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Calligraphers, painters, engravers—in 2025, as all types of art make a comeback, artists are running brands and business
Yashashri Shildhankar studied ceramics at Sir JJ School of Art and runs her brand and studio, Clay Explore. Pics/Ashish Raje
No longer are artists sacrificing material comforts for their art.
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Rather, in 2025, artist-led brands and businesses have mushroomed. And, instead of struggling, artists are acquiring skills they need to run and grow a business.
Yashashri Shildhankar studied ceramics at Sir JJ School of Art at a time when few chose the style. When she graduated, there were only three other ceramic artists in Mumbai, she says. Her brand and studio, Clay Explore in W, is built on two decades of practising and teaching the art form. “I love to create pieces and leave them raw,” says the artist while showing us her latest collection of contemporary cups and mugs.
When Shildhankar graduated, avenues for artists were few. Apart from participating in exhibits and showcasing your art at galleries, you could set up your own studio—an expensive affair for fresh graduates. Or you could teach. So, Shildhankar chose the latter. It was only in 2010 that she got a studio space. “Back then, art schools didn’t teach you how to sell or market yourself as an artist. Now, courses have that aspect. The younger generation have started studios immediately after graduating. They don’t want to work under somebody, they want to make things and start selling,” she says.
Architects looking to get bespoke pieces made for their clients, and clients valuing hand-made artistic pieces, have helped Shildhankar’s business bloom. But scaling the business is still a challenge. “I focus on unique pieces because I hand-paint wall plates, vases, and other items. So, you will find only single pieces on my website. And, I keep changing the collection,” says Shildhankar, who blocks time in her day to simply sit and create. She splits her time between creating pieces for art exhibits, her brand, and also runs workshops for hobbyists, beginners, and advanced potters. “I have two studio assistants. Everything else, including admin and back-office work, and marketing, all aspects of the business are taken care of by me.”
The Piko Shop by Pranita Kocharekar sells illustrated stationery including journals, planners, calendars, totes, caps and t-shirts
Working on their brand as one-person teams is not uncommon for artists, as budgets are tight and they are the face (and the hands!) of the brand. But if the day-to-day running of a business is impinging on creation, then help is required. Founder of The Studio Project, Kanika Ranka Adani, works with a small team that handles all the other departments of the business. After graduating in fine art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she worked in advertising and textiles. Until one day, she spent time painting a canvas shoe at a friend’s studio.
Painting wearable art and posting about it on Snapchat woke the “artpreneur” within her. It led to more wearable art orders from relatives and friends, eventually pushing Adani to launch The Studio Project. While there were already other artists creating and selling wearable art, Adani says, “The quality and the finishing I provide, no one can compete with that.”
Rachna Takawale is a calligrapher and engraver, and takes up bulk orders, offers on-site services for events, sells tools and notebooks through her online stationery shop
Under her brand, Adani transforms luxury accessories into bespoke wear. Her creations include hand-painted bags, wallets, shoes, or jackets. Her list of clients includes the likes of Virat Kohli, who was snapped at the airport carrying a Louis Vuitton duffle bag hand-painted by Adani.
What does it take for an art brand to become successful? “Social media. There’s always a fine line between content and art, but it goes hand-in-hand,” she says.
But making content is tiring. Given a choice, Pranita Kocharekar would keep her phone away. “It’s exhausting to think of content, a lot of insecurities come up when you’re facing the screen—but it’s not possible to love every aspect of business,” she says. Kocharekar admits that for artists who don’t have an investor backing them, there are limited avenues. “Instagram ads are very helpful to scale,” says the illustrator who launched her brand, The Piko Shop, a year-and-a-half ago, out of passion. Her illustrated stationery—including journals, planners, calendars, totes, caps, t-shirts and several other lifestyle products are centre around wellness. Kocharekar, who studied at Rachana Sansad in Prabhadevi, stresses on the need to create multiple streams of income. Along with her brand, Kocharekar continues to illustrate for brands and offers design consultations as well.
Ranka Adani transforms luxury accessories into bespoke wear. Her list of clients includes the likes of Virat Kohli, who was snapped at the airport carrying a Louis Vuitton duffle bag hand-painted by Adani
And that’s what Rachna Takawale does as well—building multiple streams of income and products. As a calligrapher and engraver, she takes up bulk orders, offers on-site services for events, sells tools and notebooks through her online stationery shop, and offers workshops and digital courses on calligraphy and engraving.
It might seem like Takawale has built this over decades, but it was only during the pandemic that she worked on scaling her business in this manner. After a six-year-long corporate job, Takawale taught herself calligraphy and engraving, to soon become one of Mumbai’s go-to calligraphy artists. She is now sought after by brands such as Dior, Adidas, BMW, YouTube and Diego, which found her via social media. “I often have to justify my price to clients even now. But gradually, people are becoming more accepting. I think it’s also because a lot of people are now going back to art, even if it’s as a hobby.”
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