Twenty-two-year-old Veena Murali wanted to follow her heart. So she left her job as a software engineer to devote her time to her hobby. While she has several hobbies, she is especially fond of one of them, which is making hair accessories for children and adults.

“I was very disillusioned in the job that I was doing. So it was normal for me to leave it as my heart lies in art and crafts. I started painting at the age of two when I could hardly hold the brush. My mother taught me the basic strokes and how to use colours and paints. Slowly, I started exploring other things,” she says.

She started making hair accessories much later when she was in college. “I was a student of BCA but I also took up architecture. We had to make art pieces for exhibitions as part of the course. I started developing an interest in it and that is how I started making small art pieces. I discovered that I could do so much with things that were being discarded and lying around the house,” she describes.

In fact, she started using scraps of old clothes and ribbons, which were being thrown, fabrics that were not being used and transformed them into hair accessories.

“The end product was very pretty and I started gifting them to my friends and family members. I started with ribbons and hair accessories for children and soon decided to make it for adults as well. I try to make them as colourful as possible. There is no dearth of materials available in the market and all of them look very nice. What makes it special for me are the praises and compliments that I get after I make these accessories,” she says.

Ask her if she gives the credit of learning the hobby to someone and she instantly says that she has learnt it on her own.

“I accidentally stumbled upon the idea and it was appreciated by many. That is how it all started. My parents have been supportive and want me to do what I like. I always wanted to make use of my talent and do something that would give me scope to use my talent. My parents have encouraged me to improve my skills. But I have also faced a lot of criticism and many people have told me that I need to get back to my IT job,” she notes.

The hair accessories look very simple but a lot of concentration and creativity goes into it.    She uses old clothes and tries to mix and match different concepts and designs so that the accessories don’t look like the ones that are available in the market.

“I use a special glue to fix the clip on the bow and then trim the ends to give them a special shape. I don’t restrict my ideas and concepts and ask people to give me their feedback to improve my skills. Many of them have given me their opinions and helped me improve. I am open to feedback. They are like reality checks for me and also keep me grounded. Many of my friends consult me when they are doing something creative. It is nice to help them,” she adds.

Besides making hair accessories, Veena also makes art pieces with wax. She details that though working with hot wax is a little risky, she manages to work with it.

“It is difficult to work with hot wax as there are high chances of the fingers getting burnt, but I have always liked taking challenges. I also teach children and others who want to learn art and craft. It is a great stress buster and the satisfaction one gets after completing a particular art piece is inexplicable,” she notes.

The young artist wants to learn different things and is open to experimenting and taking up new challenges.

“ There is a lot to learn. Whenever I see something new, I try and learn more about it and pick it up later,” she wraps up.