An entrepreneur by training, an artist by flair and a social worker by passion, Kalpana Rao has found a way to bring together the many aspects of her personality into a workable business module. The fountainhead for Irshikaa Hues, a glass painting studio that transforms uneducated and economically backward people into artisans, Kalpana’s quest to travel the road lesser trodden has brought her to where she is now.
A graduate of the Indian School of Business, Kalpana is also an interior designer. But, her master plan had nothing to do with decorating other people’s homes for a living. She says she was looking for a space where she could experience the joy of creating new things while also impacting the life of the unskilled in some way. That was how Irshikaa Hues started in 2000.
The name which translates to painter’s brush in Sanskrit, comes with the tagline ‘Creating bliss’, which she explains is how she feels within her space. “In the last 13 years, I’ve never got up in the morning being sad about going to work. This is something I am passionate about. I am looking forward to it everyday. I suggest everyone go for what can move and shake them even if it earns you a few bucks less. If you give me chance to write my life all over again, I won’t rewrite it differently, because it made me the person I am today,” she says
Kalpana and her team make lifestyle products which are aesthetically handcrafted using a unique technique to create various texture and hues on glass.
Given that her mother Lavanya is an artist herself (a sculptor), the artistic flair only seems natural. “My mother was always dabbling in art, working with vegetable dyes or making pot hangers by knotting ropes. She has Midas’ touch; whatever she lays her hands on transforms into something beautiful. These days she is busy gardening and her garden is a picture perfect one,” she shares.
The business
One of Goldman Sach’s first batch of Women Entrepreneurs Programme, Kalpana became an entrepreneur at the early age of 19 when she did a few projects with an architect friend. Her journey with Irshikaa though began when she was working on a dining table in glass for her house. The person who was supplying the material became interested in her work and asked to see her work. Impressed by the final product, he asked her for a sample through which she got her first order. From then, moulding glass seems to have become an addiction. “I would create one one thing and then move on to next. It became relentless.”
However, any good entrepreneur knows that their merchandise is only as good as its uniqueness, which was when Kalpana incorporated art to create utility products. “What we make is beauty combined with utility which makes it more useful for people and that has helped the business grow,” she shares.
Combining her want to help the unskilled with the work, she’s employed a team of six people who are not educated enough to get jobs. However, over the years they have honed their skills at glass painting. Showing a table packed with cloned mementos for a bulk order, she says, “People who’ve made this are trained by us. They are from the bastis around here and they don’t need to be educated for an innovative art technique. All they need is to have a little inclination to learn. They have been working here for the last 10 years.”
Her team is an extended family. She explains, “To be able to get together and create something with love and affection is life. We drive out when we have to visit sites. We have food in dhabas along highways. We work and deliver. It’s fun. Everyday is a new day, a new challenge for us. Sometimes we have to work all night to finish our work schedules.”
The art therapy
Over the years, art has evolved as a therapy for it’s healing effect on the mental well-being of a person. She wants to use her art technique to work with cancer-patients and disaster victims who need hope. “Art can be therapeutic when a shift in one’s self esteem is needed. I am not a doctor but I can help them on an ontological level because it all starts from your mind. When you come here to learn, you might get a little intimidated on seeing the finished works here, thinking it to be very complicated. But we will guide you. When you start putting colours and see that you’ve created something, you experience pure bliss and that’s how a moment is created. And similarly you can create another moment and many such more moments,” she explains.
A through and through optimist, Kalpana also believes in living in the present moment, happily. “No one comes with a guarantee tag on their life. Sometimes in life, a shift is required to make a difference. So, we are looking forward to creating some amount of joy and happiness with colours. The invitation is for everyone who wants to learn something new. It’s always healthy to keep on exploring what you can do in life.”
Talking about people who’ve learned glass painting in her studio, she explains, “I have seen people change after learning because when you create something, the confidence transforms you. When they came here, they looked so disconnected but once you learn to enjoy what you’re doing, you can feel the difference yourself. We give them a chance to first dabble with it and understand if they have any inclination for the skill. You can’t force someone to learn something. If you give me accounting, I’ll just roll over and die because I hate accounting.”
The social element
Handcrafted products require a lot of manual labour. To fulfill her own need as well as enlarge her social initiative, Kalpana has recently tied up with an NGO. She and her team trained girls at the organisation to glass paint over a period of 10 days. She is planning to take this further, focusing on skill development of young people.
“For handcrafted bulk orders, we need more hands. Also, I want to give back to the society in some way. If we teach such innovative skills to young girls, it’s going to help them in the long run even if they want to work from home because glass painting is a unique form of art and it’s in great demand. We are planning to form clusters which will be headed by a leader. Each leader will train a group of girls. This will be followed by them working on art pieces which we will buy from them,” she explains of her ambitious module. At Irshikaa, they make a variety of products -- napkin holders, paper weights, key racks, lamp shades, and many more. Flexible and patient, they are welcoming to anyone whose passion to learn can match their passion to teach.
Details: 93910 14420; irshikaahues.com