Our Team
Laura Rana – Founder
Laura was inspired to start Khushi Kantha by the birth of her half-British, half-Bangladeshi twin daughters Opi and Mahi, and her long-standing dream of using everything she’s learned from many years of living and working in Bangladesh to create opportunities for other mothers, whose position she could easily be in herself if circumstances were different.
Learn more about how and why Laura started Khushi Kantha here.
Rowsa Hasan – Head of Production
Rowsa leads our production process in Dinajpur, North-West Bangladesh.
Her primary responsibility is to maintain our product quality control system. She personally cuts and hand-washes every piece of fabric we use, and screen-prints our embroidery designs onto it, using natural indigo powder.
Rowsa also supervises our artisans, and conducts a thorough quality-check on each handmade textile product before it is ironed and placed into one of the reusable cotton bags, hand-stitched from vintage cotton saris, that we use for our packaging.
OUR ARTISANS
Khushi Kantha creates opportunity for mothers in Bangladesh to provide for their children with dignity. By partnering with us, they are able to build a better future for themselves and their families.
Shahanaj is 42 and the mother of two daughters: 17-year-old Nur-EJannat-Safia and Rowsa, our Head of Production.
In the month before she joined Khushi Kantha, Shahanaj couldn’t pick up any of her usual stitching work shifts in her local area and therefore was unable to earn a single Taka (the currency in Bangladesh).
Shila is 36. She has a son called Siam and a daughter called Sneha.
She chose to partner with khushi kantha so she can earn a sustainable income to support her children's education and other family expenses.
38 year-old Anufa is a solo parent to 11 year old Touhid. Her own mother is also financially dependent on her.
Anufa had been struggling to find any work, especially due to the social stigma she experienced when her husband left.
She says "Khushi Kantha is a ray of hope in my helpless time!"
Sajida Akther - UK Production
If you place an order for a personalised Happy Blanket that we already have in stock in the UK, it's Sajida who stitches your chosen personalisation (rather than us sending it to Bangladesh and back!)
Sajida also presents our 'How to make your own Happy Blanket' workshop.
Opi & Mahi Rana - Brand Ambassadors & Sales Assistants
Laura's half-British, half-Bangladeshi twin daughters Opi and Mahi inspired her to start Khushi Kantha.
They are our models, and chief product testers - and they also help out at markets when Laura doesn't have childcare :)