Please join us in celebrating this month’s spotlight surface designer, Sneha Jaiswal. We know you’ll find her story inspiring!
Please Introduce Yourself
Hi! I am Sneha, the designer behind Hasta Kalpa. I am an architect and interior designer turned surface designer, currently living in Chennai, India.
I was always a doodler sketching out pretty flowers and exploring folk art and craft of India, like Madhubani and Warli art, mostly to gift others and sometimes just to feel peaceful. I used to fill pages of a little A6 notebook with black and white patterns or mandalas during boring classes in college.
Tell us a little bit about your design journey.
I stumbled upon surface pattern design on Pinterest while searching for crochet patterns during my maternity break in late 2019. I remember I couldn’t sleep for 3 days straight because I was blown away by the possibilities of what I could do with my art and skills.
I researched day and night to learn more about the industry. I enrolled in classes to learn the design process and illustrator and just began sharing my designs on Instagram.
Do you have a favorite portfolio design or client collaboration?
My most favourite collaboration has been with Tomatenblonde Textilwerk in Germany. Ulrike, the owner, found me and the artwork she wanted on instagram. She’s been a breeze to work with and I got to learn so much from her, not limited to design per se.
When you look back at your design journey so far, what are you most proud of?
I had a bit of a struggle trying to define a style I could stick to. But now I am proud of accepting myself as an artist with multiple styles. Being explorative all through my life, it shows in my art too.
My art is an extension of my life which goes through different moods and zones. My art style changes with my mood and the medium I use and I think it’s fantastic to be honest with my work and capture my emotion right there.
If you could offer advice to other designers who are struggling, what would that be?
Never ever doubt your skills or take rejections personally as Shannon says. Try to take feedback from the company that rejected your work and you will be surprised to see a hundred other reasons than ‘your work is not good enough.’ It opens a channel for future communications too.
Where can we find you?
Instagram: @hasta_kalpa
Thank you for sharing this story with me/us/everyone. I’ve been struggling so much with trying to find my style, wondering if I’d ever get there. I feel like I just need to let it go and just draw, just paint, just DO. 💜💜