Padmaja Manerikar Maryanski intuitively sees life through a balanced and colorful lens. Artistic and scientific thoughts live in harmony on her brain’s hard drive. And the natural world, including a persistent desire to see it thrive, provides endless inspiration.

Born in Mumbai, India, Padmaja settled with her family in Chicago, Illinois in 1967. The resilience and love of learning modeled by her parents drive her forward every day. Padmaja received her BFA in Fashion Design and Printmaking from Washington University in St. Louis prior to working within the fashion industry for almost 25 years. For about a dozen of those years, she owned and operated Saffron inc., a lifestyle boutique in (Bucktown) Chicago. And now after dedicating herself to the full-time upbringing of her two lovely daughters, Padmaja is bringing form & function to her vision once again. Find here an assortment of what dances in her mind's eye.

“Nana korobi ya oki ... fall down seven times; get up eight.” Life is not a straight road with a clear path. Won’t you join in this journey to find a bit of joy in every moment?

Sidebar: Padmaja, from Sanskrit पद्म (padma) + ज (ja or jayanta), literally means to be born of a water lotus. In Buddhism and Hinduism, the lotus symbolizes detachment ... though it grows in a wet, murky environment, it remains unaffected. Its lovely blossom is neither wet nor muddy. It is a metaphor for doing one’s calling in this life ... living a true, authentic life ... without succumbing to external pressures. Lotus27™ draws inspiration from these ideas.