Counselling Psychologist & Mental Health Coach for Women

My name is Nanditha Kurumbaiah. I am the founder of “Hand Crafted with love” — Handmade products for all your home decor needs. A whole range of products for home decor using the art of decoupage. The products range from coasters to wall plates to trays, tissue boxes and more. Q – Was it your dream to become and entrepreneur? Not actually. I started my journey from what I love doing the best that’s crafts and I slowly discovered what I actually wanted to do and hopefully one day I achieve big. Q – Please tell us about “Hand crafted with love” I make decoupage products.I started off with quilling and decided to broaden my creative space and discovered Paper Decoupage in the process. My products include ornamental plates (hangers and table tops), Trays, Tissue Boxes, Jewelry box etc. I take orders through my personal and product Facebook/ Instagram accounts and all products are made to order. Price range are between Rs 400-2000 Q – How did you come up with the name ? All my products are handcrafted with loads of passion, patience and love that’s how I came up with the name. Q – Please tell us about your milestone journey, the hurdles etc? Journey so far is been good and I have been doing it for 2 years now. Some of the hurdles have been to source raw material and deliver to customer on time. Sometimes you get Clients who do not understand your work and expect delivery in a day or two. It becomes especially difficult if they have approached you after seeing your work on social media. In such cases communication becomes very important as there is no personal relation with the Client. Q – How is Hand crafted with love different from the other brands available ? Its very reasonable to buy and its classy Q – How would you describe your journey with “Hand crafted with love” so far? Its been wonderful 2 years now and I’m planning to expand my brand and will be starting with decoupaged furniture soon. Q- What was the best and the worst advice you faced when you began your journey? Everybody told me to just follow what I wanted to do. Q – If someone inspired by your story wanted a piece of advice from you what would you tell them? Just follow your dreams and enjoy what you do. Q - Do you believe in Dreams ? Yes.. since I followed my dreams I have come such a long way & have received so much of love for my work.

Take a look at her Website, here I am Akshaya Vaidyanathan 23 year old based out of Chennai. I am a full time professional photographer. I specialize in documenting weddings, portraiture, fashion, architecture and food Photography. I finished my schooling from PSBB Chennai, Finished my B. Sc Electronic Media from MOP Vaishnav, went to Ooty and did my PG in Professional Photography from light and life academy. Right now I run my own photography brand called POO STORIES and I am a freelancer who loves to travel. Becoming a photographer, I wouldn’t call it a dream. I always wanted to do something in the creative field. It was during the second year of college I realized I love doing photography and that is when I decided to go and pursue a degree in photography rather than limiting it to only a hobby. It was not an easy decision as it was a time when the competition was really high and the scope for finding good work was difficult. My inspiration was no specific person but the whole fact that photography helps me communicate to people visually and the whole feeling of seeing a smile on someone’s face after they see your picture inspires me. I was 20 when I graduated and I decided to head to Light and life academy to do my PG in professional photography. First I think my entire family, except my parents were in shock as I come from a typical bhramin family where girls get married at the age of 21. They were all worried about me being a freelancer. After my degree I decided to start working all by myself. Initially first few months were really slow, as you are this new young person into this field who no one recognizes. Slowly as I started getting work age became a hindering factor. I was just 21 and a girl. This stopped people from giving me work as they thought I wasn’t matured enough to handle work alone. I am someone who loves to shoot weddings so initially I had issues in making people understand that I could handle an entire wedding alone. As and when they saw my output they started trusting me. Through word of mouth and social media my work started getting stabilized. There were times when clients would include a clause where they would be OK to pay only after seeing the output as I was a new young girl in this industry. In a way all these hurdles made me work hard and get to the place I am in right now. I am indeed very happy but this is not it! I also believe is this is not even 10% of what I want to achieve there is lots to do and way more to achieve. I believe in dreams and by dreams I mean those dreams where you set a target for yourself and achieve it and later set new goals. There is no end to dreaming but while at it, dream of things that you know will make sense even after 5 years. Dream of things you will be proud of at the end of the day and not things that are meaningless. There is nothing in this world that can’t be achieved if you are determined and working towards it whole heartedly and never getting deviated from your goal. Just follow your heart. If you know you want it badly just keep working for it. There will be people and things stopping you but remember you have one life and you need to be happy living it and achieve whatever you want at one point all these people who stopped you will come behind you seeing you succeed. Never do something for money do it for the happiness you get out of it. The moment you are happy with what you do, you will experience the sweetness of success and satisfaction. Travel as much as possible and meet as many new people as you can because an inspiration can be found even at a new person you talk to at a tea stall.

