When sisters Fajrina, 25, and Hazirah Rahim, 23, walked into designer stationery and accessories store kikki.K in Ion Orchard three years ago, it dawned on them that they could design stationery and make a business out of it.
After some serious brainstorming, they launched Ozzy & Lulu, an indie brand of stationery and lifestyle products that is named after their cats, which are siblings too.
With a motto of keeping their designs cute and quirky, but with a touch of style, they set up an online store (www.ozzylulu.com) in 2012 selling handcrafted doodle books, greeting cards, passport covers and tote bags. Prices range from $5 to $20. Their signature brightly coloured prints include watermelons, owls and salmon sushi.
While they decline to reveal sales figures, they say business is brisk. They also sell their products at craft markets and the items are stocked at several indie retailers such as online shop Naiise and lifestyle store Hotel De Cruz in Bugis Junction.
The sisters, who are not setting up shop at a craft market this month, say there is such a high demand for their products that they had to stop making the doodle books late last year - though they still design them - and now engage a printing company to do so.
Ms Fajrina explains: "One doodle book usually takes an hour to make. We have to manually cut the covers, assemble the papers, punch five holes on the spine, stitch the book together and manually round the edges with a corner cutter."
They design and make their products at home, a four-room HDB flat they share with their parents and cats.
Despite having to juggle day jobs - Ms Fajrina is an account executive and Ms Hazirah is a graphic designer - they relish the satisfaction of creating their own products.
Ms Hazirah says: "To make something with your own hands is quite amazing. It's hard to believe that with the right materials and patience, you can actually make a lot of store-bought items yourself."
Though they hope to open a brick-and-mortar shop someday, Ms Fajrina notes that they have yet to "realise the full potential of their business online".
Ms Hazirah adds: "For now, we hope to gain as much experience as we can and learn from others before eventually expanding our business."
Gurveen Kaur
