Niharika Khanna-Kripalu is the founder of Stoviglie Shop. A New York-based business, Stoviglie Shop is a one-stop website to find all your tableware necessities. The site brings a wide selection of carefully curated pieces and decor, such as plates, trays, mugs, glassware, candle holders and so much more. Opening up the website is like stepping into a museum of the finest paintings–each product is presented as a beautiful piece of art. Stoviglie comprises many different styles, from contemporary to vintage, minimalistic, and avant-garde. This is luxury and elegance.
Originally from India, Niharika now works at an Italian fashion brand while also running Stoviglie. We had the pleasure of connecting with her to learn more about her growing business and what it means to be a South Asian woman in the luxury tableware space.
What inspired you to launch Stoviglie Shop?
Growing up, my grandmother’s passion for tableware fascinated me. She used to collect a lot of silverware that would be passed on from generation to generation because of its value. Before she passed, she handed me generations of silverware from different parts of the world. This made me realize how important tableware can be in a home. She inspired me to write about this and the essential products for the table. This was a generational passion that I knew I could write about.
I began my research in 2017 and I started with a small blog that gained some traction in India. But it was when I came to the US that it got the most attention. I didn’t have anything in mind about where it would go. I knew a website like this would help consumers. There are so many manufacturers in the world; if consumers could find one spot where they can look at 1000 curated products, it would help them out. That is the idea behind Stoviglie.
The boutique’s niche is specific. What kind of clientele do you cater to?
Since I have been researching this topic since 2017, I have a great idea of what people like, what’s more popular, and what is well-priced. With Stoviglie Shop I actually selected each item personally based on what I think is good and what I think people would enjoy. It is kind of more curated instead of having all things you can think of, which can be overwhelming.
Based on demographics, my boutique caters to Gen X and Millennial individuals who find value in these statement pieces. However, this is because Stoviglie is unique. We bring tableware & table decor crafted by artisans around the world to the United States. You can find all your tableware and decor needs in one place instead of looking at several stores and websites at a time.
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Stoviglie Shop is beautiful. There is a lot of time dedicated to putting together products for marketing purposes and social media. Can you tell us more about how you put together that vision and produce the final results the public sees?
It took a lot of time and effort to put this vision together. The fact that I was in this space for a while, I knew the places I wanted to get my products from. Designing the website took time, but whatever you see is all done by me. I did this all by myself.
What is a lesson you learned when you first started your business that you didn’t expect to learn?
You need patience. You need it because a lot of things can go wrong, even after laying out a detailed plan. However, you would be surprised how many times something can blow up and you would have to be patient until it is fixed. There have been days that I want to work, but I just can’t because there is something wrong with the website. When you are starting something of your own you want to be doing it all the time. I just had to be patient and wait.
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As a successful female businesswoman, do you have any tips for others trying to start something as you did?
Execution. Many people have amazing ideas but people often do not actually execute them. You don’t always need much to execute an idea. You can start small and never know that what you are thinking in your mind is actually something that could explode in the future. If that does not happen then you are learning something for the next idea you have. Never sit over your ideas. Execute them.
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About the Author/s
Emma is an editorial intern. She likes to spend her free time cooking new recipes and chilling with her cat Stella.