I am Ramya Balachandran, Designer and Owner of Hydes Studio. MBA-HR from Allinace Business School,Bangalore Hailing from an entrepreneur family, my heart lies in the same. With a flare for design, love for handbags and a designer by my side-Hari Madhavan, HYDES STUDIO became a reality. Our designs are minimalistic-Simple, clean and sharp cuts. They reflect traditional craftsmanship and modern aesthetics. With a strong sense of value and design, every Hydes Studio bag is hand-cut and crafted flawlessly with an eye for detail. Every bag is unique as we work on make-to-order concept and no mass-production. NV – Was it always your dream to become a designer? RB – NO! But it was always a dream to be an entrepreneur. NV – Was it an easy decision to start your own brand? RB – I wouldn’t say it was tough either. As any other girl, my love for handbags and flare for design kickstarted HYDES STUDIO. NV- What/who inspired you to take up this field? RB – I have always been a Daddy’s girl. I draw immense inspiration from him with respect to starting from scartch and climbing up the ladder. NV – On your way to becoming a brand, did you face any hurdles/difficulties? Please tell us about your journey. RB – LOTS!! Creating a Brand is no joke. Trying to understand the market, fashion and consumer behaviour was very critical. And big move with crafting only genuine Leather bags was a bold step and took an year of hard work to get recognised. NV- Reaching this point in your career, are you happy? RB – I dream Big! I am happy with the way we are growing but a lot more to achieve 🙂 NV – Do you believe in dreams? If you were to motivate people to believe in their dreams, what would you like to tell them? RB – Yes,of course. Believe in yourself and genuinely put the best of efforts to fulfill the dreams. Please don’t be afraid to fall down and don’t lend you ears to criticism . It does take time and lot of hard work to achieve your dreams irrespective of the field, be patient and believe in you! www.hydesstudio.in Stockists: Teatro Dhora,Jaipur Maalgaadi,Chennai

I am Nithila, founder of “The Madras Trunk” – Handcrafted footwear for women. Q – Was it your dream to become and entrepreneur? Yes I always wanted to become an entrepreneur. My love for textiles, footwear and designing initiated this whole idea. I always thought designing and directly interacting with people to see them give honest feedback for the things I created, gave me immense joy and satisfaction. Q – Please tell us about “The Madras Trunk” The Madras Trunk idea was born when I couldn’t find the right kind of footwear I was looking for. There are very few options available in each style in the market. So I started doing research, did a course on footwear designing and then experimented it with various materials too. Q – How did you come up with the name? Always liked the name Madras and the trunk box that my grandma gave is my favorite place to store all my goodies/ much loved things. And that’s how the name came up. Q – Please tell us about your milestone journey, the hurdles etc? I would consider that launching the brand in the social media itself was my first milestone. The journey began with conceptualization of the idea about one and a half years ago. I had many hurdles – right from the initial stages while I was experimenting with various designs and materials to having going through a bad car accident and still recovering from the injuries. And as a woman, my enquires were always considered as a college project by the workers and suppliers and they do not take it seriously. Q – How is “The Madras Trunk” different from the other brands available ? The Madras Trunk specializes only in sandals as of now and it gives one a wide variety for every occasion. It also offers new designs every month. And caters to big foot people who don’t find footwear in most brands. Q – How would you describe your journey with “The Madras Trunk” so far? The journey so far with The Madras Trunk has been very good. With lot of ups and downs in terms of manufacturing and procuring materials. And lots of love and appreciation from customers. Q- What was the best and the worst advice you faced when you began your journey? Best advice – Have a plan and work in a systematic way and results are automatic. worst advice – I had loads of it but the best thing is to neglect all those and pick the best which suits you. Q – If someone inspired by your story wanted a piece of advice from you what would you tell them? Just do what you love to do. Get advice from experts in that field. Don’t do things expecting immediate results. Just work systematically and in a right way. Things will start to just fall in place. Q - Do you believe in Dreams ? Yes definitely! And Dream Big! But working towards achieving your dream is more important. Our facebook page Our Instagram Page

