All posts tagged: entrepreneur

“My Art Helps Me Explore the Unventured Territories” Meet the Miniaturist Shirali Patel from Ahmedabad

Published by Asmita Das

Miniature is a thing that is much smaller than normal, especially a small replica of a particular thing. Introducing the Miniature Artist Shirali Patel from Ahmedabad, who is amazingly fascinated and bitten by the miniature art bug, since she was a child. A self-taught and a self-mastered artist, Shirali shares her story with Roots and Leisure on how the culture of India has become her inspiration towards the creation of her artwork Small Idea. Share a little details about yourself and what you have been up to? Hi I’m Shirali, a Bio-Chemist turned Fashion Designer turned Miniaturist. After working for over a decade in Retail Industry, I left my corporate job and pursued my passion for creating miniature. I am a self-taught and I have mastered this art after many years of mistakes and experimentation. “It’s been 8 years now that I’m sculpting miniatures and my quirky little utility and collectable products bring smile on many faces.” What initially sparked your interest in this field? I just love miniatures. Miniatures fascinated me as a child …

A Chat With A Designer Cake Artist of Culinart – Shwethaprajwala from Bangalore

Published by Asmita Das

They say, “If you have creativity in you and haven’t realized it yet, no matter wherever you are, whatever you are doing, creativity is bound to hit you.” Being a Commerce student and an MBA in Human Resources, she found her calling for baking cakes with utmost creativity and love after experimenting on being a Graphic Designer. Today, we got a chance to strike up a conversation with a Designer Cake Artist Shwethaprajwala from Bangalore who shares on how she got hooked onto baking fondant cakes with her Designer Cake Boutique – Culinart. Hey Shwetha, share a brief about yourself I’m Swethaprajwala, the Chief Designer of Culinart. Like most modern Indian women wear many hats, I’m a proud Bengalurean, a Homemaker and a Cake Artist working out of home. Tell us about your venture – Culinart. What’s so special about it? Culinart is a Designer Cake Boutique, started in 2012, specializing in creating designer cakes. Our cakes are usually ordered for special ceremonies, occasions for family, friends and significant others. My creations are homemade, customized, and based …

“The Essence of Travel is to Experience a Destination in its Organic Form” – Meet The Founders of Madventures From Bangalore

Published by Asmita Das

Today, we have Pranav Mutalik and Shreyas Bhat, the busy young entrepreneurs with us who have come up with their Eco Tourism Agency – Madventures on nothing but one of their college trips. Aged around 26, the founders believe that experiencing the place and its people is devoid of the distraction the modern tourism industry offers. To be able to see, feel and experience a destination in its most organic form, is the essence of travel; same goes for hikes. Here’s a conversation with Shreyas, one of the Founders, who tell us how Madventures was born. Share a brief about the Founder of the venture We, Pranav (Mutalik) and I (Shreyas Bhat), have ardent love for traveling and hiking. We have always enjoyed being outdoors and amidst nature and this drove us to get into the hiking and trekking business. In fact, the idea of starting Madventures took shape on one of our trips in college; however, the company means much more to us now. Tell us something about Madventures. What is it all about? Madventures …

A Chat with the Founders of “Project Otenga” – A Café in Ahmedabad that Brings Together Slow Design and NorthEastern Roots

Published by Shiori Chan

Having a professional degree in designing may be one of the keys to conceptualize and define a structure but to be able to metamorphose it into a café of abstract comfort takes a little more than that. It takes persistence, determination and unsparing creativity to fill every corner with ingenious passion. For Kabyashree and Dayananda these elements came in together at the right time and with the right push to help them blossom their entrepreneurial journey that beautifully combines their passion, their design background and their roots Here’s a chat with the founders of Project Otenga, Ahmedabad – Kabyashree Borgohain from Assam (extreme left) and Dayananda from Manipur (extreme right) . They talk about how the project evolved from a house café in Gandhinagar to a full-fledged space in the University campus in Ahmedabad. Here’s a little background on the founders A native of Assam, Kabyashree Borgohain is a design strategist, a gastronomical food researcher and chef, and an alumnus of the prestigious National Institute of Design, Gandhinagar . She also has a degree in Fashion and Lifestyle Accessories from and the …

Sewing Art onto Fabric | Meet Shivani from Darjeeling

Published by Shiori Chan

Shivani Rai from Darjeeling, West Bengal is a fabric artist who sews, swoons, and sells personalised artwork online, making sure that she weaves quality into her products, giving her customers the satisfaction of creating exclusive and unique gifts. Are you one of those people who find it hard to buy the perfect gift for someone else? Or, are you looking for quirky, customised artefacts to personalise your office bay or that lonely corner in your home? Well, we have a solution for your problems – the adorable Shivani Rai, who weaves charm, insight, and love into all her creations. At Roots and Leisure, we are forever on the lookout for ‘unique’. So, when we had the chance to talk to this amazingly talented artist, we definitely weren’t going to pass it up! Read on for the interview below… Photo | Shivani Tell us a little bit about yourself. My name is Shivani Rai. I’m from Darjeeling, India and am currently based in Delhi. I make fabric art and sell it via my Instagram page – …

