Experiments with entrepreneurship

BHARATI PAWASKAR 

When two teenagers start a creative venture together it must turn out to be something ‘out of the box’, incredible and extraordinary. If all these meanings clubbed together and downsized to a single word, it’s ‘Alokik’ - add to it the place of its origin, Goa. Alokik Goa, the two-and-a-half-year-old brainchild of Malliaka Kamat, a TYBA student at Chowgule College (Margao) and Sara Kirlapalkar, a Law undergraduate from Symbiosis (Pune) is all about customised, personalised handmade art-jewellery accessories for casualwear.   

What’s so special about Alokik Goa? Malliaka is quick to respond, “We are different in ideas, concepts, designs and colours. No one makes customised jewellery the way we make it and no one would sell it at our price which begins at Rs 50.” The girls use copper electroplating, polymer clay, epoxy resin, glass cabochons, natural crystals, beach glass, sea shells, wire wrapping and metal stamping to craft their jewellery. Each piece is custom made, personalised as lot of creative work and precision goes into making it. Malliaka has even done a Gemmology course to understand the characteristics of specific gems.  

Alokik Goa is not restricted to supplying singular clients; it caters to corporate orders too. The duo recently created 30 exclusive packs of recycled copper jewellery for a fashion college and that too at very short notice. This order was placed last minute. “We had to design logo for the memento. Sometimes it’s taxing, as we have to balance between work with our studies, but there’s fun too as we really enjoy designing,” quips Malliaka who finds it adventurous to experiment with different mediums and bring novelty in their products.   

A psychology student, Malliaka is thankful to Prof G K Naik who has allotted a corner in the college chemistry laboratory for her to carry on her experiments, using dried flowers, dead insects, beach seashells or clay. She’s also mastered the art of drilling holes in seashells and to solder the metals.   

Alokik Goa may be the first venture in India to try this unconventional method which requires copper electroforming. Soldering or goldsmith art is a male dominated area in jewel making, but Malliaka deliberates that she would like to foray in this field and learn the nuance of the work, first hand. She also expresses her wish to learn some serious paper making. “I want to print my own visiting cards with seed paper, so that even if the card is thrown out, a plant will rise,” she imagines.   

The 21-year-olds are probably the youngest entrepreneurs in Goa, as the duo started Alokik Goa when they were still teenagers. It was in the vacation gap after their XII exams that the two thought of booking a pop up shop at Margao to exhibit their jewellery making skills. “Actually, we were bored after too much of studies and wanted to relax and engage ourselves in some interesting activity. After we booked a table at the pop up bazar, we began working frantically to create more designs so that we could exhibit our collection. We could make it in time. Though our price tags were reasonably low, we managed to make some profit and that gave a real boost. And then there was no looking back,” recalls Malliaka who is based in Goa, while Sara studies Law in Pune. But distance is not an issue as both of them have amicably divided the responsibilities. While Mallaika handles the creative experimenting part, Sara keeps a check on the accounting and stock keeping.  

“Monday mornings are reserved for sending our orders pan India by Speed Post. The staff at Caranzalem post office is well acquainted with my work and is very helpful,” quips Malliaka who admits that instead of couriering, sending by speed post is cheaper and more reliable. She hardly lost any goods in transit in the past two years. 

As of now, the Speed Post rate is Rs 20 in the state and Rs 40 across India.  

Till date, Alokik Goa showed up in over two dozen Pop up bazaars. The response it got was heartwarming. But when the girls realized that the same faces turn up every time, they decided to tap new customers through social networking sites. 

Social media has turned out to be a steady backbone for Alokik Goa which has witnessed substantial growth. Through a separate page on Instagram, one can order and buy online.  

“We have not yet tried selling to overseas clients as we don’t know much about the shipment conditions and rates. But that’s an area we would like to research when we complete our graduation,” declares Malliaka who plans to do her masters in Consumer Psychology.   

An artisan card holder from GHRSSIDC (Goa Handicrafts Rural and Small Scale Industries Development Corporation Ltd), a government of Goa enterprise, Malliaka also possesses Hastashilp card from the Office of Development Commissioner for Handicrafts, ministry of textiles, government of India, New Delhi. Not knowing how the future would shape her career, one thing is clear in her mind that she would never stop indulging in art and craft - something she’s good at and which she enjoys the most.