Art of the Matter

“Those caught on among children and women and I started receiving orders. I have also created more complex items such as a peacock throne,furniture and portraits out of quilled paper,some of which I exhibited in Delhi earlier this year. The response has been great and I am now working on two commissioned projects — a table and four chair set for children,and a portrait,” he says.

For Shiparna Sarkar,23,a freelance graphic designer and illustrator,making handmade merchandise part-time is “an artistic outlet besides work”. Creating commodity items with her artwork on them,Sarkar — who has exhibited her works at Magic Wallrush,Kolkata — is now accepting orders for handmade notebooks. “I call the series of note-books ‘Art of Mistakes’. I conceptualise a design and put it on the cover of notebooks till I feel I have achieved what I had in mind to begin with. That ensures that even the replica,since they are hand-made,are all different in ways,” says Sarkar. She adds that her target audience is “people who appreciate such artistic processes”.

Keeping Navratri in mind,Sarkar has come up with a series of notebooks themed on Goddess Durga. “After

the idol is immersed,Bengalis have a tradition of coming home and writing ‘Shree Shree Durga Sahay’ on paper,bidding farewell to the goddess and expecting to see her next year. Therefore,one of my notebooks has a drop-shaped eye cut-out on the cover,symbolizing the immersions. When you flip the cover,you see the goddess standing

on the front page,symbolising her return,” says Sarkar.

Pranav Mote,23,along with friend and associate Vedashree Dankar,21,goes by the moniker — Raskala. Two-and-a-half-years ago,both of them realised that they loved painting shoes and were good at it. “We painted a few shoes and uploaded pictures on Facebook. We were soon flooded with orders,” recalls Mote.

The duo then got the opportunity to set up a stall at the Goa Saturday Market. “Only those whose works have been verified by the committee to be unique and different can set up stalls there. We were privileged to get that chance,” says Mote.

Ever since the conception,Raskala has handled over 200 projects. “Angry Birds and The Beatles are what most people want on their shoes,” says Mote,adding,“We also came up with a concept called Saree Shoe,which was a rage among foreigners. These shoes came with ‘zari’ on them.” Raskala markets itself through word-of-mouth and on Facebook,usually accepting orders over email.