With premium-quality greens, Pots and Planters Goa is on a mission to design, manufacture and share planters that enrich ambience and beautify spaces
Sheetal Pai Kane is a fashion designer, an entrepreneur, an integral part of the Pai Kane Group, a member of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Indian Women Network (CII IWN) Goa, a wife, a mother and lot more. Born in Belgaum and brought up in different places around India as her dad’s profession as a geologist saw him transferred to different cities, Sheetal has experienced different places at different timelines; from Calcutta, to Mumbai, to Kolhapur and Belgaum. She completed her primary education in Kolhapur and secondary education from Belgaum. She spent the entirety of her college days, attended University in Mumbai and also began working there. A graduate in Dress Designing and Manufacturing from Sophia College and Textile Designing from Rachana Sansad, she’s a dual graduate, with a degree in sociology from Mumbai University. She joined the workforce at a very young age in Mumbai with designers to export houses gaining experience in various verticals. Her penchant for education got her to Kolhapur where she was instrumental in starting a non conventional college for women, where she was the HoD for designing. Married to Sunil Pai Kane in 1999, she moved to Goa 25 years back. After moving to Goa, she joined the Garment Technology, Government Polytechnic, Althino as a lecturer and also introduced her own label called ‘Sheetal’ making customised designer clothing. Married into the Pai Kane family, who has been in business for more than four decades, she joined the Pai Kane Group, one of the verticals of which is composite manufacturing where she began her journey with Pots and Planters Goa. Sheetal says that Pots and Planters Goa, was not her sole idea. “We have been into composite manufacturing for several years now. We are majorly manufacturing for Tata ACGL buses and Putzmeister, which is our main line. We wanted to try out different lines related to architecture and other possibilities and that’s how we ended up with Pots and Planters Goa”. Pots and Planters Goa, create products for modern spaces. Their products are fussfree, minimal, exciting, with a distinctive element of coziness about them. A combination of modern materials, techniques, and audacious creative thinking are used to achieve the same. They design, create and deliver quality pots and planters. From 6-inch tabletops to large planters’ up to 4ft tall, they offer a designer range of fiberglass planters for homes, offices, gardens, landscapes, patios, hotels, balconies, and any other space. Made out of fibre reinforced plastic, their planters are the best in quality, affordability, durability, maintenance, and resistance to harsh weather. 
Sheetal explains, “Everything is manually done. It’s like a hand cured kind of planter, which we make. It is extremely light-weight and durable which will last you for around 20-25 years. It is also low maintenance where one can use a damp cloth to clean it and it’s all shiny and sparkling like new. Goa receives a lot of rainfall during the monsoons and our products don’t get damp, mossy or mouldy when exposed to the elements. Affordability is another major USP of our planters. I sell a planter which is around two to three feet tall within a decent price range as compared to those made from other materials which are exorbitantly priced.” Pots and Planters Goa have products for indoor as well as outdoor spaces. Sheetal mentions that there is no difference between indoor and outdoor planters. “We came up with smaller sizes during the pandemic. We were always doing larger sizes which were for homes and outdoors. But during the pandemic when people had a lot of time and wanted to do gardening within the yard spaces in smaller homes, that’s when we introduced the smaller lines. The only difference is that planters do not have a weep hole. An indoor one does not require them and the outdoor ones we usually make the hole on a client’s request.” The range of pots and planters has two kinds of designs, the Classics and It’s a Spring Thing. The Classic pots and planters were initial designs that were manufactured. Sheetal adds that the Classics are always in demand and never go out of fashion. “Even today we have people calling us and buying the Classics. They are those certain designs which are forever, the ones which will always be there in the market or various spaces and homes. Those with more standard colours like white, black, terracotta brown, grey and green. These I feel are classic colours and are always in demand.” The other design is called ‘It’s a Spring Thing.’ 
Sheetal created a smaller range in quirky shapes and vibrant hues. “We have planters in canary yellow, teal blue, a flashy orange, maroon and cobalt blue. You look at these pretty colours and feel very happy.” Sheetal says that they do not have a store for Pots and Planters Goa, nor do they plan to have one, as she receives the orders online or directly from her clients, which they manufacture from the factory and deliver. “A retail outlet adds to the overheads and results in mass produced planters which I wanted to avoid. Once I get the order, I work on it and deliver the end product to the customer. People can call me for a single piece or multiple planters in different colours. I do have a few of my pots and planters displayed at Meraki in Margao. It’s a nursery run by a close friend and she is very passionate about plants. Most of her products are curated on the lines of gift hampers for personal and corporate gifting. “I have been supplying to a lot of hotels and restaurants. I sometimes go on site and accordingly suggest options to them. Some of them give us a colour theme to work with, which I am happy to do. Even if we do not have the colour with us and if one has a minimum quantity of pieces we can do it in the colour and size required. We have also designed planters for someone who wanted to fit them in a given space. I have gone on site, taken the measurements and created the planter for them in their required size and shape.” 
When it comes to gifting, Sheetal says, planters are something unique and long-lasting as compared to bouquets. She has planters in small sizes from eight inches onwards which can be kept on a table top and window sill. “I personally prefer gifting a planter.” As someone who is part of a decades old family business and a woman oriented organisation Sheetal finds the time to manage various responsibilities. “I was the Chairperson of the CII IWN for three and half years and it was an excellent learning experience. Work related I don’t need to be at the factory every day. I work from home and unless something needs my intervention, or needs me to be there or at any site for suggestions of planters, I am available. As women, I think multi-tasking comes to us naturally and easily. As long as you are passionate about what you’re doing and creating things that you love, balancing time becomes easier.” The biggest roadblock she says is the large availability of Chinese goods in the market. “Today the market is flooded with products which are quite cheap. People don’t always realise the difference between a cheap product and a really good one. We can’t compete with their quantity and sizing. As they are into bulk manufacturing their quality goes for a toss, whereas we only do curated work with emphasis on quality. Each of our pot and planter is weighed while making and it cannot go above the assigned weight. Even our 4ft planter is so lightweight that it can be picked up with one hand. Sheetal has a loyal set of clientele, not only from Goa but outside the state and country. They contact her whenever they are coming, for their requirements. “I make sure that their orders are ready on time and reach them within the requested time-frame.” Speaking on her future plans, Sheetal says she would like to do more products related to the architectural subject. “I want to diversify and create something new which is also interesting, green and sustainable at the same time; like seating areas or table tops which will not only add charm and beauty to indoor as well as outdoor spaces but will have loads of fresh greens”
