An engineer by qualification, footwear designer by profession and now a business owner, Aparna Sudhakaran’s journey as an entrepreneur has been quite unusual. Having a predisposition towards art, Aparna was always interested in sketching and drawing; but it was the pandemic that encouraged her to truly bring out her inner artist.
Her venture, Karkhaana focuses on mainly mandalas and the intricate artwork that goes into creating these unique art pieces. These designs adorn various merchandise such as trays, coasters, posters and paintings. What sets Karkhaana apart from other players in the market is that every product is 100% handmade and one of its kind.
Creativity At Its Best
Since the past 4 years Aparna has been studying the intricate art of mandala. After years of research and practice, she decided to start her business of selling mandala products to consumers during the lockdown. Driven by her passion for art, she works up to 8 hours a day painstakingly hand drawing these designs which are later shaped into various products.
“I wanted to create something meaningful that holds value in the customer’s life. This need to create something meaningful is what has kept me going. During the pandemic, I was overworked and wanted to break free from the rut. There was so much uncertainty so I thought that this is a now or never opportunity for me. So, I took the plunge and decided to be my own boss,” shares Aparna.
Positive feedback from clients has been one of the main pillars of Karkhaana, helping the brand immensely in driving sales.
“I interact a lot with my clients and their feedback is very valuable to me. They often ask me to make customized pieces for them which depicts their personalities or their preferences. I have made several pieces for pooja rooms, Diwali gifting and other special occasions,” says the founder.
Riding the Digital Wave
Aparna ships her products across the country and uses social media platforms like Instagram to promote her products. Since art is a visual medium, it is important to display her creativity to her audience. Maintaining a social media presence is a full-time job in itself; but Karkhaana is a one woman show.
Aparna says “Since I am both the creator as well as the promoter, I have to ensure that my social media pages are always updated. Every day there is a new trend on social media so it sometimes becomes tough to keep up.”
Her outlook towards the future of Karkhaana is very positive. Since the world is going digital, the next step in the journey would be to venture into the world of digital art. So far, Aparna has been concentrating on handmade designs, but if she were to truly scale her brand, digital is the way to go.
“I still believe in the purity of handmade products, but things are shifting towards digital and I would not want to miss out on the wave by refusing to adapt,” concludes Aparna.
Instagram link :- https://www.instagram.com/thekarkhaana/?utm_medium=copy_link
Facebook link :- https://www.facebook.com/thekarkhaana/
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