Communication and Weinberg sophomore Vani Bansal and her mother, Twinkle Bansal, co-founded shoe charm business Glimmr in their home country of India after seeing the accessory become popular in American fashion.
The almost 3-month-old business now has around 16 designs of stainless steel shoe charms, with the newest addition being 15 limited-edition sets of three Northwestern-inspired charms set to drop this week.
“A lot of people right now, as clothing becomes more basic and neutral, are relying a lot on accessories and add-ons to showcase their personality,” Vani Bansal said. “And I was thinking, in India, what usually happens is that while things become popular in the U.S., they take about two years-ish to actually travel to India in terms of popularity and trends. So I was like, ‘Why don’t I just bring it over?’”
When initially brainstorming the brand, Vani Bansal said she and her mom went through 3,000 elements and combinations to develop eye-catching color schemes and accessory themes for their products that include pins adorned with charms and the individual charms themselves.
From designing their own packaging to talking to vendors and posting product photos to the @shopglimmr Instagram, the mother-daughter duo work together, even with an 11-and-a-half-hour time difference.
“I definitely think my mom running the actual operations and assembly back home has made it a lot better for me because I mainly work on creating the content for the page and ideating new stuff,” Vani Bansal said. “So, it’s a lot more intangible, but it’s contributing to the greater vision.”
The idea began in Evanston and made its way to Bangalore, India when Vani Bansal brought it up to her mother in the summer.
Twinkle Bansal left her job before the start of Glimmr, and wanted something to fill her newfound free time. So, when her daughter asked her to be a co-founder, she said yes.
“One fine day (Vani Bansal) came up with this idea,” Twinkle Bansal said. “And I was like, ‘Okay, let’s get this going.’”
Twinkle Bansal said that while she and her daughter sometimes have disagreements in the process of co-owning, it helps them talk and spend more time together.
With each Glimmr co-founder being in their own generation, their individual perspectives allow for an all-inclusive market.
“It’s lovely to work with her,” Twinkle Bansal said. “She’s a Gen Z person. Their ideas are different. It’s interesting to get to know what the current people think. And plus, you don’t have to think twice before saying anything.”
During a speaker event at The Garage at Northwestern, a space for NU student entrepreneurs, The Garage’s executive director, Mike Raab, said he has witnessed the growth of Glimmr from its founding stages.
“(Vani Bansal) showed up very early her freshman year, and that’s always a signal that a student is very interested in entrepreneurship and innovation,” Raab said. “And then I think she started to explore other ideas that could bring her own venture to life and landed on Glimmr.”
Raab said Vani Bansal is someone who is “receptive to guidance and feedback.”
He also said that it’s fulfilling to see students gain confidence in their agency and ambition at The Garage.
“I’m excited to see her grow into the role of a CEO with a company that’s selling products and learning, how do I scale?” Raab said. “How do I close partnerships? How do I get into retail?”
With the support from The Garage and NU students, Glimmr looks to expand to Amazon and beyond as the Bansals market to both their American and Indian audiences.
As for her upcoming NU collection, Vani Bansal said she hopes to see Glimmr’s potential with a student audience grow.
“I’m planning on doing an exclusive drop of 15 units, and it features a purple teddy bear, a golden plane, and a Northwestern ‘N’ that’s golden and purple and it’s going to be priced at $12,” Vani Bansal said. “I just plan on testing it as a limited edition drop situation and just having fun.”
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