Everything and anything 'handmade'

Le_arts is a small venture by Aysha Jasrin that she has always dreamt of starting for a long time. Aysha, a 22-year-old self-taught who is in her final year of architecture course at National Institute of Technology, Calicut has always been aesthete and finds joy in almost anything and everything that are related to art.

Aysha shares, "Le_arts is my art journey defining myself. Even though I had the idea for so long to start something on my own to showcase my works I was never been able to do it. Finding time for this in my busy life schedule was truly hard but then lockdown. I still procrastinated during the first 8 months of le arts. I did not feel I was doing justice to whatever little gift god has given me and I knew that if I don't do it now then I will never do it. This thought of mine itself made me do this. I've not been inspired by any but there were many people who reassured and made me believe in myself.

Some of the first things she made include journals made from her torn leather bag and denim pants. There was never a shortage of denim to make journals out of in the beginning, thanks to her hostel mates and relatives. However, it has turned challenging now.

Aysha was always environmentally conscious. She promotes only eco-friendly packaging. Around 80% of the products are upcycled and not only that she promotes plastic free packaging but also feels happy and proud that she has the capability to turn some of the crap to beautiful and useful stuff.

Sharing about her initial challenges, she says, "I found it hard to believe in myself and accept it. Finally, that I was actually doing this and taking up commitment and responsibilities. Apart from these I found it hard to get the quality materials in my small town. I had to rely mostly on online stores. It took me a while to get going with everything since it was just me who was doing all the order taking, replying to messages, making the order, packing and shipping it, tracking the orders and even cleaning the final mess. I've never really tried to copy any work and I followed my own style and may be that's what makes me unique."

According to Aysha, what makes her different from the other handmade ventures is that she focuses on customer satisfaction and tries to place herself in the shoes of the customers. She tries to make them as if she is making it for herself.

She adds, "I love doing and experimenting a lot of things. Currently I am doing handmade denim and leather journals, Macrame boho wall hangings, plant hangers, calligraphy, mandalas and paintings. Dot mandalas are my favourite. As of now its all done by me. My younger sister helps me out in various things. I really intend to have a great artist team to work with soon."

Macrame boho was always something that she really admired and never knew she would make them someday and even sell them.

"I am a self-taught macrame artist and it's really hard to get the supplies locally. Nevertheless, it's something I love enjoying. In fact, I made first journal for myself from an old torn leather bag. I made one more from an old denim pant. Everyone absolutely loved it and even I was very happy to upcycle and make something useful from crap. I still collect and upcycle old denim and cardboard boxes for the journals. People asked me if I was selling them coz they would also love to buy and that was when I thought of starting Le arts. My course will be done in 4 months and I am planning on becoming a full-time artist with my full concentration and effort to le arts. I would also love to share my knowledge and plans to keep workshops and learning sessions. I also want to do more of experimentations with new styles and art works and will never stop learning," says Aysha.

Lockdown, a blessing for Aysha The pandemic has indeed been a tough time for everyone. However, for Aysha it helped more than it put me in trouble.

"I finally had the time to start le arts. It's actually a blessing in disguise for me. I found my true passion and flow during lockdown. I am happy that I am finally doing the stuffs I love doing the most and hopefully will be doing for the rest of my life," concludes Aysha.