‘Don’t stay restricted to mainstream career options; Explore!’

Vidhi Khandelwal is the Founder of The Ink Bucket, a stationery and lifestyle brand. The alumna of Apeejay School, Noida, has pursued her undergraduation in textile design from National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in Delhi. In an interesting interview, Vidhi highlights how she found her calling in life while painting in the art room at school. Edited excerpts:  

Please tell us about your current work profile?

I am a professional designer. While pursuing my design course I became keenly interested in illustrating, so I am more of an illustrator now. I am running this brand with my husband, Nikhil Nair. He has recently joined the brand. Before that, I have been single handedly running the brand since the past five years. So basically, I have been juggling between being a freelance illustrator and running the brand part time initially, and now full time.  Running a brand involves a lot of multitasking and management skills. I spend the maximum amount of time designing the product and painting the artworks that go on it.

What was the inspiration to become a designer and an illustrator?

I have been interested in painting and art since my school days. I was very passionate about it. So, I wanted to turn that into my profession and explore the creative industry. 

What are your best memories from your school days?

I used to miss the morning assembly and sit in the art room and paint. That was something I really enjoyed (laughs).

What advice would you give to the budding artists at Apeejay Noida?

Now there are many more opportunities in the creative industry compared to when I began my career. At that time, the struggling artist concept was prevalent or there were opportunities only in mainstream careers like fashion and graphic designing. Now there are so many different job profiles and new avenues in the creative industry. I am a traditional artist, I paint with my hand but you don’t have to stick to it. There are so many opportunities now where one can incorporate technology with design. One must explore these ideas and not just stay restricted to the mainstream career options.  

How did Apeejay Noida help you to pursue your passion in life?

School teaches you the value of hard work and makes you disciplined. We had some great teachers at the school who taught us essential life skills in addition to academic education. All these really help once you step out of the school and enter the real world. 

What are your future targets?

I want to grow my brand and aspire to make it a successful home lifestyle brand in the coming years. We do see ourselves opening a store in the near future. At the moment, we are operating online.