Ash, a Solopreneur of Krivi Creations, says, “From bead & wire jewelry to fusing dot mandala art with things around that we use every day, Krivi Creations is an artistic universe of its own.”
Being a Solepreneur venture that started out in Australia, the founder Ash didn’t have it easy at the start but eventually managed to deliver a piece of her quirk to every door step. Crafting handmade dot mandalas, with a motto and story that’s not very simple, the founder takes Storiyaan through the various walks of her life and the business.
Borders being barriers is a total myth and if you don’t believe in us then we assure you Ash’s story will change your mind. To continue reading this desi story with a pardesi twist, keep reading.
5 Min Bit with Ash
Interview
Questions and answers
As a culinary writer, what are some of the most delectable local cuisines that you have experienced?
I spend my weekend in a café with some smashed Avo with poached eggs on toast to the “big brekky” to the acai bowls to some speciality coffees at the local cafés. Being a Lacto-Ovo vegetarian prevented me from savouring local meat pies and sausage rolls but I did enjoy the Pavlovas, Lamingtons, Anzac cookies, and some veggie BBQs.
Having authored a cookbook in Tamil while living in Australia, what were some of the roadblocks that you had to encounter?
The major roadblock was the time difference as we are 5 ½ hours ahead of the IST which made communication harder with the publishers. Another roadblock was translating my recipes in English on my website to Tamil. I used Google translate for the ingredients list but that wasn’t an option for the elaborate recipes.
How did you conceive the idea for turning your art into a business venture “Krivi Creations”?
I created an facebook page named “Krivi Creations” to post for my everyday bead and wire jewellery creations, soon transitioning to dot mandalas. With the love, support & encouragement from friends/family, I put up a Christmas stall in December 2020. The enquiries gradually snowballed, and Krivi creations naturally progressed into a solopreneurial small business venture.
What are some of the biggest challenges of being a solopreneur?
Being a solopreneur can be overwhelming and challenging at times. The hardest part of being a solopreneur is splitting your time between selling/marketing, delivering, and maintaining social media presence. I owe it all to my latent organisational skills.
You mentioned that you took up mandala painting to distract yourself from the pain of plantar fasciitis. What gravitated you towards this form during such a phase?
When a heel condition impacted me, I decided to explore dot mandalas to create a few artworks for my home. Soon I realised I had a natural eye for creating dot mandalas that became more than just an art form and more of a spiritual/meditative experience which gave me calm & peace from within.
Have you ever had to encounter a customer that haggled over your products comparing them to those available online? What would be your message for such people?
I have faced a few haggling customers who fail to distinguish between a printed canvas and handmade work where the design must progress one dot at a time for each dip in the paint, taking from hours to days depending on the size of the canvas. There are several steps pre and post to the main design phase. Each of my artwork is unique and no two artworks are the same.
How can potential customers and your readers contact you for more details if they want to make a purchase?
The customers can contact me via DM on Instagram: instagram.com/krivi.creations_dotmandala/
or my Facebook page: facebook.com/krivi.creation/