Mindy Arora, founder of ASALI, is the true embodiment of an entrepreneur, kick starting the brand in 2017 after spotting a gap in the market for aviation inspired luxury leather goods after visiting air shows with her husband, who is an RAF fighter pilot.
A military wife, a mother, trained teacher and business owner, Mindy demonstrates how not one role defines you.
Having grown up in a predominantly white, middle-class area of Birmingham in the 1980s, and being the only girl who was Punjabi in her school (other than her sister), Mindy knew how it felt to prove herself from a young age. Her father came to the UK from India with £3, a packed cardboard box and his medical degree. He had and continues to have drive and passion for success; "good is good but better is there" was the mantra in Mindy’s family.
After deciding to not follow her parents and go down the medical career path, Mindy enrolled to study Economics and Sociology at the University of Liverpool, and there her world collided with her future husband, Jim.
Mindy described their Indian-stroke-RAF wedding several years later as “Top Gun meets Bollywood”.
Fast forward six years and two children later, Mindy had the idea to create luxury leather luggage, inspired by the world of aviation. Using her contacts in the RAF and conveniently, a family-owned leather factory back in India, Mindy set about turning her light bulb moment into a profitable business.
“My family had encouraged me to get involved with the business many times, for a long time I dismissed the idea as I genuinely had no ideas about how to use them.” Mindy said.
In 2017, ASALI (which translates to genuine in Hindu) was born. Using some of the finest Italian full grain calf leather for many of their products, the brand began with the aviation inspired collections and started with a range of products marked with the iconic Red Arrows emblem. Renowned globally as one of the premier aerobatic display teams in the world, the Red Arrows are an institution that fly the flag for British commerce. ASALI is proud to be an official licence holder of the prestigious Red Arrows licence granted by Ministry of Defence, meaning its products can be deemed official Red Arrows merchandise.
The merchandise then grew to the full range it is today, offering leather goods stamped with a variety of iconic fighter planes, including aircraft from the Battle of Britain and the Eurofighter Typhoon, something for every aviation enthusiast.
The ASALI own collection holds the same sense of luxury and style as their aviation range, whilst embracing the brand’s own identity, with the ASALI logo carefully embossed onto each and every piece. Perfect for the discerning leather lover, these products make a stunning gift for any occasion. To add to the ASALI experience, the brand also offers complimentary personalisation across luggage tags, cardholders, wallets, key rings and weekender bags.
ASALI also strive to offset its carbon footprint by using recyclable packaging where possible. The medium size gifts are wrapped in the Grass Paper Bag, an excellent eco-friendly alternative to polyethene mailing bags, made from grass fibre which makes them fully recyclable and compostable.
Over the past four years, Mindy has seen turnover double year on year and has created luxury leather products which are loved and used by elite RAF pilots and well-known names alike, with famous fans including Phillip Schofield and Carol Vorderman.
The 21st-century brought with it a wave of career-driven women and new-age mums who juggle the full-time job of being a parent with the full-time job of owning a business, earning themselves the term ‘mumpreneurs’. Throughout her changing circumstances, Mindy has taken multiple leaps of faith, resulting in career successes and failures. A risk-taker by nature (“as all entrepreneurs must be,” according to Mindy), she is innately driven to succeed. Once she gets an idea, she runs with it.
“Don’t wait around for others, you have to chase it. Get out there and knock-on people’s doors because no one else is going to do it for you. You also need continual faith that what you’re doing is of value to people” Mindy advises other’s thinking about starting their own business.
Discover the collection here: www.asalidesigns.co.uk
