Be your own boss

I love it when people can stop working for others and become their own boss. When they can slip off the heavy chain called ‘corporate job’ or for that matter any job, and slip into the role of an entrepreneur, running a business doing what they are passionate about. It could be a craft business, a writing venture, a food biz….anything that makes that person tick.

I ‘met’ Meytal Ron at the Etsy hub and was happy to see another person doing what she loves. A designer and artist, she worked in the high-tech 3D design arena before giving up her day job to start Jolinne and Honeyboo, two quirky Etsy stores where she retails lovely prints. Having always loved painting and art, it was not a surprise that this hobby was turned into a viable business and art that all of you are sure to love.

I love books

The sound of music

Puppy love

See more of her work at Jolinne.

Read her interview at the Etsy Blog.

Image credit: Meytal Ron

q & a with Anisha Ghosh of Saffron Marigold

Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by, for leaving little notes that makes a blogger's day, for signing up in the Followers section. All this makes working on Cookie Jar so special. So please come in, settle down on large squishy cushions and woven rugs, sip from cups of coffee and tea, and let's talk about handmade love.

I love everything handmade. I’ve decorated my own home with handicrafts bought at exhibitions and craft bazaars, with paintings that my father, husband and I have done, and embroidery projects that my mother and I have worked on. The colours are warm, and there is so much handmade love. While each person has his or her own ideas about decorating, I personally believe that handmade things can make a house into a magical and beautiful home. There’s a story or memory behind each little trinket, and you know that like our fingerprints, no two pieces of handmade craft are the same.

If after this little paragraph, you’re in the mood for something handmade, then read on about Saffron Marigold and how its founder Anisha Ghosh started this unique and beautiful online boutique. And better still, get hold of the May issue of The Ideal Home and Garden that has an entire article about her business – written by me J. But before you step out to buy the magazine, why don’t you meet her first and chat a bit.

Hi Anisha and welcome to the Cookie Jar...

Anisha at the artisan studio

q. Please tell us about your professional background – companies and jobs that you’ve worked at before starting your business.

a. I have a Masters Degree in Human Resources from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. After completing my Masters degree I worked in Human Resources for approximately 5 years in companies both in India and the US.

q. How did you start your business? 

a. The idea to build a small business first came to me when as a young bride, having just arrived  in the US, I longed to decorate my home with beautiful Indian textiles; wishing their vibrancy would help lift the feelings of homesickness that frequently washed over me.

After working in corporate America for four years, a period that afforded me a fleeting ten days of vacation time in India a feeling of disconnect took seat within me. Although not a designer by education, I surrendered to my need to create a meaningful connection with the land of my birth and figure out a way in which I could somehow weave together my love for Indian textiles, my desire to do creative work and my growing fascination with the Internet and the immense possibilities it presented.

I also wanted to offer discerning customers a choice to own bedding and linens that have a story to tell, that have been created by human hands, and that somehow have imprinted upon its fibres, generations of skill, culture, and tradition.

After several months that consisted of taking a few classes, travelling, research, a lot of thinking, conceptualizing, ideating and work Saffron Marigold.com was launched in January 2005.

q. Tell us about the artisan you work with.

a. He comes from a line of ancestral hand block printers in Rajasthan. A commerce graduate by education, after cycling through a few accounting jobs he was quickly disillusioned with the unstable world of work. Therefore, he decided early on to take ownership in his destiny by starting his own block printing studio.

He employs 20 artisans now. These days he primarily plays the role of the colour master in the studio and along with two of his brothers manages all aspects of production.

q. What are the different products you offer under your brand?

Ans. We currently retail a range of cotton bedspreads, duvet covers, shower curtains, curtain panels, valances, tablecloths, table runners, napkins, pillow covers and cushion covers.

q. Where do you get your inspiration from?

a. I draw inspiration for my designs from memories, impressions from travel, or from India’s rich and diverse arts, culture and tradition. I also glean a lot of imagery from history, art, music, poetry, literature, architecture, fragrance, apparel and nature.

q. Please tell us about your business approach.

a. We have taken the slow and steady approach towards building our business. We were clear from the start that we weren’t in this to turn a quick profit. We wanted to build a business that was solid, sustainable and founded on values that were not only thought through but meticulously and intentionally woven into the various systems that the company runs on. At the risk of sounding clichéd, our entire journey has been blessed and memorable.

To hop over to Saffron Marigold, just click here.