“I am Deeba Rajpal, a Food Stylist, food blogger and a hobby baker at Passionate About Baking. Fascination with food and baking came after I got married, and got into the kitchen. A few hits and misses later, I found my feet! There was no looking back… It never crossed my mind of dreaming to become a professional baker. I had time on hand and an internet connection. I discovered food blogs by chance while surfing for recipes online. I was smitten! A digital camera meant that taking and uploading pictures was simple too. I guess it was an easy decision. Didn’t give it much thought. It was what came to me naturally, what I enjoyed doing. I didn’t even realise that Passionate About Baking had become a brand! As usual, I was busy doing what I enjoyed. The ‘blue ticks’ on FB and Instagram made me sit up and take notice! I found I enjoyed baking, and then writing down recipes. Blogging meant I could take pictures and upload them too at no extra cost! Food photography was a natural next, then came styling food frames. Food styling was what really allowed my creativity to grow. I am constantly inspired by the sea of creativity I wake up to every morning. On the net, in old cities, the local bazaar, artisans, people, chefs, nature, seasons, vintage things, fabric, glass, wood, metal, old books …everything inspires me! Happily enough, no hurdles/difficulties. I was and am still quite focussed on what I enjoy doing, and I think that works best for me. Of course, I’ve made a few mistakes, but I learn quickly from them. That might be because of my positive approach to life, a different perspective and accepting what is on my plate. I fortunately stay inspired from season to season and that is enough to keep my creative energy going. I am really happy in my space. I have absolutely no pressure, I love what I do and it keeps me very busy. I now hold food styling classes with Darter, a photography enterprise based in Bangalore. It is most satisfying to see how well people respond, have a ‘eureka moment’ and are so enthusiastic. I am too practical minded a person so I barely ever dream. That being said, I have seen other people’s dreams come true, so I believe if you hold on to the wings of your dreams, they will come true. Might take time, and some hardship but you’ll get there. My advice would be to keep the dreams real, stay focussed and know that challenges are opportunities in disguise! Dream big. Be honest and work hard. Practice makes perfect. There is no end to learning. Be a good listener, a large hearted sharer and contribute to the community. You must remember that there is enough place for everyone in this world”. Blog: Passionate About Baking Food Styling Workshops: Darter Photography KitchenAid India Find me on Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Flickr TedX – Food Matters

I am V. Balakrishnan, an alumnus of Sri Ram Centre for Performing Arts and the prestigious National School of Drama, New Delhi (1998). I was later awarded the Charles Wallace Scholarship to attend the International Residency for Young Directors hosted by the Royal Court Theatre, London. I have taught over two thousand students in the past decade. As an actor I have acted in over 150 plays since I started my career in 1994. THEATRE NISHA Theatre Nisha was founded in 2000 with the aim of producing scripts that reflect social issues, however, not in the sense of preaching a sacrosanct resolution, but as a medium of speaking the truth. Over the past 16 years, we have created a niche audience for ourselves and dealt with genres ranging from Indian mythology to ‘in-yer-face’. We believe that theatre is a way of life that lends to creativity, self-expression and exploration, and to this effect have worked with several schools, colleges and corporate organizations. A brief account of our accomplishments include: Produced over 100 plays in English, Tamil and Hindi as a repertoire Designed and directed over 70 plays for schools and colleges Conducted workshops for national and transnational corporates Trained professional actors for the screen and stage Performed at national, regional, and international theatre festivals: Edinburgh Fringe Festival, NSD’s Bharat Rang Mahotasav, The Hindu MetroPlus Theatre Festival, Stage Rite Theatre Festival, IPTA Theatre Festival, Darpana Sunday to Sunday Theatre Festival, Purusai Theatre Festival, Short and Sweet Festival (Chennai), Ranga Shankara’s Samprati Theatre Festival, Deccan Herald Theatre Festival, Prakriti Foundation’s Poetry Festival, Prakriti Foundation’s Hamara Shakespeare Festival, Hyderabad Children’s Theatre Festival, AHA! International Children’s Theatre Festival etc. Q. 1 Was it always your dream to become an Actor? No I wanted to be an archeologist, then an architect and finally an actor Q.2 Was it an easy decision to start your own Theatre group? No it was by default , when I was not getting roles , like vishwamitra I decided to create my own opportunities Q.3 What/who inspired you to take up this field? Shyam Benegal’s Discovery of India, Amar Chitra Katha, Peter Brooks Mahabharata Q.4 On your way to becoming a brand, did you face any hurdles/difficulties? Please tell us about your journey a bit elaborately. I don’t know if I am a brand, we are known to perform honest work, my journey has been a simple one with a singular objective, do plays regularly and keep working on oneself. I worked with the royal court theatre London, and Tuida the performance group in South Korea, and these international experiences helped me to grow as a theatre person and as a human being. Q.5 Reaching this point in your career, are you happy? I am a bouquet of all emotions Q.6 Do you believe in dreams? If you were to motivate people to believe in their dreams, what would you like to tell them? Stop dreaming and start working, action before thought. www.theatrenisha.in

