“Today isn’t just another day. Today I’ll create something beautiful”, above the daily odds of life these pinnacles aspire. While art has no universal meaning, there is general consensus that art is the conscious creation of something beautiful or meaningful using skill and imagination. And that is exactly what Janani does with her handmade paper jewellery in the name of Kaagitham. Born with the knack of artistry, for Janani, arts and crafts have always played an important role in her life.
Until a couple of years ago, paper quilling was not a widely practiced craft, not especially for creating wearable accessories. Popular in other countries, India was yet to step a foot on it! A random YouTube quilling video got her intrigued by experimenting on studs with paper. Paper being an adaptable medium, its flexibility made her eager to explore more in this form of art. “The fact that people loved it added to the excitement” she says.
After creating a Facebook page to gauge the likeability of her products, Janani started posting pictures of all the jewellery she made from paper. After she gathered ample amount of appreciation and orders, her business gained a sturdier momentum that was long dreamt of. That is how Kaagitham happened.
A dream of starting up a venture at some point in life and to make a difference like no other; finally turned into reality. Janani went on to create better designs, sturdier pieces of jewellery and sold them through other platforms. The journey has been exciting since then.
“Kaagitham means ‘paper’ in Tamil. It sounded beautiful, made complete sense to what we were doing and the name was decided in a matter of minutes!”
Speaking of the bottlenecks one faces in the handmade industry, Janani stresses on the need to share stories, photos and make people aware of the distinctiveness of the product. Another one that kept her still at bay was the monopoly of the market. Though unique, handmade products take more time, efforts and dedication from the beginning till the end.
“Most commercial marketplaces in India don’t have a designated category for unique products such as these. Therefore a creative brand needs to compete with less expensive, mass-delivered merchandise”
A part time freelance content writer, Janani divides her time between assignments and creating paper jewellery.
With unending passion for her art, the challenges in building a startup from scratch only make her march ahead with gusto. With a wish to make Kaagitham a brand people love for its creativity, Janani believes in the power of organic reach. Kaagitham’s jewellery is currently available for purchase on all leading marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Voonik, and Shopclues. It can also be bought through the website and at occasional fairs and exhibitions.
“When you visit our website or enter our store, you should want to be curious about the story behind each paper made product and get excited to touch, feel and use different products handmade by our artisans.”
You can see more of Janani’s work on Kaagitham’s Facebook page, Instagram, twitter and website.
About the Author- Sonam Kukreja
A closet poet since childhood, the writer in Sonam never died. After her tenure with the IT sector, she took a deep dive into the writing field. As a content writer, Sonam aspires to make a difference in helping the unheard voices to be heard. Hungry for knowledge, writing for The Handmade Co. helps her know the unknown and become a better writer with every attempt she makes.
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