Handcrafted wooden frames, plan ahead an eco-friendly fad

India is declared to be the third largest startup base in the world with startups mushrooming at a fast clip. 

The environmental awareness of such firms is also ever increasing since entrepreneurs are by coming up with newer ideologies.

Understanding the massive need for new ideas, a group of engineers from Karaikudi launched Tetewood, a bio-degradable spectacle making firm.

The frames made by Tetewood are handmade and customised. Etching of personalised notes and names makes the product more personalised. “Wood is one of the most unexplored material, Karaikudi houses are made up of rare types of wood which cannot be seen in any part of the country.

“Wooden frames are eco- friendly and even classier than most other materials,” says Jayakumar Mamani, CEO of Tetewood.

“There is no company producing such frames in India and we consider ourselves as wood waste aggregators, creating trendy frames out of wooden waste materials” he adds.

Forming a team with similar ideologies and creating a prototype with suitable shapes and colours for every age group was a herculean task, he says.

Even the hinges used in the making of frames is not available in India. Importing intricate joints and materials from China, the company started experimenting with various other products. Wooden dairies, certificates of merit frames , displays, phone cases and even notebooks are some of the 800 prototypes created by this young group of 12 engineers.

“It takes more than eight hours to finish a single frame, since it is handmade and the labour involved is high. Almost nine of us work on the production part,” says Mamani. “We are the first of a kind. There are companies in US and China but in India we hold monopoly,” he says.

Currently working alongside bigger companies in the spectra of eyewear, the company which started as a small group is now gathering momentum. The booming ecommerce websites and applications makes the branding and marketing of the products easier, reaching every nook and corner of the country.

“E-commerce keeps the products alive but offline markets will help to sell the products consistently, creating direct contact with the customers and help Tetewood to sustain itself in the long run,” says Mamani . Capital investment is generally considered a challenge for any start-up but Mamani is confident that they will penetrate the market despite monetary hurdles.

“My capital investment during the launch was Rs 2.5 lakh but at present Tetewood is worth more than a crore. Our idea sustained everything,” concludes Mamani.