HYDERABAD: Young Hyderabadis are enterprising, literally. We found at least five youngsters, mostly in their 20s, who managed to convert their hobby into an enterprise, giving them some head start in the business. We spoke to a few artists on how they went about doing it. Most of them said they started small, without having big outlets or having any big marketing plan in place. They usually work from home and use online marketing tools to spread the word around. Flea markets are where they mostly where they begin their journey.
Heart Works
Meghalika, 26, an architect and her sister-in-law Reshma, 35 have been making handicrafts for home decor with their family for years using felt work. “We started a challenge last August called ‘One Inch August’ — creating art of any kind, but it has to be within one square inch”
Beige and Wenge
Vani and Veena Vegnesna are Hyderabad-based sisters curating unique home decor from all over the world. Veena, who has a diploma in interior design has always had a passion for decor which she shares with her sister. They sell their work on their online store. “We started small and work at such events. It helps us keep our costs low,” they sisters say.
Whimsy Arts
Tharani Sharma, 24, is a Hyderabad-based handicraft artist who is trying to bring back Indian culture with her handmade macrame hangings and fluid art coasters, all of which are eco-friendly and made of natural material. Though she has always loved working with nature and crafts, Tharani’s love for nature was renewed after working with WWF.
Earth & Art
Fatima has been doing mixed medium murals, miniature gardening and terracotta from Secunderabad for 9 years. She works with plants for decor, using styles like Kokedama, a Japanese gardening technique, terrariums, and more. She gets about 50 orders a month and does it all on her own, while raising two children in their early teens. She will be at the annual Horticulture exhibition at Necklace road for the sixth time from January 23-27.
Uday Microartist
Uday has been carving micro art since 2014 when he wanted to gift something creative to his sister. “I am originally from Khammam, but I came to Hyderabad to study and work. I eventually quit my job as a data science engineer to pursue art full time,” he says. Uday also conducts workshops and mentors other artists. He holds the Vajra World Record for carving artwork in a 0.7mm lead.
Nitya Sreedhara
Besides taking care of her eight-month-old architecture firm, Atharva with her husband, 26-year-old Nitya makes time for ‘stippling’ a kind of art form which is made up entirely of dots. Nitya even counts her dots, which is something most other artists don’t do.