My name is Alicia Souza and I’m an illustrator, which means I draw for a living. It’s the best ‘job’ in the world! NV- Was it always your dream to become an artist? AS – Never! Infact I wanted to do everything BUT that. Strange where life takes you! NV- Was it an easy decision? AS- No, I think it was a stubborn one though. I told myself that if I was going to be in this field, I was only going to be an illustrator or I’d get into something completely different. Starting out is always hard. NV- What/who inspired you to take up this field? AS – No one really. I just loved drawing. NV- On your way to becoming a brand, did you face any hurdles/difficulties? Please tell us about your journey a bit elaborately. AS – Starting out as an illustrator in India was hard because I kind of just fell into freelancing without planning. Also I hardly knew anyone in general, let alone in the field or freelancing. But I think persistence kind of pays off, and a lot of working hours. NV- Reaching this point in your career, are you happy? AS – Ecstatically happy. NV- Do you believe in dreams? If you were to motivate people to believe in their dreams, what would you like to tell them? AS- I do believe in dreams. I believe that dreams don’t have to be careers though, but always do what you love. Always always!

Susan – Bag maker @ A Sunny Disposition Hi, I am Susan. I am an architect by profession but a seamstress by passion. A Sunny Disposition was born in 2010 out of my love for sewing and my obsession for handbags. The architect in me stirs me on when it come to colour, proportions and styling while I work on my bags. I am based now in Bangalore. I run my tiny little business from my home studio, with my maid helping me out for a few hours a day and my 5 year old being a self proclaimed Quality controller. Q – Please tell us about your work A love for sewing turned into an obsession for designing and creating handbags, wallets and clutches. All my bags are made by me and my maid with a lot of love, from start to finish. Q – Was it your dream to choose this profession? No Q – Tell us a little about your Educational Background. By profession I am an architect. After a couple of years practicing, and relocating countries where I couldnt work, I had to look at other creative outlets. From the first stitch I took in a borrowed sewing machine where I learnt how to sew, I was addicted. There is something magical about when a bolt of fabric and a spool of thread come together to create something so different and beautiful. Q – Please tell us about your work a bit. All stages of the bag making is in-house. From hunting for beautiful prints in the fabric markets of Bangalore to designing the bags. Cutting the patterns, to sewing them up. Photographing, marketing and finally dispatching. I enjoy every step of it 🙂 Q – Who/What was your inspiration? Inspiration comes from all over. But mostly from other woman who work for themselves. Their persistence makes me want to do better. Q – Please tell us about the hurdles and challenges you faced along the way? Moving back from the US and starting over in India was challenging. Sourcing all the raw materials involved in bag making is pretty seamless while in the US. But quite a different ball game here in India. But after a zillion tests and prototyping- going to crowded, dingy markets and realizing they aren’t as scary as it looks and finding everything I need and then some was quite exciting. Q – How is your work/business different from the others? I work a lot on custom bags. So when you see a bag style that you like on my website, but want it in a fabric that better describes you, simply drop me a line to show you all fabric options in my stash that would be perfect for you. Custom bespoke handbags arent around in India and I take pride in being able to provide smart fashion conscious woman that option. Shopping for a lot of women, are a personal experience. They spend a lot of time picking something that reflects their style and taste. What annoys them after said process is seeing 10 other random women carrying the same thing. Cos we like to feel special. Catering to that sentiment- my bags are limited edition peices. 