Image Credit: Saffron Marigold

q & a with Lisa Salamida of Savor

I'm a regular browser at Etsy. An online community of crafters and a marketplace for all things handmade, the website is buzzing with interesting products and inspiring interviews. It was while rifling through a sheaf of interviews on the site that I came across a post titled 'Quit your Day Job', where Lisa of Savor Soaps told readers about her delicious soap business. 'Savor' sounded fascinating, and so did she. Here at Cookie Jar, she chats with us about the business of soap making and life as an entrepreneur.

q. Please tell us about yourself – where you live, your family, and professional and craft background.

a. I live just outside of San Francisco with my husband, daughter, and four cats. I went to school in NY and have a degree in English, and came to SF to be an editor. After working as an editor in a newsroom for a few years (where I met my husband) I transferred to the  tech department and did tech support until I left to run Savor full time.

q. I read that you started your company in 2007. How did you choose this unique art, did you learn to make soaps from somewhere and what made you start Savor?

a. I just fell into soapmaking as a hobby. I didn’t learn it from any particular place, did a lot of reading online and a lot of it I just learned as I went.

Princess Bride Olive Oil Soap

q. What were the initial years as ‘soap artist and entrepreneur’ like?

a. The business took off very quickly, so I was working 40 hr weeks (on top of my full time job, so 80 hrs and commute time). My husband helped out a lot -- we were constantly busy and didn’t have a kitchen any longer, it was just used to make soap.

Ruby 8 Creme Fraiche Whipped Soap

q. What kind of products did you start with and how has the product line grown?

a. I made only bar soap. Now I make whipped soap, lotions, scrubs, body mist, and I used to carry lip butter. I’ll be making bubble bars and bath truffles in the future.

q. I’m sure you experiment a lot, while expanding your product line. What inspires you to create these absolutely delicious soaps and body butters?

a. I like to look at cookbooks or websites that collect photos of beautiful food.

 Indian Clementine Olive Oil Soap

q. Tell us about some of your favourite Savor products.

a.  My current favorite scent is Pacifics -- coconut milk and papaya. It is so creamy and warm -- love to use it on my daughter in the bath!

q. How do you promote your business?

a. Right now I’m not doing much promotion at all. I maintain my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/savorsoap and send out a semi-monthly newsletter with a coupon or sale inside. I buy advertising space online but only a few times per year.

 q. What is it like running a full time business from home and being a hands on crafter and creator?

a. It’s perfect. My success is tied directly to how hard I work. It’s an incredible motivator. However, my daughter is at an age where it’s very tough to get work done when she’s being playful. She goes to a neighbor’s house for two hours in the morning while I work.

Soft Parade Shea Butter Soap

 q. What is your day like?

a. We’re usually up at 6:30, breakfast at 7 and she’s off to the neighbor’s at 8:30. I work in the studio making items, and when she’s back she nurses and takes her morning nap, and I try to get my shipping done. She’s up again at noon and we have lunch, then pick up the house and we play for a while or go out and run errands, go to the park, etc. I do some more work during her afternoon nap, and then start dinner around 5. After we all eat at 6, she gets playtime, a bath, and I do more shipping while my husband and daughter play. She’s in bed by 9 and I’m usually asleep by 11.

Badedas Creme Fraiche Whipped Soap

q. What do you enjoy doing in your leisure?

a. I don’t have much leisure time. I like to read and Rowan and I go to swimming class on Saturdays.

q. Do you have any advice for people out there, who love to create things and would like be their own boss?

a. Being a crafter is not enough -- you really need a good head for business. I think it’s essential.

q & a with Kalyani Ganapathy

Bangalore-based Kalyani Ganapathy’s niche venture, Kye (which means ‘hand’ in Kannada), is about dollops of handmade happiness and homemade goodness. She paints, embroiders and screen prints her whimsical ideas on bags, purses, and cushion covers. Started in September 2008, the business, which specialises in handmade fabric products, gives her the much-needed break from the “giant screen” where she freelances as a graphic designer.

q. Please tell us about your background and childhood years.

a. All my school years were spent in the Nilgiris. I spent most of my school years at The Lawrence School Lovedale. I then moved to Bangalore to study advertising and graphic design.

q. What were your initial years in the workforce like? Where did you work?

a. While still at college I interned at an ad agency and soon found myself detesting the job. After college I worked at a design studio, my initial few months were spent just learning on the job. The best part of it was that almost every thing I worked was a challenge of a different kind.

I worked with various graphic design studios before freelancing and teaching.

q. Please tell about the ideas, work and creativity that goes into thinking up new stuff and creating them from scratch.

a. I find myself constantly thinking, be it when I am walking my dog, reading, or even shopping. I seek inspiration from things around me. I like to paint in the form of stories. What may seem like one story to me may not seem like that to anyone else. I believe that art is subjective and is best left open to interpretation.

