Hi !! We are Chandni & Himit, husband-wife artist duo based in Mumbai and Mihit, currently studying in US. Despite both of us having 9 to 5 jobs, we have realized that the voids in our hearts can only be filled by ART. We can turn any blank wall into a piece of art and give you a space, you have always dreamt of. All of our works are hand-painted with love. We specialize in “Glow in the Dark” artworks which are truly one of a kind & customizable to suit anyone’s needs. Be it walls, canvases, portraits, ceramic plates, fridge magnets, shoes, digital media, you name it and we’ll paint it.
Q1. Tell us about your journey so far and your education background
Chandni is a Gold medallist in M.Pharm and I am from engineering background with MBA in marketing (IMT Ghaziabad). Both of us are self-taught artist. We love to spread colours in other’s life and incorporate some form of art in whatever we do. The journey so far has been exhilarating with a dash of contentment. Both of us have a regular day job, I work with NPCI and Chandni works at Colgate-Palmolive. We paint part-time over the weekends and if any assignment requires work on urgent basis then we stretch our day and work after office. The feeling of joy that we get after completing any assignment keeps us going. We have now painted more than 100 walls.
Q2. What prompted you both to start your creative journey apart from work?
It was during my stay at hostel while pursuing MBA, when I noticed the blank walls of my room and realized that I just couldn’t bear to look at empty walls, so I started painting them. After completing MBA, I started painting walls at home and friends’ place before the first professional assignment came along. One by one, the projects kept coming and I enjoyed doing them and it made me happy. My brother Mihit, mother and father became an integral part for completing these assignments.
Then I met Chandni and fortunately she also shares the same passion towards art. Chandni gets inspiration from her father who is also an artist. And now, we are in this journey together, our home is our studio and walls are our canvas. What is life without colours and what is the world without art !!
Q3. Tell us something about your venture. How do you both complement each other?
Our artrepreneurial venture is named WeChitra Studio (We = Us, Chitra = Paint). We provide a wide variety of services ranging from Wall art, Canvas paintings, Portraits, Ceramic paintings, Painted shoes & T-shirts, Fridge magnets, Wood logs, etc. All of our artwork is hand-painted with love. We specialize in “glow in the dark” artwork which is hardly done by anyone in India.
We work very well together. From design to execution, we make all the decisions collectively. However difficult a project looks like, Himit does it with such an ease and he has a natural flair when it comes to painting anything, be it walls or canvas or ceramics. Chandni has an eye for detail, when something needs to be fine tuned, it is done by her.
Q4. What or who has been the biggest influence in your careers so far? How do you balance your personal and professional career?
Everything around inspires us. In today’s world, it has become very easy to access the work of other artists across the globe. We see their imagination, execution and dedication to their art and it inspires us to strive for the better in every project that we do.
Growing up, the biggest influence for Himit has been his school Art teacher, Ramesh Sir. He always had a different take on how to do various art forms be it painting or craft work.
WeChitra Studio is very close to our hearts. While our professional career helps with our daily needs, it is painting that fuels our passion and gives us the excitement and happiness to enjoy life. Having a creative mindset helps us in our professional jobs as well.
Our day is divided into segments wherein we give equal attention to our regular jobs and once the day is over we fulfil our painting orders. Sometimes we would be working late in the night to finish up our artworks but we enjoy doing that and it gives us immense pleasure when the painting reaches the client’s doorstep.
Having a hectic schedule and constantly managing between professional career and painting part-time, it sometimes becomes difficult to get time for ourselves. But we make sure that we spend time together watching movies, cooking together or heading out during the weekend for a little “us time”. Travelling is our other passion and we make sure that we do lots of it ?
Q5. Which is the biggest challenge you have faced so far? What are your future plans?
Creative blockage. Most of the time when any enquiry comes, client asks for kuch alag chahiye. It is a challenge to produce something new each time. But it is exciting at the same time, because when you’re pushed to the wall, the most creative and enticing ideas come up.
Talking about future plans, we want to expand WeChitra Studio and it is our wish to have our artwork an integral part of every home. Our dream is to paint this entire world, and one day, we will achieve it ?
Q6. How has the lockdown impacted you as a professional?
With lockdown came the decline in economy and in day to day earnings of people. We had a lot of wall painting projects lined up which got delayed and eventually cancelled. Now that life is returning to a bit of normalcy we hope of working on more wall art projects.
On the other hand, we got a lot of time at home to experiment and work on different art forms. During this time, we also launched our website, something which we had been working on for a long time. We also launched DIY Fluid Art Kits.
Q7. What would be your advice to young professionals and students? How has your experience while doing your studies helped in shaping you?
Do what you love and love what you do !! When your daily job is based on something that you love then it doesn’t feel like a job anymore.
It has happened with many of us that we studied something and when it comes to professional experience, we do something else. Be practical. Before starting out, think deeply what you want to achieve in life and choose accordingly. If you are having second thoughts about the path chosen, listen to them, clear your doubts before moving forward, don’t rush it, and once a decision has been made, move ahead with confidence and don’t look back. In life you may face many disappointments, personally as well as professionally, but don’t get disheartened, trust yourself and always be positive.
Both of us pursued our masters degree by staying away from home, that has taught us how to be independent and how to interact and communicate with different personalities. Meeting different people from varied backgrounds gave us an insight into their culture and made us broaden our mind and heart towards all the people of our country and the world.
Q8. How would you describe a typical day and how you manage client expectations? How can our readers connect with you ?
Our day starts early with regular office work; as the day ends we switch it over to our passion- painting. We usually paint after office and over the weekends. When we are not working on commissioned artworks we try to work on new ideas or products that can be launched.
As the saying goes, “Customer is the King/ Queen” especially in today’s scenario with the advent of social media, one review can make or break an online store. The needs and demands of every client is different and we try to meet their expectations by communicating openly and understanding what the client wants and delivering exactly the same and ahead of the schedule.
We have our very own website: wechitrastudio.com and can be reached by email at [email protected]. Himit can also be reached through his account @himit-parekh on IdeasMakeMarket.com
We are also available on Instagram @wechitrastudio
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Q9. Any suggestions for IdeasMakeMarket.com?
IdeasMakeMarket.com is a treasure trove of information. A great platform for those preparing for higher studies examinations. Keep up the good work.
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