Hi! I’m Anoushka, I recently moved from London to San Jose. I work in luxury fashion. I love art, psychology, exploring new places and cooking.
I recently moved to San Jose from London to join my husband who has been living here for over a decade. I am still transitioning and making it my home. My husband and myself dated each other long distance for 9 years and being with him is what makes it feel like home.
In London I lived in Bethnal Green for 6 years which meant I had easy access to my favourite places like Broadway market, London Fields and Victoria Park. I love nature and the outdoors and that’s what makes me really happy.
Now in San Jose too, I am always exploring and California in general has so many lovely places if you are a nature buff. My city has a beautiful rose garden which is incredible in the summer, a beautiful lake called Lake Del Valle, half moon bay beach and Alum Rock park are my favourite spots so far. If you were to visit California, you must go to Point Bonita, this sunset point is amazing and very few people know about it.
I believe that everything is energy and our world is all about the give and take of energy. I was even inspired to base my Masters collection on this concept and explored the energy of various crystals to develop my collection. The final concept was to analyse how a crystal formation and its 2D drawing would translate when placed on a 3D human body.
For me the first iconic moment was definitely when I saw my name as Costume Designer on a huge billboard in Mumbai when I was 25 years old. It was the first big thing that I dreamed of that I actually achieved and all on my own merit. It was really a validating moment as I didn’t really have too much self confidence until that point.
The next was moving to England to do my Masters in Fashion and then actually landing a job for a design company that was located in Sloane Street which gave me the opportunity to work with an international team and brought so many amazing experiences.
And of course getting married to the love of my life after 9 years of a long distance relationship, moving countries, going through all kinds of immigration paperwork to be together really makes me believe that you can make your wildest dreams come true if you firstly believe that they can happen and then work towards them.
I have two lovely nieces aged 3 and 1. They inspire me to be better and I am currently writing a story book for kids. It’s based on diversity and recognising the fact that we are stronger and better with our differences that bring unique ideas and solutions to the world. The other story that I am currently developing is based on self – worth and why it’s so important to believe in yourself.
I would love the next generation to be equipped to understand their thoughts and emotions more effectively and hopefully give them a few pointers for them to understand themselves better in confusing and complex situations. I really do think if each one of us were more emotionally and mentally stronger, we would be on our way to creating a more balanced world.
Ever since I was a child, I would dream of going away on an adventure. I was born and brought up in Muscat, Oman which had a very different culture from that of my parents who are Indian. Muscat was more conservative but I lived there only till age 14 after which my parents moved back to my hometown, Goa, India. Goa was a fun place to grow up in your teens, we had loads of friends, we did fun things like went on family picnics, went to beach shacks with our friends and Goa also had the best nightlife. However, I wanted to pursue a serious career path and decided to move to Pune in India to do my Bachelors in Business since my dad was a businessman. When I moved to Pune away from all the comforts of my home, and had no friends in a new city, I really began to question my decision to move away. But soon, I made a very tight knit group of friends who I realised are your real support system when you don’t have your family with you.
After I finished my course in Pune, (a bachelors in business and then a bachelors in fashion) I moved to Mumbai to work as a costume designer for Bollywood films for 5 years. It was very exciting and glamorous and I travelled to many exotic places like Cuba, Thailand and Turkey for shoots. At age 27, I decided to pursue my Masters in Fashion at UCA in Rochester, Kent and then moved to London which I absolutely loved! When I moved to England in 2013, I had already had the experience of being in a new place and starting from scratch, growing my friend circle and spending time with people that made me happy.
I guess a sense of adventure and always discovering something new has always been my inspiration.
Just after I completed my Masters in Kent and moved to London to look for a job was a very uncertain time in my life. In London, the fashion industry is very competitive and basically works mostly on connections and recommendations within the industry. For me, everytime I find myself in an uncertain situation, I turn to the things I am in control of. Simple things like sticking to an exercise routine, a long walk in nature, making art, talking to my best friend over the phone. These constants helped me out a lot. I remember going to the British Library everyday and spending hours of quiet time working on my portfolio and resume. The self imposed routine gave me direction and focus which helped me until I managed to get my dream job in London.
My morning routine tends to set the tone for my day so I stick to my rituals as much as possible. I usually start my day with a short meditation on the Calm app. I also like to squeeze in a quick 7 min HIIT workout from @lucywyndhamread which gives me an instant energy boost. I will have some fruit and green tea and start on my emails. During the day I definitely take the time to go for a walk to the park, draw or paint in my journal and cook myself a comforting meal. I have realised over time that it’s all these small things that add value to my everyday life so I try and stick to them as much as possible.
I love creating things, with every project that I am involved in the biggest motivation is the end result I visualise in my imagination. In the past, I used this method of visualization to expand my company’s brand to three new countries, I use it to create art, to make a meal and pretty much in everything I do. I think visualisation backed with focused action can just about help you achieve anything you decide to pursue.
In terms of challenges, I would say there is a lot of change to constantly adapt to. Change also really gives you insight on who you are becoming as a person. Every few years your passions, interests and motivations change, I believe you have to keep up with this inner change too and reinventing yourself is always a challenge, you constantly are torn and in doubt.
Well, since The Sense Network is a Market Research Consultant I really believe the platform has the ability to influence consumers, businesses and vendors positively. Marketing at the end of the day is constant subliminal messaging and very often we tend to consume in a very robotic/programmed manner. I think The Sense Network can encourage critical thinking to entice prospective consumers and vendors to ask the imperative question of WHY?
How is this product or service a value addition? What purpose does it serve?Does it help the people as well as the planet?
For example, ever since I moved to the US, I have observed the advertisements here revolve around prescription drugs heavily. There is a constant feed of a disease that you have, an ailment that you have to resolve, but nobody talks about the deeper cause, the thoughts, feelings and emotions behind it. It’s a diagnosis and then a prescription.
The pandemic is an opportunity to think differently, When you know better, you do better!
Inspiration from you to us
Watch this: The Namesake by Mira Nair
Read this: The Human Magnet Syndrome by Ross Rosenberg
Listen to this: Rhye – Open
Listen to this: How I built this – Sara Blakely Of Spanx
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