Hi there! Thank you so much for visiting my lovely boutique, Sunisha Designs. While I'm described by my friends and family as nutty, creative and adventurous, I'm sure many of you may want to know more.

I'm originally (Manisha Vakil) from Mumbai, India. My family consists of my older sisters, Heena and Smita and my parents, Arvind and Uma Vakil. My parents are definitely an inspiration to me as they have traveled the world while raising three distinctly different girls. When I was six months old, we relocated to Stamford, Connecticut. Then moved to Nanuet, New York and finally to several cities in Southern California. Yes, I've seen a lot! My father's career in chemical engineering led to many of these moves and luckily my parent's passion for traveling took us to Europe, East Asia, Canada and Mexico. I became quite the photography nut - my first camera was the Instamatic - anyone remember that one with the manual flash bulbs you had to attach? 

So with a camera in tow, sewing, crafting, card-making and other things I could make with my hands became the center of my summer activities. Sadly, I wish cooking had been one of them! I loved watching my Mom make beautiful dresses for my sisters and me and she would design the most unique home accessories and linens. We used to love watching fashion shows especially "Style with Elsa Klench". To her and my own joy, my father bought clothes and jewelry from his international business trips which really fed our love of retail therapy and opened the doors to learning about overseas styles and trends. I began a scrapbook of things I had hoped to create or design one day. As college, career and travel came into play; I put my creative thoughts into hibernation and was sure that one day I would reawaken them.

When I was 15, we moved back to Mumbai to try our hand at living there and to further enrich ourselves into our Indian culture. I started writing poems about real-life themes and realized I really had something to talk about! After graduating with a B.A. in Economics from Mithibai College of Arts in 1992, we bid India goodbye and moved back to sunny California. In 1993, I surprised my parents on Mither's Day with my first self-published book, Poetic Thoughts. It was the collection of writings from my college days in Mumbai. And till this day, I laugh at all the seriousness of them and how I could have been so deep! After I graduated with a B.A. in Environmental Analysis and Design from the University of California, Irvine in 1996, I dived into the field of marketing and public relations. In 1998, I published my second book, if yesterday was, tomorrow would be, a more introspective look into life. And then life was about to blossom...

In the autumn of 2000, (Thursday, August 17th, 6:07pm to be exact), I met my love at first sight, Sunil. He had and still does have the greatest smile, a charming sense of humor and an awesome passion for life. While we had a lot in common we also had a lot to learn about each other, yet there was no doubt that that weeked sealed our destiny. In May 2001, we got married and started our lives in Jacksonville, FL. Although I enjoyed my career in marketing and communications for 11 years, I knew I wanted to work with my hands and heart again. The concept for Sunisha Designs started from a conversation I had with my supervisors at the PGA Tour, Stacy Cote and Michele Bryan. They were describing a wine bag they had purchased from a local store and how easy it would be for me to make one on my own. That very weekend, I bought fabrics, ribbons and the like and just went for it! I had a little exhibition at home and sold wine bags, gift bags and CD wraps to friends. It gave me the jumpstart I needed to tinker with the idea of starting a business.  

In 2002, we moved to Rochester, NY, where Sunil pursued his two-year fellowship in Allergy & Immunology. While working at the American Red Cross full time, I took this time to research turning my dream into a business. I explored fashion, architecture, interior design, textiles, nature...anything and everything really. 

We moved back to Jacksonville in July 2004 into a beautiful home minutes away from Atlantic Beach. Over the course of five years, we've thouroughly enjoyed decorating and adding our personal touches to it. While developing her web site, Sunil joined Family Allergy Asthma Consultants (www.jaxallergists.com) as an Allergist & Immunologist.  

And of course, no bedroom should be left empty! And so, we brought into the world our daughter, Saloni, born on September 30th, 2005. And more recently, we welcomed the birth of our son, Sohan, on May 13th, 2008. They are the center of our best and most trying moments. Saloni loves being a tomboy, solving puzzles, watching the Imagination Movers and riding her tricycle. Sohan just loves getting into things for now and of course, crawling at the speed of 50 miles an hour! And oh, did I mention they are aspiring to be future Florida Gators - my husband's alma mater?

Since poetry left my brain long ago, I try to keep up my love of writing in different ways. I served as a motivational columnist in 2007 for Desh Videsh magazine and as the newsletter editor of The Professional Women's Council of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce. Currently, I'm serving on the The Duval County Medical Society Alliance Board as the Newsletter Chair. (www.dcmsonline.org)

I also got bitten by the blog bug and try to write as often as life permits at www.themash101.blogspot.com. And more recently, I am posting my published and unrealeased "b-side" works on a new poetry blog, www.mypoeticthoughts-manisha.blogspot.com. So, between playing with the kids, watching Seinfeld reruns with Sunil, and enjoying my role as an entreprenuer, I thank God and my lucky stars for everything...and more!