JOIN USIt was their love for art and craft that brought Madhuri Jaikumar, who is currently pursuing a course from London and Shruti, a student of fashion design from Vogue Institute of Fashion Technology, together. The two young entrepreneurs are the owners of a start-up called ‘Art You Like It’ (AYLI).
The duo have known each other for long and always been interested in creating new products. Their ideas are diverse and complement each other. Shruti says, “We knew that we both had a lot of creativity and wanted to use it the right way. That is how AYLI came into being four months ago.”
AYLI offers a host of authentic hand-made products including recyclable and environment-friendly raw material, which is their unique selling point. Re-painted shoes, magazine and newspaper bags, clutches, furniture decoupages waste fabric and cushion covers are some of the other items the two make.
They also sell custom-made products and gifts. Madhuri says, “Once we have a general idea of what the customer wants, we conceptualise a design and add in our own creativity to give it a personal touch. Our gifts and products can range from small curios to bags.”
However, their re-painted shoes are unique. “Customised shoes are quite popular abroad. When we re-painted old canvas shoes and posted photos of them online, a lot of people liked the idea,” she adds. Customised orders are usually made and sold within a week but it may take more time depending on the number of orders they receive.
The duo meet almost everyday and brainstorm on different designs which they can work on and how they can incorporate their ideas into a particular order. “We sit and discuss for a long time on what goes behind the making of a product. No two ideas can ever be the same. The aim of our venture is to give people what they want by incorporating their ideas and also adding our stroke of creativity. We believe in gifts which translate into what the giver intends to convey,” says Madhuri.
Though the girls feel they have a long way to go in their venture, in a short span, they have received more than 40 orders. They feel that none of the orders, so far, have been tough to crack and enjoy the idea of entrepreneurship. Their products mainly attract the young, predominantly college-going students.
Madhuri and Shruti have marketed their venture through the most effective tool — ‘word of mouth’ and social networking sites like Facebook and Instagram. “The idea for the name came from Shakespeare’s play, ‘As you like it’. We added our own twist to it. It is basically providing art that the customer likes,” wraps up Madhuri.
For details, visit www.artyoulikeit.com