Imagine living a life where you are able to use your talent and creativity to fulfill a bigger purpose that far outweighs the realm of commercial success. What if I tell you that even in the dog-eat-dog world of entrepreneurship, there exists a businesswoman who’s not in the rat race to become rich and famous but to champion a cause close to her heart.
Launched on 30th October, 2015 by artist cum animal lover Tina Malkani, Hózhó Dreamcatchers and Accessories is a fascinating brand “born out of the love for handmade artefacts that would fuel our social initiative, karmanye foundation”. Her love for delightful artefacts propels her passion to look after helpless street dogs. “To be able to feed my 200 street dogs that I look after” is all that Tina really wants to do.
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone
There comes a time in life when you realise there’s more to life than just paying bills until you die. Tina too grasped this reality while she was going through the pointless drudgery of corporate life. The then-34-year-old was “done with corporate life” and wanted to do something to raise funds for helping the street animals. The journey began from the city of Pune and so far, the response to her work has been truly overwhelming.
Hózhó Dreamcatchers: Art with a purpose
Hózhó literally translates into balance, peace and harmony – and the brand is on a mission to enrich the personal spaces of its customers through delightful artwork. Besides adding taste and beauty, a Hózhó artwork instills a sense of gratitude because buying a Hózhó handicraft directly makes a difference to the life of a stray animal.
Under the aegis of karmanye foundation, team Hózhó rescues, medicates, sterilises and feeds over 200 stray animals on a daily basis. Tina adds “We want our Hózhó creations to remind people to be good, do good and feel good.” Its services are available all over the world including places like Germany and London.
The brand creates dreamcatchers customised to whatever colour, size, design the client wants within his/her budget. Bracelet charms accessories are also available for which it has come up with the catchy tagline “choose your own charm”.
Fascinating Facts about Hózhó
The dreamcatchers are usually energised “as per intentions” with pranic healing that includes saging and dowsing. For those wanting to ward off evil eye, dowsing with white Californium sage sends off positive vibes and does the trick.
Additionally, the entire profit that the brand earns goes to the welfare of street animals. Tina runs a small NGO for street dogs and “every penny that comes for my dreamcatchers goes towards my NGO.”
Visions for the future
Digital startups are a rage but Tina’s priorities are different. Her dream is “to own a bohemian-themed cafe cum store, wherein we serve basic coffee and cookies and have dreamcatchers and accessories selling in the same store along with workshops for the same.”
Though brand Hózhó is a complete one-woman show, Tina employs 2-3 underprivileged women which includes her own maid to work with her. The fact that these women now believe they’re capable of doing a lot more than simply “ghar ka kaam”, infuses confidence in their hearts. Maybe that’s what true women empowerment looks like. She plans to form a bigger team with such women thus ensuring mass production on a bigger scale.
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