Your Heart On The Card- Blithering Canon

The market is witnessing a growing trend of making personalized
products to cater to the needs of their customers and reflect the
customer’s unique identity. But the question is- how much these products reflect the tastes and the personality of the buyer? Big brands create products on a large scale and hence, no matter how much they try to propagate this ‘personalised and close bond’ that their product ‘might’ share with the buyer, it nevertheless, doesn’t work that way- especially if it’s something as personal as a greeting card, a photo frame or any other gift. So the customers are now looking towards smaller enterprises, which can deliver such products as per their expectations and what’s more, the customers are actively  involved in this process of making of the product-the creativity, of course, lies with the maker of the product.

One such small enterprise related to art and craft has been started by Aakriti Mathur, called the ‘Blithering Canon’. The name is interesting, right? Well, it has a funny story behind it. The naming of this little enterprise falls into the tradition of naming of bands like ‘Goo Goo dolls’, ‘Foster the people’, ‘Coldplay’ etc. -names given by accident that is. Her sister suggested the name in a jovial mood and both of them settled for it. Now, coming back to the topic, Aakriti is an English Literature graduate and art and craft is a passion for her. Earlier, she used to do it for friends but then decided to make it a bit large. Her products not only show her expertise with glue, strings and paper but also show the passion that she has for it. And besides that, the potential of the emerging handicraft also provided another attraction.

So what all does the ‘Blithering Canon’ make?

According to Aakriti, she makes beautiful envelope covers, hanging photo mobiles, cards for all occasions, pen stands, bookmarks, and hand painted products such as stones, bottles, boxes, matkis, diyas, candles, small notepads, gift envelopes, letter envelopes, paper and cloth Buntings etc. Besides this she has gift hampers of assorted items and packs of some products as well. In her own words-“I also plan to experiment with many new products and also working on improvements for the present ones. There is so much that one can make, plethora of things to be tried out!”

The most interesting part is the production of all these amazing stuff. They are handmade. Each product is made differently and each product has its own specific design since everything is made according to customization. For example, for a hanging Photo Mobile each cut out on the strings is made separately by hand. Each string is coloured separately according to customization. The blocks on which photos or anything else is put, is cut out by hand and coloured individually. A single Photo Mobile takes approximately 3-4 days to be made similarly with Cards- each sheet is chosen specifically for the cards. The designing of cards is done individually if required. In a bulk order she usually provides 4-5 designs which are then selected by the customer and then the cards are made accordingly, sometimes requiring more than one design. That is the level of hard work required and no wonder, with such dedication; the customer is nothing but satisfied!

 

She provides discount on items during the festival season especially on products like matkis and diyas, which, with the coming of festivals, become highly popular. The main attractions for the rest of the year are products like the hanging photo mobile, cards etc.

The price of each product depends on the material and customization used and the labour put in for each item. Delivery charges are extra, according to the mode of delivery

 

Since she is still a student, how does she manage?

Aakriti gives an honest answer. She says,” I think I’ll always have time for this. Crafts are something I absolutely love and am passionate about. Usually I work at night since that is the quietest time of the day and I am disturbed the least then. I like to put on my headphones and do my work while watching a nice movie or sitcom. During the day I usually plan and design and execute those ideas at night. Being a student does come in the way at times when I have to keep my stuff away and take out the books for exams. But once they are done with, everything comes out right away!” This attachment and love of hers for her art is quiet reflected in the products she makes, which are neat, beautiful and done meticulously.

She is definitely one person to follow her passions. She took English literature as a subject to graduate in and then also does the other thing that her loves- art and craft. She says that English Literature has provided her with multiple perspectives on things. She says on a highly enthusiastic note- “Sometimes we have to do what is not the best option just because we want to do it and are passionate about it. English Honours made me more passionate about something I always loved. Even though I have not exactly started selling on a very large scale, I am more hopeful about this than anything else!”

If you’ve like Aakriti’s work and her views, you can contact her through the Blithering Canon’s facebook page. The link is-https://www.facebook.com/BlitheringCannon

You can also email her at blitheringcannon@gmail.com.

Deeksha Yadav

A literature kid.

Leave a Reply