“The Tea Story”Guwahati Combines the Essence of a Tea Bistro and Patisserie in an Easy Style

Published by Shweta Rao

With its menu brimming with fresh and creative varieties of tea, “The Tea Story” is a space that might tempt you if you are looking for a breather from the everyday stresses of life. In a cozily-designed space nestled in Guwahati, it promises to provide a quiet time of relaxation amidst their selection of the finest teas, and a spread of pastries and sweets. We speak with the bistro’s young and enthusiastic 27-year-old owner, Deba Pratim Das on how to open a viable tea business in the land of tea estates, and more about the offerings of his tea haven and patisserie. Why did you decide to launch a tea bistro? I’m Deba Pratim Das and owner of a tea bistro called The Tea Story in Guwahati. I completed my graduation in Hospitality Management from Edinburgh Napier University. I then joined the Marriott Groups of Hotels and Resorts in USA as a F&B Supervisor and worked with them for two years. Coming from the land of tea estates, I have always wanted to learn more and explore …

Sipping Hot Coffee with a View at the Art Cafe | Kalimpong

Published by Shweta Rao

Dropping into traditional restaurants for a restorative slice of the only aged cheese made in India is indeed a culinary must-do when in Kalimpong. Well, why not? It’s delicious: the texture of a hard European cheese with an almost parmesan-ish flavor. But it would behoove young coffee aficionados to head to more modern cafés like the Art Cafe at Thana Dara, for their coffee breaks instead. Especially as the old city of Kalimpong witnesses a rise in new cafes ushering in a “third-wave” that is contemporary and delightfully pretty. Who are the founders of Kalimpong’s Art Cafe? Art Cafe was started by Pravesh Chhetri and me (Yachna Rizal). We’re both currently based in Kalimpong. I graduated as an engineer and worked in Bangalore for some time but I realized my flair for fashion and so took a degree in it. I now own a clothing line and also feature some of my work in a small boutique section at our café. I’m a foodie by nature and I love experimenting and re-jigging our menu frequently to offer …

Introducing Chocolatier Easter who just Launched her Venture at the Maker’s Market

Published by Roots & Leisure

“All you need is love but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt” – Charles M Shulz Today it gives us immense pleasure to introduce a chocolatier for the first time on our blog! Meet Easter Tepa from Dimapur, Nagaland. She has completed her diploma in Patisserie from ‘Lavonne Academy of Baking Science & Pastry Art’, Bangalore and has worked in ‘Amande Patisserie’ and Food Hall, Bangalore. ” I am so nervous and excited to launch – finally!” Having tasted her chocolates while she was still getting trained in Bangalore, we knew her stall would be a hit. R&L team had a chat with Easter. Why chocolates ? I returned home (Nagaland) in 2016 with the intention and hope of venturing into the food industry – particularly pastry and chocolates. It has been my passion for a long time now, and although I haven’t set up shop yet, I hope to launch very soon. I am excited about the adventure in this industry, and I plan to start with chocolates 🙂 Have you thought of …

Tiasunep Aier from Nagaland | Chief Designer and Creator of ‘Old Cabin’

Published by Roots & Leisure

Someone recently tweeted that it is almost impossible to balance Creativity and Productivity – that it is hard to optimize for both. That isn’t necessarily true because we know far too many talented artists, who are also the most productive. Most times, they have a regular 9 to 5 job, and after-work hours is when they feed their passion to create beautiful pieces of art. Here’s one such restless soul – Tiasunep from Nagaland, an artist based out of Pune. In a chat with Roots and Leisure, he talks about his brand ‘Old Cabin’ and how comic books introduced him to the world of art. How did it all start? How did you discover this passion of yours? Growing up, comic books opened up a whole new world for me. Away from my real world, they were the only reference I could use for art. Call it fortunate or unfortunate, there were no TV cable operators in our area – so we just had the inescapable Doordarshan channel. Me and my brother would get so …

Sisterhood of Soles | Chondamma Cariappa of ‘The Sole Sisters’

Published by Shiori Chan

Footwear designer, Chondamma Cariappa’s creativity and ambition came together to take her on a journey from one city to another; one continent to another and in the middle of all the wanderings, she realised that soul/sole searching never really ends – it is life’s continuous journey. Her army background allowed her to explore places and people from a very young age. When and how did you realise that the sole was going to be your abyss of comfort? I was born in Coorg, Karnataka and the army background gave me the advantage of travelling and exploring places from a very young age. What I realised later was that the different places and the faces inspired me to turn my passion into an enterprise that was rewarding. I worked in the creative department of an advertising firm for eleven years, only and only for the love of shoes! Define ‘The Sole Sisters’ for us. We were born with an innate love of soles. We started out in 2011 as an e-community of stylish women around the …