Meet Vipul Amar and Harsheen K. Arora | Creative Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Vipul Amar and Harsheen K. Arora and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Vipul and Harsheen, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
Vipul Amar (Creative Entrepreneur)

I come from a lineage of aristocratic landowners from Haryana, India. Born in Delhi to a business-political family, where my grandfather was the Deputy Mayor of Delhi and my father ran the family business of natural agricultural and forest products, the gamut of people walking in and out my house was huge as was my exposure to them. It was a curious mix of a legacy of aristocracy with the upper middle class. Having started working with my father at just 14, by 17, I had already started my own business of exporting a specialty gum (natural emulsifier) produced only in India. My business took me around the world finely fashioning me into who I am today. Life being life, taught me some hard lessons and eventually, what remained with me was who I had become. Despite the hardships the one thing I continued to be was honest to who I am and that is what has pushed me to reach where I am today entrepreneurially, personally and most importantly almost spiritually.

Harsheen K. Arora (Psychologist and Creative Entrepreneur)

My grandparents actually came to Delhi during the Indian Independence struggle, from a part of Punjab in what is now Pakistan. My grandfather and his brothers re-established the family business of threads; my father continues to take the legacy forward till today. My mother was an artist and did everything with panache. I saw my family being there for others when needed sometimes just by lending their ear and understanding. It was a tale of smiling through our tears and feeling stronger knowing we had each others’ backs through everything. I believe, growing up in a household where I saw a beautiful amalgamation of the creative spirit with the beginnings of entrepreneurial spirit shaped me into who I am today. I was always the kid whom people found easy to confide in, that gave me an insight into understanding human nature from an early age; this is what urged me to become a psychologist. Following the path of amalgamating psychology with creativity into a business took its natural course.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What sets us apart more than anything else is the fact that our venture is a venture born out of love; every single thing, every single nuance is crafted with a lot of passion, and with a lot of attention to detail. We value quality and our driving force lies in the belief that The V Renaissance products be passed on from one generation to the next- that to us is true Luxury. At TVR we delve deeper into human expression to come up with products that define people for who they are and who they wish to be. In fact that is what sets it so much apart from everything you will find. They are all unique pieces that reflect not just our personal aesthetics but also the aesthetics of the person it is crafted for. So one of the things we do necessarily is that we speak to the person we are crafting our products for and we customize it so that there is a part of that person’s character which is reflected in our products, which we think is very essential. That is how The V Renaissance came to be incepted in the first place and that is something we carry forward with pride.

TVR is essentially an extension of our published research Stupid Eye where we amalgamated psychology with photography to come up with an image representing the true self of an individual. At TVR we design absolute bespoke luxury and soulful products for our clientele starting from scratch, taking into account the client’s individuality.

What excites us most is when we see the joy and the pride with which our customers display their products, wear their products, with which they actually showcase their products; that to us is a reinforcement of our beliefs and is very exciting! We actually hold a revealing ceremony for our couture pieces, especially the armours that we craft for the film industry just so that we can be present to see the joy, the twinkle that our products spark in our customers – it’s fulfilling!

Having both come from entrepreneurial backgrounds, perhaps by a strange stroke of luck, neither of us ever had the comfort of a lineage or backup funding us; and perhaps because it is so very self initiated, that we have gone the distance of these last 10 years soaked in passion and powered by our blood sweat and tears.

Consistency – a constant pursuit of competing with our own products. And more than anything else a constant pursuit of perfecting every offering we have come up with has been most integral to where we are today.

It’s not been easy, but the fact that we are so passionate about it has kept it so exciting and so constantly evolving for us. There hasn’t been a single dull moment in the last 10 years even in the worst of times. As a boutique brand there have been very very hard months, especially during Covid times. Having said that, what has really helped us overcome it is the vision of the bigger picture, the passion, the sheer dream that we have of making TVR what it will be, the fact for us it already is that today that’s how we live every single day. For instance, despite the many many hardships during the Covid lockdown, our core team stayed locked in safe at the atelier and all of us brainstormed and innovated newer techniques, created a wifi enabled wingsuit, and also wrote a script! What we have achieved with TVR is a harmony that reflects in every offering that we bring to the table. There is a certain seamlessness of work and play; like someone said “when you love what you do you will never work a day…”

One of the most important things that we have learned over the years is that – If you do believe in something the universe does conspire to manifest it.

The other thing that we have really learnt is that it is so important that you wear your identity as a badge of honor, as a badge of pride. Which is what TVR really brings – every single product is that badge of individuality and that’s essentially what we would also like to drive forward as a brand.

Both Vipul and I are constantly asking “What Next?” We have multiple milestones that we want to cross, but for us the path extends to infinity. As long as we are having fun and crafting what we love, the path continues. We would want the world to see the story of The V Renaissance as a place where they can find an extension of who they are or what they are looking for into something tangible, something that they call their own and pass it on as a legacy. TVR is truly a romance that we continue to live and wish to continue to share.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We live on a farm in Delhi and have a lot of friends coming over to spend a few days to avoid the hustle and bustle of the city. So most times we end up having our close friends come over and chill with us over freshly brewed coffee and farm fresh meals with a myriad of tunes playing in the background sitting in our Glass-house.

Vipul is a brilliant cook and most of our friends want him to cook and me to bake goodies for them when they are visiting. Vipul used to own one of the early cafes in India – Cafe Red Bricks because of his passion for coffee and cooking. He has traveled all over talking to various chefs in the pursuit to perfect his Pesto, Tomato Basil Sauce and his most special Dal Makhani which takes about 36 hours to cook.

Some of our favorite places to visit are:

When stepping out we would love to take them out for breakfast on a rainy or winter morning in the wee hours to a small shack in Chanakyapuri for steaming hot masala chai and fresh loaf of bread literally drenched in butter.

There is one of the classic Chinese Japanese cuisine restaurant called Fujiya in Lutyens Delhi that’s a great place for a meal.

Olive bar and kitchen is an Italian restaurant set in a colonial building.

Bukhara at ITC Maurya for Indian cuisine.

Another must do is a food trip to Old Delhi. Vipul has spent a lot of time there because of his FMCG business and is privy to the best and the yummiest of delicacies the place has to offer.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The V Renaissance would not have been a possibility without our third pillar Mr. Gireesh S. Nair. He has been an equal part of our journey through most of our lives. He is family in more ways than one.

Our next shoutout goes to Ms. Namrata Chib, who has been an integral part of our businesses and life. She is an absolute angel!

The four of us are a little family living and creating dreams and legacy.

Website: http://thevrenaissance.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevrenaissance/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheVRenaissance

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thevrenaissance

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thevrenaissance7657

Image Credits
All the photographs have been shot by either Vipul Amar or Harsheen K. Arora.