We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sim Bhansali. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sim below.

Hi Sim, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I am originally from India and came to Savannah in 2021 to pursue my Masters at SCAD. I graduated with an MA in Design for Sustainability in 2022. During my initial year in Savannah I was single and decided to share my love with animals, so I started fostering with Renegade Paws Rescue.
Soon after, I met my now husband who had his own dog, Bailey and she became my whole world. We then adopted one of our fosters, Mr. Peanut Butter and were so excited. To our surprise Bailey was pregnant and only ended up having one puppy, Cosmo, so we kept him too. In the span of 4 months we had 3 dogs and we had never been happier.

At the end of 2022, I was still volunteering with Renegade and wanted to help them raise money for their new building. I started taking orders for “dog ear sketches”. I would hand draw pets’ ears and raised about $800 doing so. These made great holiday gifts. In the following year, I did many more commission art pieces including where my dogs started to paint with me. We would still donate part of the funds to Renegade because we love our fur babies.

In Summer 2023, I decided I needed a side hustle and started doing what I loved most – Quintessence.

I gathered inspiration from my day to day life with the dogs, their activities, habits, feelings, etc and realized how fun and whimsical life really is with them. It was then Quintessence was born. It means “the purest form of something” and there is nothing purer than the bond between a pet and parent. So at Quintessence, we celebrate this bond and the happiness these non-speaking beings bring to us – the goal was always to bring joy and bring a smile to peoples’ faces. Drawing custom pet ears off of pictures bringing the uniqueness of each pet with it was just so fun and so deeply loved as word spread.
Now, we have a whole line of fun and relatable pet themed products for pets and their humans.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Currently, I design and create for Quintessence while working as a full time at a local Savannah Business. As my business card reads – Artist • Designer • Dog Mom
I take pride in being a dog mom as silly as people think it sounds.

What I believe sets Quintessence apart is the personality – It’s not just funny pet quotes, it’s how they make you feel, it’s what you feel in their presence and it will make you laugh no matter what – our goal is to celebrate a shared bond! We have a whole line of products ranging from pet skin care to accessories, and a lot of other small and functional products for pets parents.

We are most proud of being committed to collaborating with animal rescues and advocating for the adoption cause. We donate a percentage of all profits to different local rescues in Savannah, GA.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Quintessence is not only for pets but also for their parents. With only a couple of years in business, it has been extremely challenging to figure out what sells and what doesn’t, Designs, how much people want to spend, what kind of products/merchandise to have, wholesale, markets, social media, costs, etc.
The most important thing I had to unlearn was “Add more to the shop”
In the past couple years, I have realized that it was important to embrace reduction, clarity and restraint. Having too many items doesn’t mean more sales, it only fosters more confusion amongst customers. So there are many products I have launched and soon had to get rid of.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

The initial capital came from my personal savings. I started with only a couple of small products and it has evolved into much more since. All the money we make goes back into the business, but I personally think I’ve made it and I’m proud of this little pet paradise we’ve built.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://quintessencebysim.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quintessence.sim?igsh=MWxzOHlkOTdtOG9uNg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr