Shailaja Grace always leaned towards creativity. She seemed to express better with colours and handicrafts rather than words. Be it making jewellery or just picking up discarded bottles, her hands were adept at transforming them into creative works of art. What started off as giving life to recycled stuff, soon became a passion for her.
Shailaja found herself, working during the day and crafting during the evening and late into the nights. But, she never thought of pots and plants till her birthday, a year ago. “A friend of mine gifted me a pretty cactus plant. That was the first time, I ever received such a gift. It was an indoor plant. The plant was pretty but, I was not happy with the pot that it was placed in. It looked dull and plain in its original brown clay mould,” starts Shailaja, who then adds she painted the pot and gave it a bright and a colourful make over.
BENGALURU - KARNATAKA - 22/01/2018 : Shailaja Giridharan, from The Potter's Land, in Bengaluru. Photo: K. Murali Kumar
Soon her friends and family started asking her to create something similar for them. Shailaja decided to take this passion forward. Soon, she reached out a family friend, also an avid potter, and together they started creating tiny designer pots . “We started with pots designed like a fish, a giraffe, a tiny mug in a tiny tray or even a tortoise. You name an animal and we will design it for you. The pots looked plain. So I started colouring the pots in bright happy colours. That is how my little company Potters Land came into being,” explains Shailaja, who sells pots designed like a bright purple fish or a blue giraffe and more.
Bengaluru, Karnataka: 22/01/2018: Shailaja Giridharan from The Potter's Land, in Bengaluru on January 22, 2018. Photo: K. Murali Kumar
“As I was starting out small, I started using my WhatsApp and FB page and randomly posted the images of my works. Slowly order started trickling in,” beams a happy Shailaja.
The pots start at ₹130 and go upwards. In case, you also want a plant, Shailaja can give you that as well. “But that will be charged separately as the plant price also varies depending upon its variety and size,” explains Shailaja, who, right now, is focusing on indoor plants, but “if people want outdoor plants, then we can create something for them too,” assures the young potter.
She also sells glass bottles which are spray painted. “I only plant money plants in these,” says Shailaja who adds that most of her pots are ideal to be placed on your desktop, windows or drawing room.
Shailaja can be contacted on Pottersland44@gmail.com @ThePotterLand (FB) or on 9620021620.
