Dreams do not call for huge capital—what they truly need is resolve. With this belief, a young student of Eden Mohila College has begun her journey. Coming from Cumilla to Dhaka, she is pursuing her studies durning the time also designing hand-stitched dresses and bags. In spite of being limited resources, she is progressively building a promising venture through creativity and hard work. Her story was shared in an interview with Sakibul Hasan.

 

Although originally from Cumilla, she now lives in Dhaka For a study purpose at Eden Mohila College. Together with her academic life, Nahida;s passion for creativity has led her into the world of handmade clothing and bag design. With limited means but strong determination, this young entrepreneur continues striving to turn her dreams into reality.

 

Talking about Nahida's inspiration for learning sewing, she shared with me that she has five sisters and one brother. Watching her second elder sister sew sparked her interest in the craft. She often encouraged her sister to open a boutique page, but due to her family responsibilities, that plan didn’t come true. From that moment, her own desire to pursue this work became stronger.

While designing dresses and bags for women, she gives equal importance to practicality beside fashion. According to Nahida's wrods, comfort is essential for any piece of clothing. For bags, she focuses not only on durability but also ensures they remain trendy and stylish.

Describing her experience with hand sewing, she says there is a unique warmth and affection in handmade work compared to machine sewing. In her words, stitching by hand feels like imprinting her thoughts and emotions onto the fabric. She never feels bored while working; instead, each piece brings new excitement.

 

Most of the time, she comes up with her own design ideas. However, many customers also share their preferred designs, and the final design is usually decided by combining both perspectives.

She enjoys working on both dresses and bags, but she admits that creating dresses gives her slightly more joy. From a business perspective as well, clothing tends to have higher demand, which she sees as a promising area for future growth.

 

The journey, however, was not entirely easy. In the beginning, she had to work very hard to maintain the quality of her stitching. There were also financial challenges in buying fabric and continuing her work. Gradually, she overcame these obstacles through persistence.

 

Since the beginning, she has received positive responses from people around her. Living in a dormitory helped as well—her roommates and bedmates encouraged her greatly. Her family now also provides strong support.

 

Setting prices for handmade products is sometimes difficult, she explains. Many people do not fully understand the time and effort behind such work. Even so, she tries to keep prices affordable for customers while ensuring fair value for her labor.

 

Among all the work she has done so far, her very first sea-green dress remains the most special to her. It had a unique number-like design. Although she has created many better designs since then, that first piece still holds a special emotional value.

When asked about customer feedback, she says it is hard to mention one specific compliment. However, since she mainly works with cotton fabrics, most customers praise her dresses for being comfortable and easy to wear.

 

Regarding her future plans, she dreams of building her own brand someday—one that will offer dresses, bags, and various handmade products under her name. For those who want to enter this field, her advice is to remain patient in the beginning. Failure may come at first, but with dedication and focus, improvement will gradually follow. Creativity, she believes, is the greatest strength in this line of work.

 

Balancing studies, tutoring, and her work leaves her with very little free time. Even so, she continues to pursue her dream with renewed enthusiasm every day. Her family—especially her sisters—always encourages her. Though she has only a few close friends, they stand firmly beside her. Some of her hall seniors—Diba, Samia, Israt, and Priya—also help her in many ways, from photography to modeling for her products.

 

Through the delicate artistry of needle and thread, this young woman continues to weave her dreams. Perhaps one day, a successful brand bearing her name will emerge—this is the hope shared by those around her.