 |
| Nidhi Inani wearing her own collection |
A born misfit in a conservative Marwari business family, Nidhi Inani, the brain behind Paint Your Sole, discovered the
creative streak in her when she was 6 years old. She copied her aunt’s drawing
as it was and ran around the house showing it to everyone. “My mom nurtured my
talent ever since. We gave our family a little shock when I decided to do my
graduation in Fine Arts and she decided to support me with my decision. The
shock was obvious as I was expected to pursue my career in Commerce but I chose
to be the black sheep of the family instead. I was mocked at by my other Engineer
and MBA cousins for choosing something that was not-so-intellectual and this
went on throughout my graduation,” shares Nidhi.
After completing her bachelor's in Painting from JNA&FAU
(Jawaharlal Architecture and Fine Arts University) Hyderabad. Nidhi wasn't
convinced with the art scene in Hyderabad. So she moved on to what she once thought
was impossible- apply for admission at NID (National Institute of Design,
Ahmedabad). “I applied for a course that was closest to my field and that was
Ceramics and Glass Design. But due to my health and family issues I had to
discontinue the course after a year,” she adds.
Ask about the big idea behind Paint Your Sole, and Nidhi has an interesting story to share. “When
I was in my 2nd year of graduation, my mom was throwing away my brother's old
canvas shoes during Diwali cleaning. But I had a better idea- I took the shoes
and painted all my favourite things on it. I wore it to the college one day and
the response I got was overwhelming. That day I just made a mental note in my
mind that if I had nothing better to do with my life, I'd sit and paint shoes.
And after I left NID, I was overcome with depression for about 2 months. All I
did was eat, sleep, mourn and become fat. That was the time when my mind rang a
bell and I decided to give it a shot. I gathered all the pictures of the shoes
I had painted so far as gifts for my cousins and friends and put them up on a Facebook page I created. And within 20
days of uploading, I already had 100 people following my page and there was no
looking back ever since,” she exclaims.
“This year long journey has been creative and an enjoyable
experience for me. It feels great to have eager clients who are always on their
toes to see how their shoes turn up. Making my customers happy is what keeps me
going. One incidence I want to share is I once painted a pair for a college
girl in Delhi. I asked her to send me her picture wearing those shoes as she was
so eager to get them. But unfortunately she was down with chicken pox when she
received them. A few days later I was surprised to find that she had posted a
picture of herself in the shoes with a note saying that she was so happy to
have the shoes that she HAD to get well to get a picture clicked in them! That
meant a lot to me. To know what kind of happiness my shoes can sometimes bring
to my clients is indeed a fulfilling,” she further adds.
On the other hand, Nidhi did keep falling in and out of this
relationship with her work. She often questions what the future holds for her
work and whether she should stick to painting shoes or explore other options.
But she has never once left its side. And they continue to be going stronger.
The best part about Nidhi’s job (apart from being her own
boss) is that her creativity reaches all around the country with her just
sitting in her bedroom. “My job is a reminder to me that nothing is impossible
when you are determined to do something. I love interacting with people
enthusiastically telling me how they want their shoes to look like. I have also
grown in terms of creativity and have come up with a lot of designs of my own
apart from customizing for customers,” she says.
“I want to give it my all and make one-of-a-kind pieces. I
wish to give a more serious approach to it. I really hope that this work of
mine gets commissioned as a serious works of art. I now want to give my work a
direction as I have explored enough with it!” she ends.
Wishing Nidhi good luck for all her future endeavours!
No comments:
Post a Comment