 The tougher challenge is making these ideas workable to paint and stitch on fabric. I think it is attention to detail and the hours of laborious work in the pursuit of perfection that make ‘kye’s’ products unique.

q. What are you working on these days?

a. My focus at the moment is ‘custom made’ furnishing and accessories. Apart from this, I am thinking about larger collections for retail.

q. Would you like to share an important lesson that you’ve learnt as an entrepreneur?

a. My biggest learning is to keep persevering and never let the downside of business get to you.

q. What do you enjoy most about running a creative business and what are the things that give you a tough time?

a. I enjoy waking up to a new challenge everyday. I enjoy the fact that the work does not get repetitive. And most importantly I get to meet and interact with so many interesting people whom I never would have met sitting in an office.

q. Would you like to say something to all those vibrant, creative people out there, who would like to become self-employed but somehow cannot quit their jobs or take that plunge?

a. The creative life looks very glamorous from the outside, no one realises the kind of effort that goes into a simple job. My advice to all the creative people out there is to stand your ground, dream big and believe. There is nothing more satisfying than going to a job you love.

q. Any message you’d like to include here?

a. It may seem a little preachy but I think it needs to be said:

Support your local artisan, be it your local potter or the girl next door who makes hand crafted products. It would be very sad to see such a large part of our heritage wiped out by mechanisation.

Thanks a tonne for your time!

Images: Kye

Q & A with Nihar Mehta of Tribal Route

Think India and you think of vibrant colours, jewel tones, beautiful crafts....and so much more. Nihar Mehta, set up Tribal Route to bring forth the immense talent and craft know-how that this country can be proud of. Lets tread the Tribal Route and get to know this entrepreneur.

"Tribal route is not just a store....but a handcrafted store-y."

q. Please tell us about yourself – your educational and work background and interests.

a. Professionally an Interior Designer with a Diploma in Interior Design from Rachana Sansad, School of Interior Design in 1992. Worked as an Interior Designer for close to 15 years where I designed residential and commercial projects. Few of the biggest projects were the office of Iran Airways at Marine Drive, and also designing and executing various projects for the Indian Navy.

I enjoy music, promoting Indian crafts and supporting craftsmen, travelling ( specially driving the lengths of India ). I like collecting Ganpatis, coasters, stirrers, pipes, and now frogs. The Frog, by the way, is the mascot of Tribal Route.

q. When and how did you start Tribal Route?

a. Tribal Route started in November 2006. (wow, 4 years have flown past!)

I wanted to pursue my dream, my passion of working with products, handicrafts… and then I stumbled upon Aram Nagar, a quaint little society in Versova, Andheri, which has cottages that date back to World War 2 when they were army barracks. Small cottages, with courtyards, mud roads, trees and birds... and yes I had found my dream place for my dream project. I had been doing my home work for years connecting with creative people, so it was a little easy to know what to get where. Finally on my mother’s birthday, on 24^th November, Tribal Route was born.

q. What was the idea behind such a store?

a. Tribal Route was a thought, a dream, a passion that I was sitting on for almost ten years. The thought came across when I got hooked onto collecting pieces of art and craft over the years while I was travelling across India and internationally. I realised that India had to offer much more by the way of skill sets, creativity, materials etc than what was usually available at emporiums or mela type exhibitions.

Also I felt the entire experience wasn’t complete till the perfect setting was created by way of a store that looked, felt and was every inch India. The raw beauty, the colours, the warmth, the ‘Guest is God’ welcoming feeling to every customer who came in.

q. Would you like to tell us about the kind of things you have in your store?

a. At Tribal Route, I only sell products that are made in India. We have an entire range of products for the home and for you. We have furniture, home decor, home furnishings, candles and aromatic products, hand made paper stationery, jewelry, bags, footwear & clothes.

Most products are made for the store, or are one of a kind so will not be available any place else. Some are semi customised and some are sourced. We have something for everyone.

q. What about the interesting work that you do with artisans? It would be great to know how you help them create these products.

a. One of the things that had inspired me to open a store was that the Indian artisan is so talented, but his skill is under utilised. They are also unhappy with no innovation opportunities, and bored of making the same old products across generations. So I started using their skill sets, to make new products that were fun and different, and even they surprised them selves, as somewhere down the line they had forgotten the joy of making new products.

q. Which products are your favourites in Tribal Route?

a. Every product is like a baby. But if there’s something that’s really my favourite, its something that I created - a collection of Zardozi mirrors, and also there is this collection of wall clocks that’s completely designed and created in house.

q. Would you like to tell us how you ideate and come up with new and interesting collections of things? For instance, during Ganesh Chaturthi, you had some really cute and different Ganeshas.

a. I try to come up with things that are different, and I have a fantastic bunch of people who support me in this endeavour, be it vendors, crafts people or artisans. I keep thinking out of the well...err box!

q. What would you like to shout out to people who want to start their own ventures around creative ideas?

a. Don’t hold your creativity inside you. Go ahead. Also please please, do not give away your handmade products as gifts to friends and family, even if you are doing it as a hobby. Sell it to them, even if it means taking the bare minimum from them. And yes, if you are looking for shelves to sell your work from, to tread the Tribal Route...the doors are always open for you.