Techie Turns Artistic Talent Into Business via #SHOPOnSHEROES
An artist at heart, SHEROES member Narayanee learnt how to monetise her talent, and sell her artwork via her online shop on SHEROES platform!
SHEROES platform recently launched a wonderful opportunity called #SHOPOnSHEROES. “Shop” is both a verb and a noun, based on which side of the shopping experience you’re engaged in.
SHEROES members can now launch their online stores, and sell products and services on the SHEROES platform.
This has given rise to a vibrant marketplace for consumers to discover and shop for products. By doing so they are also directly contributing to a woman entrepreneurs’ success story!
One of the early adopters of #SHOPOnSHEROES is Narayanee Rai, a techie by profession and artist at heart.
We first met Narayanee at the SHEROES Summit in Chennai in 2018, where she showcased her beautifully hand-crafted products at the artists’ showcase.
Back then she had one aspiration — she wanted to be a professional artist, making and selling artifacts that consumers could engage with, everyday as part of their daily lives.
Naraynee’s showcase featured hand-painted saris and pots, quilling artifacts, and handmade gratitude journals. The beautifully crafted handmade journals were especially, an absolute hit. This experience seeded self-belief and confidence in this young woman, and she began posting more and more of her artwork everyday in SHEROES ‘creative communities.
But Narayanee still felt a lacunae in her artistic journey — she desired to monetise her work, but did not know how to.
Some time in early 2021, Narayanee shared this feedback with Team SHEROES, “ The challenge I face is, when it comes to selling my art, I don’t know where to begin. I am getting valuable feedback for the paintings, but when it comes to business terminology I don’t know how to start making a sale. There are lots of talented artists out there whose valuable paintings haven’t reached people’s notice because of lack of contacts and the right platform.”
Based on valuable nuggets such as these, the SHEROES Shop feature was designed to serve women like Narayanee, who are looking for a platform to monetise their products and services.
As soon as #SHOPOnSHEROES was launched, Narayanee grabbed the opportunity and set up her shop ‘Sai Art Gallery’.
Today, it is one of the most aesthetically pleasing spaces to hang out at, on SHEROES. Narayanee regularly posts videos, images and stories, that connect consumers to her art on a deeper, cosmic level.
Here one can discover different art inspirations and buy a range of art works — from Mandalas, to motifs inspired by Gond tribal art. The social commerce-style design of #SHOPOnSHEROES fuels informal conversations between shop owners, customers and community, at large.
Members who cannot buy, can post their appreciation.
And of course, first sales are always a cause for celebration for shop owners and the community!
Narayanee’s mandala art is especially popular. She began drawing mandalas just for fun, but was slowly drawn in by the intricate patterns. She ended up spending 40 to 50 hours on a single mandala art.
But time was an important factor, and managing her professional work and passion was a challenge. And then the pandemic happened.
“I used the entire lockdown time, productively, for my art work and finally started exploring many art forms. I used to draw day and night and I never felt happier like that before,” shares Narayanee.
The life of an artist can be a struggle but opportunities like #SHOPOnSHEROES open doors to happiness and money! 💸💜
Being an extension of a larger social network, shop owners like Narayanee get access to a community of consumers, who recognise them not only as artists, entrepreneurs, resellers, but as individuals with many parts to their identity.
Narayanee’s social posts are not just about transactions. They educate, inspire, and drive wonderful conversations in the community. The community ecosystem nurtures trust, visibility, conversations, and commerce also follows.
“SHOP On SHEROES platform is really helpful in terms of identifying the customer’s expectation. I am getting a very good response so far. This unexpected support and encouragement motivates me to explore more and I am planning different art styles in the future,” shares Narayanee
Drop in to visit Narayanee’s #SHOPOnSHEROES and show this creator some love!
SHEROES, the women-only social network is a safe, constructive, high-empathy, high-trust online ecosystem for women to engage and chase dreams. It offers communities, a chat-based counsellng helpline, champions, resources, opportunities, credit opportunities, a reproductive health tracker and a social commerce marketplace. It is accessible via Sheroes.com and the SHEROES app
