A Peek into Creative Minds Through These Unconventional Everyday Canvases

Who doesn’t like quirky things? Building a platform for designers to showcase their talent and churning out something interesting every day is no easy job.

With an eclectic blend of funky hand-painted stationery, cushion covers, coasters, photo frames, guitars, notebooks, pen drives, wall hangings, umbrellas, colourful coffee mugs, gadget covers, shoes, head-gears, wooden door bells, steering wheels, lens cases, tea diffusers, lamps, doormats and bags, Aha Stuff by dcube at Maal Gaadi, Besant Nagar, has them all.

“We merchandise unusual and uncommon things, which you don’t get outside easily. We source them from Chumbak, Letternote and Happily Unmarried. The idea is to bring the stories of creativity, passion, thirst for arts and more,” says Shahin Ansari, one of the store partners at Maal Gaadi.

Originally set up in Hyderabad, dcube was conceptualised by Satya Prakash, the store partner. “Conviction is the key and also the toughest part of starting off on your own. I worked in banking software for seven years. I left my job after having bitten by the creative bug,” says this IIM-K graduate.

Satya explains how recently a trend creating a new language of design has begun. “We are focusing on stuff, which makes customers express their individuality. As long as there are new innovations, you do not have to worry about new products or designs. Cool things do not go out of style. The more desi you go, the more people will love them,” says Satya.

Ask him where he gets ideas from and he says some come from looking at ordinary things and figuring out what else they could have been.

Satya quickly adds, “It’s not about fashion but today, everyone wants special things to make their living extra special. Anyone would prefer a funky designed mug than buying the ordinary one. Once Pokémon was famous, now it’s Dora and tomorrow, it could be something else. Imaginative products can be affordable and Aha Stuff makes this possible.”

As for the challenges he has faced, he says, scalability has been one thus far. “Setting up a supply chain was hard. You earn exactly proportionate to how much and how smartly you work,” he adds. 

Satya says it’s encouraging to see multiple multi-million dollar brands spring from scratch in the last few years. “Investors have opened purses on some viable ideas. They are taking risks and some bright minds are quitting their full-time jobs to start creative businesses,” he says.

Satya says he has previously designed some creative mementos and delegate kits for Asia’s largest entrepreneurship summit sometime ago. “As a team, we have participated in creative individual projects and these customers are now relationships for life,” he says.

(The piece was originally written for The New Indian Express)