CHENNAI: Since the advent of Facebook commerce and Instagram enterprises, breaking into the business world has gotten relatively easier for young businesses and lone entrepreneurs. If you had any reason to doubt the theory, the pandemic has furnished plenty of success stories — despite the unprecedented crisis — to put that to rest. Amid such company, if you’re yet another jewellery house trying to set store, what’s going to be your calling? For Deepak Bhushanam, a marketing professional in the software-as-service industry, it was one key idea — how can people synergetically grow together. In this case, it would be a fledgeling brand trying to bring back childhood favourites in wire art and the artisans bringing it to life.
“You must have seen these wire products — showpiece bicycles and such. If you time-travel to the 90s, this was one of the items in many people’s showcases. You’ll find artisans sitting in railways stations and by stands, making these products. If you ask them for something else — say a pen stand — and they will make that for you on the spot. If they can make these things, why can’t they make jewellery? That was the idea,” he narrates. It was this that led to a whole line of wire jewellery — from filter coffee earrings to kadas bearing Tamizh letters, it turned out to be quite the range, he explains, adding that he had to offer them an assurance of revenue, given that the process is labour and time intensive.
While the products may make for easy and affordable fashion options for the average consumer, they fulfilled Deepak’s vision to bring traditional art to the fore. “In India, we only see the states but we have more than 500 ethnic community groups. Each of them has its own form of expression through art. How can you bring them out? One is the language barrier; the other is getting them to experiment when they are not used to it. If you want a dhokra artist to make a horse or a pen stand, they do it; that is their daily job. But, if you want to get an entire neckpiece made, we have to teach them,” he explains, adding that he had to offer them an assurance of revenue, given that the process was labour and time intensive.
Now, Deepak has a small team of artisans creating earrings and collar pins and everything in between. And the venture has found success since its launch last month — on the occasion of International Language Day. He plans to scale it up, with more designs — and possibly, more artisans.
To purchase and order customisations, visit Instagram: blynk_box