Potter Bibi: Promoting Bangladeshi culture and fashion

Potter Bibi is an online shopping site serving products that are made in Bangladesh.  The name, Potter Bibi, refers to the Bangla idiom, Shushojitto Thaka (staying adorned). The owner of the site, Fouara Ferdous, a graduate of Archaeology from Jahangirnagar University, had a knack for art from a young age. As a self-taught artist, Fouara began her journey as a nail painter before starting her first venture, Charcoal, where she sold rare and high-quality painting products. Potter Bibi is her second venture.

With the hope of promoting Bangladeshi culture, she started making and selling traditional Tangail sarees, as a way of encouraging young women to wear them easily and frequently. Last year, she added hand-painted beauty boards to the shop as well.

 Currently, she is focused on  promoting handloom fabrics, to support local artisans. She also took part in a few fairs organised locally for promising designers.

She regards the growing number of young designers and boutiques that promote Bengali culture as healthy competition between like-minded people.

A proud moment for Fouara was when a customer bought her Feluda saree for a function organised to honour the legacy of Satyajit Ray in the USA. "My product represented the thoughts of a Bangladeshi and renowned designer Sabya Sachi himself signed the saree, to show his appreciation," she adds. In the near future, she plans to include household items, menswear and kids' clothing to the product line of Potter Bibi.