Garima Tewari – A Toronto Designer with Global Recognition

Garima Tewari is the talented young Designer and Creative Director of Garéma with an impressive success story under her belt .  Her company was founded just 2 years ago offering beautifully detailed and embroidered luxury custom made gold-plated clutches.  All of the clutches are hand made at her workshop in New Delhi plus she has a studio in Toronto as well as in India. The intricate detail of her luxury line has garnered attention from stylists to celebrities; the fashion industry and Canadian First Lady Sophie Trudeau. This has lead to much media attention, red carpet and T.V. show requests, and a CAFA design nomination.

So how did it all begin for this designer?  Garima has had the entrepreneurial spirit as a young child coming from a family of business owners in India, namely her father and two uncles who ran a sweet shop chain across the country.  Garima learned first hand about the importance of running and growing a business and as she grew older became more involved in the family business by introducing modern practices.  The desire to sell led Garima to start her own stationary and accessory business as a young teen getting her goods from wholesalers in Thailand and selling them at market stalls.

As a young student, she studied interior design in India but wanted to make more of  “a global impact” so she decided to study hotel design in Milan, architectural history in London as well as trips to Paris, and New York for one month to gather inspiration and creative ideas.

Garima is a world traveler.  She loves the baroque architecture from 16th century Europe which has served as the design backdrop for her clutches. The Chateau de Versailles Clutch collection, for example, was inspired by the french gardens at the Palace of Versailles and Louis XVI’s bedroom wall.  The designer says “there is a story behind every design”.  The clutches are products of her travel experiences, architecture and interior design influences.

About a year after launch, it was an exciting day when Garima received a phone call from Jessica Mulrony, stylist and friend to First Lady Sophie Trudeau, asking about the Mia Clutch for a state dinner with the Mexican President taking place in Ottawa.  The clutch designer and her husband, Abhinav Sharma, immediately drove from Toronto to Ottawa to personally hand deliver the Mia Clutch to ensure it arrived on time and in perfect condition for the State function.

The purse was featured on television across Canada as well as articles in the Huffington Post and Toronto newspapers which led to a City T.V. interview.  Jessica Mulroney has since requested five more clutches for the First Lady’s official trip to China.  This has placed Garéma    on the design map with sales growing exponentially.

In 2017, Garéma  received a CAFA nomination in the Swarovski Best Emerging Talent Accessory category. More features in the New York Post, Hello Magazine, She Canada Magazine have since followed.  Television series Empire and Famous in Love have both had requested her clutches  to be featured in their respective episodes.

Most recently, Garéma  has been in demand overseas.  A special request came from Asia Fawad, stylist to celebrity Mawra Hocan, for a custom made clutch to match a Naeem Khan designer gown for the Lux Style Awards in Pakistan.  Garima designed the satin Carriage Clutch in collaboration with the stylist, working day and night.  After several versions,  the perfect Carriage Clutch was ready to be sent out to the stylist all within ten days.  The result was such a huge success, that Garema’s website was flooded with orders for the dreamy Carriage Clutch which is currently on back order.

Garima has no intension of slowing down to bask in her success.  She is already working with her husband, Abhinav Sharma, on a men’s accessories collection to include lapel pins, cufflinks, bow ties, and pocket squares.   She also plans to introduce a home accessories line.  There is no stopping this talented and ambitious designer who knows how to turn her vision into a successful reality.

For more information, please click on Garéma .

Follow Garema Official on Instagram and Facebook @garemaoffical.

You can also follow Garima Tewari travel adventures with her husband on Instagram @travellinginstyle.