JOIN USThe comic character Calvin once said, ‘Happiness isn’t good enough for me! I demand euphoria!’. Seema Katware could possibly be the human version of Calvin in this aspect as she went ahead and found euphoria by making quirky and fun products to brighten up one’s home.
The proud owner of ‘Nautanki’ paints on everyday home products like pot kettles, jewellery boxes, weighing scales and more. Her passion for drawing and painting not only shows in her work but also in her dedication to travel from Hubli to Bengaluru to sell her products. She says, “I have a business partner, Meenal Gupta, who takes care of the marketing part in the City. I make the products from Hubli and bring it down to Bengaluru whenever required. Travelling till there is not hectic at all as my husband works in the railways and I don’t have to worry about getting tickets on time. Even if we decide to drive down, it takes only about four hours to reach.”
The quirky start-up is fairly new to the industry as she displayed her work for the Sunday Soul Sante last month. Talking about her experience, she says, “It was an absolute eye-opener to be part of the ‘Sante’ as I got to learn how the market actually works. I also felt that there were only a few handmade products like mine to display there and a lot of people stopped by to buy my products.”
Seema ensures that she heads out to the market herself to pick up the metal products to work on. She loves exploring the interiors of the markets, learn from the actual vendors and know more about the product that she is going to design on. “I was always interested in drawing and painting. I used to do a lot of work on canvas and my two daughters encouraged me to start ‘Nautanki’. Although I don’t have any professional degree in doing the work I do, I’ve taken a lot of help from professionals to understand the metal work,” she explains.
When asked if she’ll shift to the City to be closer to her market, she says, “I’m definitely considering it as it will be a lot easier. But right now I’d like to see how everything takes off and decide then.”
When Seems is not busy painting, she spends her time making boutique cakes. If you ask her to pick which one of the two is her favourite, she gushes, “It’s hard to pick one. I love spending time on both of them and there’s no rule that you can’t enjoy two things at the same time. That’s where my euphoric belief comes from.”