2-3 bags in each fabric choice is only available. Every couple of months, I launch collections and series, if you prefer to pick a bag straight of the site. For those of us who love great taste but dont have the time to sit and wait for a bag to be made for them. Q – What was the best advice you received when you began your journey? Being a small home run business that is run entirely by me, one of the ugly demons that used to rear its head was comparison. One of the best advises I have received has been to not compare someone s outside to your insides. So whatever I see on social media, has become more about admiration and inspiration and not taking it as something that has any ill-effect on me, cos it really doesn’t. apart from the many hours of self torture I put myself thought. Q – How has your journey been so far? Happy Q – What are your future plans with regards to work? A sunny Disposition has grown in the last 7 years in a very organic manner. And I wish more of the same for it. Q – What gets you out of bed in the morning? The gorgeous fabrics in my stash ofcourse!!! Q – What is your favourite quote? “A cloudy day is no match for A Sunny Disposition”- William Arthur Ward Q – When do you work best? Morning Q – Do you believe in Dreams? Yes Q – If you were to advice someone based on your career, what advice would you like to give? Being a creative entrepreneur is very very hard work. Do what you do cos you enjoy doing it, and not just for the money. Give yourself 7 years to train yourself in your field- to learn your craft and to run a creative business. Dont judge yourself or be hard on yourself or give up on your dream till you have put in the time. Q – If you had to start all over again, how differently would you do it? Trust myself a little more. FB- https://www.facebook.com/ASunnyDisposition/ Instagram- asunnydisposition_IG Website- www.asunnydisposition.co.in Mailing list- http://eepurl.com/b5kOfr

Hello, I am Shatakshi. I am a trained fashion designer, presently working on multiple design consultancy projects alongside my stationery brand Creative Middle. Please tell us about your work Creative Middle stands for all things design and creativity related. I am a stationery and craft lover, and my need for specialized planner, non-generic gift wrapping materials, and pretty yet affordable stationery products- led to the birth of Creative Middle. In the start of 2017 I started researching and experimenting with various formats and designs for products best suited to my needs. All of this hard-work led to the first collection in May, and ever since we have added new designs and products. Our second biggest collection launched in December. The USP of Creative Middle is that our products are both utilitarian and appealing to the eyes. Our keywords when designing any product are ease and happiness. We strive for our products to make your work life and personal life easy, while brightening your day. For example, our note-cards are easy to write on, pocket friendly, and bringing back the emotion inducing culture of snail-mail. Was it your dream to choose this profession? I always wanted to be in the creative field, and that is a dream I am fulfilling. Tell us a bit about your Educational Background I am a graduate from National Institute of Fashion Technology, India. Who/What was your Inspiration? My true inspiration are the creative bloggers I have been following since high-school! They are women who have a unique voice and have been able to monetize their passion for design. I strive to do the same via Creative Middle, a brand that makes you happy. When it comes to the products at Creative Middle- I get inspired from anything that brings a smile. For example, our bestselling graphic- the confetti- is inspired from my love for desserts. A set of fresh flowers around the house, random wall colours, inspiring quotes- all of these are part of my current inspiration board. Tell us about your milestone journey, how did it all begin? One of the biggest milestone journey is being able to actually launch a brand. Everyone at some point in their life toys with the idea of launching their own enterprise, and actually being able to do it is an achievement in itself I feel. Please tell us about the challenges and hurdles you faced along the way? Lack of motivation and excessive competition- are the two main challenges I have faced. Best Advice? “Experiment, give it a shot.” If the worst outcome of a new idea/ opportunity is not life damaging, go ahead and try it. Not such a good Advice? “You should do what the market wants.” A lot of people are looking for customized stationery products, but that is not my strength. I even gave it a shot with a few personal orders, but it was not fulfilling. This made me realize, each entrepreneur has their own path- what works for one person might not work for another. How has your journey been so far? A learning experience, still evolving everyday. What are your future plans with regards to your work? I am figuring a few practical details out, but on a whole I would like to expand the product offerings of Creative Middle. Addition of new paper products, and new materials is on the line. I would like to amalgamate my knowledge of fabric with my love for stationery. What gets you out of bed in the morning? A work packed day is the best push-me-out-of-bed I ever have. What is your morning/nightly ritual? In the night I need to clean my face and moisturize it- a small daily ritual like this helps my brain note that I am done for the day. What is your favourite quote? “Be the CEO your parents wanted you to marry.” This quote keeps inspiring