Day in The Life: Shoe Designer and (Pregnant!) Mama Vrinda Gupta

What does your daily routine look like, mama? Tell us, we want to know!

In the series “A Day in the Life“, mamas submit snapshots of regular moments that occur throughout their daily routine. The idea is to show the wide variety of lives mamas lead in Singapore, whether you’re in the office, staying at home, or something in between.

We know lots of mamas out there who love their shoes, but are so impressed with Indian mama Vrinda Gupta for taking her passion for fashion to the next left. The mother of two (with baby #3 due this October!) left behind a job in banking to become a buyer in the fashion industry. When pregnant with her second daughter, she studied footwear design at the famous ARS Sutoria in Milan, then ultimately completed a diploma in footwear product development here in Singapore.

In 2017 she launched TINT, a super stylish footwear line where every shoe is handcrafted by skilled artisans and craftsmen in India. What’s more, shoes are only made from vegan leather and indigenous materials like certified organic cotton and khadi. In case you’re wondering, they offer bespoke services too, mama!

From yoga to co-working, Vrinda lets us in our her daily routine to see how she manages the juggle. Check out our gallery for all the deets. And if you’d like to be featured in this series, mama, drop us a line at [email protected] with “Day in the Life” in the subject line!

Read more Day in the Life stories here:

Lawyer and Social Entrepreneur Sarah Lau
ChannelNewsAsia Presenter Yvonne Chan
Artist Charlotte Lane

This is the most active time of the day at our home and we are at the peak of our activities, as we scurry to get our girls, Aalia (7) and Anvi (3), ready for school, finish breakfast, get their hair done (yes the struggle is real), and say our prayers before our girls head to school.

This time of day is precious, as it’s quiet time; I exercise, read the paper and get ready for work . As I am in my third trimester and growing by the hour (or so I feel), I can’t do much except a bit of stretching and yoga. I have been regular with yoga, but I couldn’t be more grateful for it than at this stage of my pregnancy.

I head for work around 9:30am. I have been working from The Hive co-working space. Entrepreurship can be challenging and I identified working from home with focus was my biggest hurdle. Working from a co-working space has given my day and work structure, and going to The Hive has added discipline to my day which has surely helped me at work. My team of artisans and my studio is based in India, so work picks up at 12:30pm (10am India time), when my workshop in India starts operation.

Most of the work involves liaising with them on a day to day basis and following up on work done, be it completing orders, planning events or sampling new designs. Working long distance is a challenge, however I am very grateful to my team in India for making it work.

My day is incomplete without a quick power nap. A 10-min midday nap does the trick for me and I am fresh to deal with the rest of the day. Then it’s classes, activities or play time with my girls followed by dinner at 6:30pm. It’s all about hugs, cuddles, games, story telling time , and of course, thwarting 100 reasons why it’s still not time for bed before the kids head to bed at 8pm. PHEW!

Work ends with a video call at 8:30 pm as I round up on the work done for the day in India. It’s relaxation and some TV time with my husband then. I also find this time of the day to be the most ideal for thinking up new ideas as I research and sketch and look up inspirations for my upcoming collections.