When Creative Outlets Become Your Happy Place ~ The Founder of A Woodwork Venture Shares Her Story
Richelle E. Goodrich says,
“The effects of loss are acute, and unique to each individual. Not everyone mourns in the same way, but everyone mourns.”
In today’s #MondayMotivation focusing on the #WonderWomen segment, we bring to you a woman who turned a personal loss into an inspiration which led to her becoming a successful creative entrepreneur. Meet, Kimali Baldi, who is Woodcraft Expert, an Artist and the founder of Shriya’s Beats by Kimali. What made her quit her corporate and turn a weekend hobby into a full-time business venture? Let’s find out in her own words.
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“ I have been inclined towards crafts since my childhood. I used to do glass painting, emboss painting, crochet etc. and I continued pursuing these as a hobby till my graduation. During my corporate tenure too, over the weekends I used to engage in these rather than in any other form of entertainment.
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Soon enough, I felt that the corporate life was not a cup of my tea. Hence, I quit that and started working as a full-time crafter. During this time, I created my own world of crafting with tons of colours and imagination, and so was born Shriya’s Beats by Kimali which became my small happy world.
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The turning point was a personal loss which I turned into a blessing in disguise. I lost my niece Shriya in Oct 2019, and instead of wallowing in grief, I decided to channel my pain and work harder to carry her name to greater heights, which is why the venture is named after her. Through it ‘Shriya’s Beats’ which have physically left us, I aim to keep them alive and throbbing by my work and this venture. And, now she is my inspiration to work harder and better each moment.
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The main struggle is about making a mark in this field as a woman. Woodwork is a male dominating field and the initial period was difficult to get any sort of work done in this profession. Also, after shifting to Bangalore it was challenging due to location change and language barrier. It took some time but slowly and steadily everything fell into place. Today, we are flooded with lots of work and appreciation.
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I was doing both paper crafting and wood crafting before becoming a mother to a cute little daughter. But after she was born, due to lack of time, I kept my focus only woodwork.
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My motivations are Shriya my niece, who I did and always will, consider as my first daughter. My other motivators are my father and my father-in-law who drive me to keep going without focusing on the end results or expectations of any sort. The journey so far has been slow but an uphill one. It all started from ad hoc work and now we have our own wood workshop. Many known digital platforms have featured us including LBB Bangalore where we’re listed on among the Home Décor stores , and Itsy Bitsy put us in the Crafter Spotlight. We have done Corporate Workshops for big names like Urban Ladder,Project Eve etc and have tied-up with multiple Décor Outlets
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The future plan is to tie-up with more décor stores. Over and above this, my aim is to provide more employment to underprivileged women.
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My learnings have been that you need to
“Do what you love and Love what you do”
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And that,
“The tragedies in our life are out of our control, but how we rise from them is up to us.”
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To drop in a message to Kimali, have a look at her amazing woodwork crafts, to buy one or more of her works, or to be a part of her upcoming workshops, follow the links below:
LBB
