Having founded Prinkets and Co. Palika Withana and Chameera Kulasekara were guided by their strong enthusiasm and tasteful eye towards reinventing spaces via inexpensive yet contemporary, refined, and well-crafted, exceptional quality furniture items. Not only do the founders lead the company as directors, but they are also a husband and wife combo, illustrating yet again that the proper partner provides a rock-solid backbone to give life to long awaited dreams.
Palika, a proud alumna of Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo, and Chameera, a standout product of St. Peter’s College in Colombo, embarked in their enthusiasm over a decade ago, and it ultimately brought them across Sri Lankan boundaries to seek the veiled side of exquisite living. Palika earned a Fashion Design degree from Birmingham City University, while Chameera earned an Interior Design degree. The young couple’s successes took a thrill ride trip higher as they entered the cutthroat design industry, adding Absolute Vodka, Perrier Jouet, Emilio de la Morena, and ASOS.com to their roster of happy customers . Returning to their homeland, the twosome offered a lot to the table, armed with fresh ideas and thoughts and eager to improve the current design industry domestically. But not everything had gone according to plan. “When we got married and built our new house and were looking to furnish, we found that it was so hard to find modern, tasteful, well made, international quality furniture pieces that were also affordable.” stated the protagonists. Rightfully, a dilemma disguised as a difficulty in the hands of a capable expert is an opportunity masquerading as a task. “When we heard many others saying they have the same problem, combining Palika’s love for products and chameera’s clear passion for interiors, Prinkets & Co. was the ideal solution to the problem. We were always drawn towards creating products which are meaningful and serve a purpose and this felt like a calling to us.”
According to the protagonists, in the new normal, the small scale pursuit that had been sailing along well could no longer maintain their calm and cool..”We started out in a small scale with importing raw materials and fixtures for our furniture pieces but as the Covid -19 pandemic striked, we re-structured our entire supply chain and processes and we moved to sourcing 100% of our raw materials locally and building all our furniture items in house”. Despite the unanticipated hurdles that every small company owner encountered during this time, Prinkets & Co. was able to turn things around by providing full-service interior design, construction, and furniture solutions to its devoted client base. Years of travel acclimates one’s sight to the beauty of designs that differ dramatically from one another, isolated just by the refinement of their cultural influence. The process of comprehending the elegance and sheer power of each design and inbreathing it in the pieces they manufacture, according to the power couple, is an ever-evolving and demanding business. Prinkets and Co. have always benefited from the framework’s inventive outlook, which has spurred them to up their game and set new standards within the industry. The artisans, carpenters, and craftsmen involved in imparting a strong Sri Lankan touch to the completed items are wholly local, offering a center stage for the young and unseen potential within the local bounds.
Prinkets and Co. now provide complete interior solutions for both business and residential areas, including perfected finishes of important ready-made furnishings as well as custom-made-to-order components. As a whole, the products are developed in-house under the couple’s expert outlook and the talented hands of the in-house designers. The pieces are handcrafted by Prinkets and Co. using the highest quality norms. According to them, customer favourite elegant pieces such as Chesterfield couches, marble coffee tables, velvet deep buttoned sofas and armchairs, writing desks and chairs for home offices, closets, solid wood and marble dining tables, and solid wood TV units are just a few of the their most popular items.
“Be resilient, pursue your ambitions, and never underestimate yourself, agility, or your ability to adapt to change, no matter how long or difficult the journey may be.” The young entrepreneurs proudly offered their thoughts on their voyage, which could have shattered their aspirations if they had allowed it. “Everything around us is constantly evolving, it is so important to nurture our true talents and involve them in this constant change to bring lasting outcomes,” they concluded the discussion, bringing hope to those who aspire to enter the corporate world with dreams that are greater than any hurdles they may face.