About Matheena
Matheena was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is of Indian descent. She left home at the age of 21 and solo travelled for 5 years, covering Europe, South East Asia, and Australia, but never made it to India. When she returned home, she worked in the corporate sector which saw her rise up to senior management. In 2001 her wanderlust returned and this time she heeded the call to travel to India for the first time.
Here she discovered and embraced her Indian identity, backpacking through Rajasthan, and while camping in the Thar Desert decided to leave the corporate world and consciously stepped away from mainstream living. In 2002 she returned to India and developed a deep love and appreciation for the Mother Land. She also fell in love in India, married and had a baby boy shortly after. It was with a baby in tow that she created a way to come back to India on a regular basis, by filling her bags with stock and taking it back to sell in South Africa. And this was the very beginning of the The Karma Collection!
About TKC
Matheena started by buying and selling Indian décor, silver and gem jewelry and created a small range of children’s clothes, selling from home based “Parties.” This worked very well for a year, until she got a big break with a contract to trade at several malls in Johannesburg. This inspired rapid expansion of the business and diving into designing and producing adult ladies wear, and curating a variety of accessories and décor to compliment her range. In 2011 she opened her first shop “The Karma Collection Tea Boutique” which housed her two passions. The clothing and products from India combined with her talent and passion for the culinary arts. Mateena spent 2-3 months a year in India producing and curating her ranges, until she finally immigrated to India in 2016.
Our story
After moving to India, Matheena tried her hand at wholesaling her collection, since she moved to the town where manufacturing was done. After a year of this, she decided to move to Goa in India with her son. Here she started a food business that ran successfully for 4 years until the passion for creating and designing clothes outweighed the passion for cooking.
She immediately called on her old business relationships, designed a new range, had it manufactured and sent to Goa. Here she was one of the first traders to encourage a market in her area in 2020 and eventually became an anchor tenant at two markets in South Goa. The Karma Collection brand was well received by international and domestic tourist, with Matheena adapting her brand to suit the environment whilst holding to her unique design style. She ran the markets with her teenage son.
About the Boutique
In November 2023, Matheena was blessed with an opportunity to have a shop, on the popular tourist strip in Canacona. She had not planned to open one, but all the signs were there and she followed her heart once again, and The Karma Collection Boutique was opened on 2 December 2023. The Boutique is in essence; exactly what was required for The Karma Collection Brand to have some roots in India and can only grow. Matheena is super inspired to bring new and exciting designs and products to her ever growing customer base, and thoroughly enjoys connecting with and styling her clients when they visit in store.
