A record of time past

Antique beauty

At a time when we are transitioning from the analogue to a digital medium, preserving what is left of the old-world charm is of utmost importance to some. In such an attempt, Monica Rajan, a budding entrepreneur, recently launched ‘Samaya’, a start-up that looks to retain the beauty of vinyl records by adding a hint of modern to it.  

Monica says she has always been enchanted with vinyl records. “My dad had around 30 to 40 of them just lying around. They looked so pretty but I didn’t know what to do with them. Last December, I visited Manchester where I saw a clock made from a vinyl record and that gave me the idea for ‘Samaya’. However, it was a simple round one with numbers and the hands.” When it came to designing her clocks, she made them more elaborate as she had access to all the right machines.

“After I finished my MBA, I joined my father’s business, a manufacturing unit, but that wasn’t my passion. I have always wanted to do something creative. I initially didn’t know what to do with the old records until my visit to Manchester turned things around and the tools were at my disposal.” She designs and cuts vinyl records into various shapes and sizes, be it music bands, zodiac signs, scenes from popular television shows or movies.

While most people don’t use clocks anymore, Monica thinks they still have their charm.    “Youngsters spend so much money on clothes, jewellery and partying these days... these are things that have never appealed to me, but the clock did.”

 She adds that it also appeals to people of a slightly older age group. “My father is big art connoisseur and he is my biggest critic. He needs everything to be perfect and my designs never are but even he liked my idea.”

How does she design the clocks? “I’ve grown up listening to bands like ‘Guns N’ Roses’, ‘The Beatles’, ‘Nirvana’ and ‘Bon Jovie’ so I know their logo, how the members look and the songs feel. I surf the internet for the correct font and work on Corel Draw or Photoshop.”

She has also designed a ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and Bengaluru clock. “The most popular clock I’ve made so far has been a clock on Bengaluru, which has the Vidhana Soudha, Namma Metro and all of the City’s landmarks carved on it.”

She already has plans to extend her business. “I have found a vendor who is willing to sell me 1,000 to 2,000 records for a reasonable rate,” she says. But Monica says it’s difficult to find English records that haven’t been touched by time.

   “A negative feedback I got from customers was that the labels of the clocks were in Tamil while the designs were of popular international bands. So now I’m planning to make my own label. It’s comparatively harder to find English records and they are more expensive so it’s easier to make the labels myself,” she says. She also has plans to make clocks out of wood and stainless steel.