She’s got her fingers in one too many pies and that’s precisely how she likes it! Meet Communications graduate, Mana Santhanam, who works as a content creator for a web design firm during the day, and moonlights as a custom artist, creating the funkiest of products that range from t-shirts to shoes. And when she’s not working or doing custom art, she pursues her passion for music as well, through a choir, The Choral Riff, which featured alongside city-based Progressive Rock band Slain, and more recently, the genius duo Bryden-Parth.
“It started when I was really young. My sister and I would paint on our old jeans and shoes, and walls. Art has always been a part of our lives, and it was something we did for fun,” she recounts. Mana revisited her passion a few years ago when one of her favourite and oldest pair shoes needed salvaging. “I did some tweaking and brightening up and didn’t think too much about it at the time. A few years later, that customising streak returned and continued onto a bunch of shoes, t- shirts, and college notebooks. Friends started asking me to customise their stuff too. And that’s when the realisation dawned that I could do this for more people, anyone who wanted anything customised really. And that’s pretty much how it took off.”
Mana has been pursuing art in this manner for less than a year now but hasn’t given her umbrella of work a brand name yet. “I’m thinking of giving it one very soon. There’s a bunch of things I have in mind, but I want the name to be as simple and representative of my work as possible. It won’t be anything too abstract. I’ll let the art handle the abstract bit.”
The thing about customised creations is that no two products are ever alike and so is the case with Mana’s work. “They’re personalised based on who they’re meant for so there’s always some defining element that makes each one stand out from the rest. This is especially apparent when customers tend to give similar themes for me to work on. I’ve had more than one customer ask for Batman themed shoes, but each shoe/product is always something unique, ” she explains.
The talented young woman takes each day as it comes and seems to be having a ball doing what she does best-expressing her creativity. “It’s been pretty fantastic so far. I’ve met a lot of people, heard some amazing stories, and then had the opportunity to represent that for them, or someone special in their lives. Just knowing that someone wants to gift a pair of my shoes to make someone’s day special is a great feeling.”
That said, she has her share of challenges. “The main challenge would probably be keeping the style unique, especially when people ask for similar themes like comic or cartoon characters. That’s when I talk to them more and try to customise the theme to their liking while still retaining the universal appeal of that particular character. Last minute orders are challenging too — I hate turning down customers, so when they reach out with urgent requirements, I have to work against the clock to complete the ones I decide to take on.”
Since her work is all about customisation, the price range of her products depends on the requested theme and the style, the level of detailing, and the time at which the order was placed, among other factors. But it usually ranges from Rs. 2,000 upwards.
Looking ahead, Mana says: “What I hope to do through my work is to give people a colourful, quirky, fun medium through which they can represent a little bit of their personalities and of people special to them, and wear them proudly.”
