keep making more friendships and relationships. You never know which door is going to open - just to keep going. I know it can be frustrating with so many doors shut, but then always a window opens, and you jump through that.

The number one opportunity is that the world is getting a lot smaller, especially due to social media. People want to know more about each other, even though social media can be a nightmare with countless amounts of irritating content. But now the world is becoming smaller, and people want to know about different cultures and places. You have more access to know about others. Also, now people are talking more about diversity and inclusion, and wanting to see themselves represented. So when you go into a museum shop, everything tends to be very Eurocentric and written from a very Eurocentric framework, colonial framework, because they don't have anybody from Eastern faiths or Eastern cultures writing these labels or designing the product. So that's why there's an opportunity, because now more and more museum shows are doing global cultures, and there's a chance for me to design and develop for those special exhibitions. The challenge for me is that a lot of these museum shops are really, really cheap. They want everything for a dollar, and you can't make bespoke product or quality merchandise for a dollar. You get stickers and tchotchkes, and it's like, enough with the stickers and tchotchkes. The Met back in the day used to be known for bespoke product, for more elevated offerings. Now it's just magnets and really tacky garbage. And there's still a lot of gatekeeping - a lot of the people who are in positions, you can't seem to get a break with them because they're dinosaurs. They've been there for 30, 40 years, and I've heard from a lot of my colleagues who work in the museum field that they're waiting for these folks to die off so that new blood can come in. Visibility is also a challenge. Even though social media is there, it is very hard to be found nowadays. I am not just a fashion brand, a luxury brand, but storytelling. There's a unique story behind each and every one of my pieces, and it's very difficult for me to get that voice heard over all the noise.

Honesty, compassion, and kindness are the three major ones for me. My work is not just about making money or having many sales. It's about making a difference in people's lives. My work is about uniting diverse communities, cultures, and faiths together through unique art and design. Each and every piece that I design in my personal line or core product line has a story, each has a meaningful story and concept behind it to educate and unite communities and cultures, especially since we live in an increasingly polarized world. It is extremely important for us to know about one another in order to appreciate each other. When you know more, it leads to more compassion and understanding and appreciating each other. So education is very important. Education and knowledge as well. It's not just a pretty art object, it's not just a pretty design, there's a deeper meaning behind everything that I do.