Lets Meet – Rachana of Mitti Designs

Hi Rachana Tell us a little about yourself and the ideology behind your brandIf I would have to describe myself in one word,I would say that I am an artist. I like making colorful things. If I am working on my canvas I make colorful Indian contemporary paintings, if not I make colorful art jewelry. I am anengineer by qualification and it was my husband’s support and motivation turned my painting hobby into a profession I love.

I came across Polymer clay in 2010 and I fell in love with it. Mitti means Clay in Hindi and when I decided to start my facebook page in Dec 2012, after much brainstorming we named it “Mitti Designs”.

I love the fact that you experiment with a lot of techniques, so how do you go about your design process?

When I started working with clay, first thing I made from clay is – flower. Natural looking flower jewelry, accessories, and flower cake toppers. After starting my facebook page few readers asked me to make something with an Indian touch, I made few things with clay embroidery, and it was liked so much. After that I think I have made everything in Indian style, that’s what my readers, buyers like and they always demand.

I want to try something new with clay every-time and so I experiment with it. I never plan for any collection. Always begin with a random thought and then I experiment with it to make entire collection –Sharing with you how my Parakeet collection was born – I was making my painting Sakhi, and I thought of Parakeet collection. Since Parrot and peacock are the most loved birds in Indian jewelry design, my idea was to add Indian touch in my designs. Talking about other artists, I admire Donna
Kato’s work a lot, I would say she is my inspiration for my clay work.

On a personal note, What are your favourites or must haves from Mitti

I am a big jewelry lover, so there are some favorite designs that I have kept just for me. I love tribal designs for my regular dresses, and often wear Elegant – necklace Inspired by Tribes of Nagaland, and my Gauge earrings. For my Indian Sarees, I
wear my Parakeet necklace, and for my western dresses, I love to wear my Red Roses.

There has been a real growth in OWB (one woman brands), across the world, in your opinion what are the practical issues in running such a design business ? How have you/do you overcome them?

Mitti is a one woman brand – From designing to dispatching I do it all. I am based in USA, and I sell my jewelry through my facebook page and etsy . It is always hard to share and promote your work online, and you may not be able to reach many people. One more thing is, time management – Some days I am not able to handle both my family and business because of my one year daughter. But it is a part of life, so I try my best to successfully manage it.

What can we expect from Mitti designs in the coming seasons?

As I said I keep experimenting with clay, this year the start is slow owing to my bad health and then I’ll be busy with two customized painting orders, but when I’ll think about some interesting designs I’ll not wait to update my design lovers about them.

Looking forward to seeing your future collections and I am sure that it would be beautiful, colorful and inspiring as usual.

Readers, Do hop to her blog Essesnce of arts , Her etsy store and her Facebook page- Mitti Designs to see more of Rachana’s work and to keep in touch with her.

I hope you find it interesting