Sugar, spice and all things nice
As Smita Daruwala stirs her tea, the tinkle of spoon against cup is punctuated by the occasional outburst from the birds outside, and the whiz of the fan in her office, where we have taken refuge from the hubbub of the store. Personally, I'm a convert to s"I keep trying to tell people that to make proper English tea you don't need to stew it and boil everything together with milk and sugar like mad; you just let the leaves infuse for a short time and add a dash of cold milk, but that's not the way the way it's done here, so it's pointless to protest," she laughs.
Indians who swear by English tea and non-Indians who won't drink anything but chai are a common occurrence in the South Indian state of Kerala, which has been inhabited at various times in its history by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English and boasts a suitably eclectic and vibrant heritage. The result is a relaxed, cosmopolitan vibe, which seems to be effortlessly embodied by Cinnamon's racks of gorgeously hued, contemporary yet exotic clothes. Tucked behind a historic archway in a For the Poddars there's doubtless a pleasant irony to Cinnamon's popularity with visitors. Fed up with hearing about Indians who went abroad only to return with shopping bags of clothing emblazoned with "Made in India", they founded Cinnamon to showcase Indian designers on their home ground, says Daruwala.
"We work with designers around India and edit their collections for the specific needs of our target market," she explains, adding that thanks to India's much talked about economic boom, the market in question is growing.
"Not put too fine a point on it, our clients usually fall into one of two categories; well paid professional females or wealthy women, although we do stock a respectable range of men's labels."
Comprised mainly of clothing -- with the balance in footwear, accessories, jewellery and homewares -- Cinnamon's stock represents around 40 contemporary Indian labels including Abraham & Thakore, Sujit Mukherjee, Vivek Narang, Jason Chariyan, Wendell Rodriguez, Anshu Arora Singh and Sonam Duball. Many of the designers work exclusively with Cinnamon, and the relationship is symbiotic.
"Cinnamon attains a point of difference through exclusivity of product and, if we are doing well, it reflects well on the designers."
The clothes are contemporary but classic, often with a nod to traditional Indian textiles, such as Kerala's own "kasavu" saris, which are made from light cotton fabric often adorned with rich patterns or borders in gold thread.
Stores like this -- whose modern interiors and cherry "It's not uncommon for top Indian designers to have their own stores, but they usually only stock their own label, whereas we offer a broad spectrum."
Prices - which range from 870 rupees ($A25) for a man's shirt to 14,000 rupees ($A400) for a highly finished garment - represent a particular ethos.
"Compared to some stores in big cities like Mumbai the price points are fairly modest. If you're buying couture in Mumbai, that can be really expensive. In terms of Cinnamon, if you're well off the prices are reasonable, whereas if you're a young professional woman they are aspirational but affordable."
With year on year sales rising steadily, it's tempting to surmise that further growth is not far off. Indeed Cinnamon is already considering how it can better service the larger size requirements of its many non-Indian clients and also harbours nascent dreams of overseas expansion.