THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If you are a craft enthusiast or an artist who is looking for a customised gift for your loved ones, then Swathy Sivram’s venture ‘Arty Tales’ is the best place for you. She brings in a pool of unique handmade cards, gifts, jewellery and more for special occasions through her online store ‘Glam n Craft’ Studio’.
A self-taught artist, Swathy always had love and passion for the arts and crafts, but it was only in 2014 that she decided to display and sell her products. “I used to make some handmade stuff and gift them to my friends when I was a student. That’s when I discovered my passion for art. One of my friends suggested that I should create a Facebook page to showcase my customised goodies. I started a page and the initial response was so good that I got a good number of orders,” says Swathy.
In addition to the handmade gifts, she also created a jewellery line where she discovered her aptitude for the craft. “Initially I went through a lot of online tutorials and tried to find out good quality jewellery-making tools, but it was only available abroad. I also built a good network of artists in and around the world, which helped me to have a better understanding of the craft,” says Swathy.
She has also come out with a personalised art to put on a wall, which she calls ‘Quirky hoops’. Practising this art for eight months, her quirky embroidery was inspired by a Brazilian artist named Ana Carolina, whose art is a mix of embroidery, painting, and drawing. “It was really difficult for me to learn this art as the tutorials were not available online.
As the artwork involves stitching, painting and embroidery, it takes a lot of time to complete one work. In fact, it takes about three to four hours to make the hair of a character,” says the self-taught artist.
She believes in experimenting with new forms and also wants other people to learn these. She has been conducting Quirky hoops workshop across the country as part of this. She provides separate kits to do the embroidery during her workshops.
Upcoming workshop
For the first time, she is conducting a workshop on Quirky hoops at Studio Pepperfry, Kesavadasapuram on Sunday. Around 12 people will participate in the workshop which will be held from 11 am to 2.30 pm.