Our Friday Feature this week is the amazing Dina from The Playful Indian. For Dina, it’s all about putting smiles on people’s faces. Through fun food puns, cultural humour, and colourful illustrations, she creates greeting cards and gifts that spread happiness.
Let’s get to know more about the wonderful creative woman behind the small business…
Being creative to me means exploring ideas and representing these in a visual way.
100%! I remember a time when I was attending therapy and the only way I could express my thoughts and feelings was with drawing and mark making. It did help me open up in the end and really helped as an inital way of ‘conversation’. I also feel my business has helped me though some tough times because the times I am able to be creative and work on ideas, are also the times that I can forget about what is going on around me and get into a flow state.
My business started back in 2011 via The Prince’s Trust (The King’s Trust now). It was an idea I had back then because there was a lack of South Asian greeting cards on the market and I wanted to create something that was relevant to me and other South Asians. The King’s Trust helped me gain knowledge on how to run a business and the admin/accounts side and also allowed me to access funding to test trade at events.
The thought that I will hopefully be making lots of people smile! Part of the reason I chose food and really cheesy puns was to make people smile. I have suffered depression in the past but I was always that person that still had the biggest smile on my face because I was good at hiding it and I didn’t want anyone to know what I was going through. So when I am creating products, especially my cards, mugs and coasters, I always hope that if someone out there saw my illustrations, or one of my items were given, it would make them (or the recipient) smile and help them forget about their worries for even a few minutes.
My biggest challenge is one that I am currently facing. I have a part time job, which I love and it helps alleviate the stress of income, but it is sometimes draining physically and mentally because you’re on the go all the time doing things. Part time job days, depending on hours, I don’t tend to go into the office (I rent a space and hours are 8am-5pm) because there’s not enough time. I will work from home on admin things though but only on things I can do on my laptop. Office days are for processing orders or printing mostly and so there’s not time to get stuck into projects. I have worked around a part time job previously but my office space was also home based and I think having an external space is feeling a bit more difficult and limited for me.
Being myself. I think people relate to other people and how you see me on Instagram, is how I am in real life. I think it’s really important to stay true to yourself also believe in what you’re doing and selling.
Oh God! Probably a rollercoaster. There have always been ups and downs, and I do think this is something that most business will experience on their journey. I had steady growth during the first years of my business with a couple of knockbacks but also some major highs, especially over lockdown when the business grew rapidly. Then lockdown was over and it has been a real struggle to even get back to where I was just prior to lockdown.
YES! Although I hate when I do something as a hobby and my brain starts thinking how I could sell it but not everything has to be monetised. I do think being creative for yourself is really important; it helps you grow and explore new ideas. It also feels kind of special to do something for yourself too.
I think stickers, I do love a sticker – they’re like little side quests. They’re a great way for someone to support you and your work without breaking the bank too. Also, can I say myself? Because I think I’ve personally grown so much since having a business. I’ve learnt and done new things; things that I probably wouldn’t have if I didn’t have my business; and the biggest thing is that it’s made me more confident in myself and less afraid to ask questions.
RELEASE ALL THE CRAFT PROJECTS I HAVE IN MY HEAD! There are so many little projects and products that I’d love to share with everyone but all these take some figuring out, planning and of course money to invest. Also someone to take professional photos of my products because it would take away that stress for me.
You can just feel Dina’s genuine joy in creativity beaming out from her answers – it’s so lovely. And to have found a gap in the market, sought the help she needed to make her idea a reality, and gone on to create numerous products that absolutely do make people smile… it’s such an achievement.
If you’d like to see more of Dina’s creations, head to her website: theplayfulindian.com – and for behind-the-scenes content and fun happenings, check out her Instagram: @theplayfulindian
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