every time I read it, especially in a semi-conservative society like ours. When do you work best? More than the timing, I need solace and silence to work a few hours at a go. Do you believe in Dreams? Yes If you were to advice someone based on your career, what advice would you like to give? One requires passion and an unending will, to pursue a similar career. There will be times when you want to give up, but always remember your ‘why’ and that will motivate you, and keep you on the right track. If you had to start all over again, how differently would you do it? Cliched but I would not do anything different, because each step has taught me something. If someone were to ask me about a particular phase of my career, I can tell you what I learned but a person needs to take their own journey. No two life journeys are ever the same. Social Media Links Website: http://creativemiddle.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativemiddle/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativemiddle/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/creativemiddle

I am Shreya Pranit, a Bangalore based artist and designer. I love to design brands, products, installations, spaces, services and my own clothes. I am a Masters in Design from NID and a Bachelors in Fashion Technology from NIFT. After having worked at Target as an Art Director for one year, I decided to take up commission based projects and draw a lot more. With all of that, I like to cook, travel, stitch and dance like no one’s watching 🙂 After finishing my education from NIFT and NID, I started to work with Target, the big retail chain of USA, as an Art Director. Three months into it and I knew that I wasn’t cut out for the job because my life had started becoming too monotonous and I believe that ‘monotony kills creativity’. Since I was also newly married to my ever-supporting and ever-loving husband. I thought of taking it slow and steady and I started planning on things I could do if I were to leave the job (I am big on planning, FYI). It was then that I realized that Art and Design are the only two things I possibly could do for my whole life, now I just had to look for ways to be able to pursue them and get paid for it. One way to do that was to find another job and be in my comfort zone and the other was to get the hell out of it and take a bigger risk of not having a job and still be able to lead my life the same way. I chose the latter after 12 months of being in a corporate and started to freelance. To my luck, I went on finding some of the sweetest and the most helpful people along the way and here I am today doing what my heart wants! Speaking of Inspiration, happiness is my drug and I believe that true happiness comes from doing what you love and doing so, with a lot of passion. The more I looked around me the more I saw that people who mixed passion in their work were very happy souls, unlike those who worked without passion. I was lucky to be surrounded by people who share similar passion for arts and design like I did, which in turn proved to be a huge influence and inspiration in my life for my career. The need to to wake up in the morning to design something amazing with passion and just keep going motivated me a great deal. Life has been really kind to me, must say! I am a design consultant for Alicia Souza, the illustrator, I managed to launch my very own calendar within five months of being ‘unemployed’ which got sold out within 25 days of launching, and I have the joy of seeing my own designs (be it brands, stores or print material) in front of my eyes. Also, not to forget the Instagram handle where all the love from my followers keeps pouring in day in and day out. Nevertheless, no story is ever complete without hurdles, everyone has them, as did I. The biggest hurdle that I had to face (sometimes I still do) was the security of receiving a paycheck at the end of each month. Having worked in a corporate office prepared me to start budgeting and saving my monthly salary, for later use (as investment for my work). The mental strain was another hurdle I needed to face. Being newly unemployed there were many uneventful days in my career. But I decided with make the most of the available time and I started my Instagram handle. I decided to put up each picture, of my art work, everyday. Just watching my worked receive many likes and compliments encouraged me to wake up each day and keep going. This inspired the idea of my newly launched 2018 calendar. I feel wonderful when my work is appreciated by people and those oh-so-sweet messages that drop in my inbox, simply make my day! In the end I would say, follow your heart no matter what. But also make practical decisions when necessary from time to time. Regardless of what you do and where you work, do not forget to add a little bit of passion and lots of happiness in your work. If you are working independently, please make sure to have financial back up of some sort. To sum it up, Its like a saying I believe in – “work for the best and be prepared for the worst.” www.shreyapranit.com https://www.instagram.com/champa_chick/