Daman Issar is the extraordinary energy behind Roses & Rhinos. A mother of 3 lovely children, between the age of 8 to 11 years, she has had an interesting journey in Retail. Buying experiences gained from large and startup retail companies in the UK and Singapore laid the foundation for starting her own kid’s wear online business, Roses & Rhinos. Besides her passion, its success factor is her wining foresight, for it addressed what was lacking in terms of style and comfort for kids between the age of 1 to 10 years old. To see this young and vibrant brand grow exponentially for the last few months and achieve the various milestones is heart-warming, as her labour of love has finally come to its fruition. Her heart’s desire is to make Roses and Rhinos become a household brand .
“The core spirit of our clothing line are the prints”, Daman explains, “Our international team inhouse design our prints and puts them onto modern silhouettes. Our shapes are comfortable with minimal fastening, lose fitting and soft. I love seeing kids wear our clothes, creating their own style, either mishmash or matchy-matchy, as there are no rules. The key ingredient is to have FUN and be FEARLESS, that is our DNA. We are always evolving and listening to our customers. Within our concern environment, the kid’s today have a significant key message, about how to look after our world. I am pleased to say our new range this season will be Organic Cotton”
Having a very supportive family has made her journey much smoother. Her need to balance work and family life, allows her fun and adventurous nature to take over, while she muses her kids as models for the company’s various collections. Occasionally, they do help her with the graphics, colours and shapes. Another winning combination of their retail Philosophy that is, “Kids designing kid’s clothing”. Some of Daman’s fond memories include working in Paris for 2 years. A city that holds a special place in her heart, simultaneously drove her love for architecture and design. Nevertheless, she is still flustered, that after 4 years of French lessons and experiences, unable to perfect her linguistic skills and as always, seeking perfection.
Her advice for young entrepreneurs is to seek out their passion and as starting your own business can consume you. She also recommends networking with like-minded people, for the support you can receive is amazing. She quipped that daring to make mistakes and learning from them, will definitely set one apart from the rest. Know your goals and vision, then embark on that journey, along the way you might face setbacks or detours, but always get back in the driving seat for it will take you places and your ultimate destination. Always keep your eyes fixed on the goal.