Deepika Kabe was tired but fresh as she was just out of the pool after her mandatory Sunday swim. I was coming from a long day at work. Once we got the pizza, garlic bread and some Pepsi to relax, she slowly opened up about herself speaking about her passion, her love for art and how she wants to change the market place with her ideas.
Her blog –
The Canvas Platter, displays her artwork. When she is not swimming, painting, reviewing restaurants and working on creating exclusive custom designed artwork for her clients, Deepika is all set out to launch 2Dkart.com, an upcoming online merchandiser for selling and promoting your 2D artwork and photographs to a global audience. As we kept on munching into the pizza, Deepika was like one of her paintings – serene and strong at the same time. Here is what happened when Deepika Talked to Tiger.
Hello Deepika! Welcome to Talk to Tiger.What do you want people to remember you as?
Thank you Tiger. I want to be remembered as the ever smiling, innocent artist.
Where were you born? Tell me about your childhood.
I was born and brought up in Pune. Since childhood I was more enthusiastic towards sports. I also won many prizes in debates and elocution competitions. Since I was youngest and the only girl in the family, I was always bindass and bold. With two elder brothers to look up to, I was more like their third brother.What did you study?
I always wanted to have the best in education for me and hence I took up B.Sc. Biotechnology, which at that time was the most popular branch in science. I completed my degree with Pune University but soon realized that locked rooms of a biotech lab were not meant for me.
What were your dreams like when you were a kid?
My childhood dream was to travel around the world, meet new people and see different cultures. I ventured to become an air hostess but my height was not up to their requirement and I missed my dream job by a few inches. She gestures her hand to show some 2 feet above her and breaks into laughter.
Tell me about your present idea? The Canvas Platter.
I loved painting since childhood. It was my stress buster, my place to relax. When I was working with a busy schedule of corporate life it gave me the ‘ME time’ I needed. All this changed when I was looking for something different to do and this was it… my childhood passion turned into a full-fledged business!!
What is the name of your website?
I run a brand TheCanvasPlatter.com that sells unique and exclusive art work and merchandise for special collection. All the art work is hand drawn, original and based on a theme. It is unconventional and amazing to look at.
What is your unique selling proposition (USP)?
One of the basic modern dilemma is we are losing personal touch while giving gifts to our loved ones. With the rush and speed of urban lifestyle we tend to forget exploring new places and get stuck in a rotten lifestyle of work/home. With this problem in mind, I came up with the idea of a lifestyle blog that evaluates different lifestyle ideas like event, restaurants and theatre happening in the city. The canvas platter also serves unique gifting ideas for individuals based on original artwork that are quirky, fun and affordable.
Tell me your best experience after you started The Canvas Platter.
One of the best experiences I had after I started my service was the high appreciations I received from a client for my Spirits collection (it had 5 paintings) and he purchased two for his house. As an artist it came as a big compliment when he chose two paintings instantly. When I started my lifestyle blog I used to visit many places anonymously and review them.
Can you share the financials?
Sorry the turnover is confidential but I have had around 10,000 visitors since last 6 months. (Again a very handsome figure which she made me promise that I won’t disclose)
What are your plans for the future? Say next five years?
My big ambition is to have my own studio to give the collectors a very exclusive art experience. I wish to travel the world, understand different cultures, see the world in different colors and paint it in my imagination. We have just gearing up for the launch of 2dkart.com too.
What is 2Dkart.com?
2Dkart.com is an upcoming online merchandiser for selling and promoting your 2D artwork and photographs to the global audience. Founded by artists, at 2dkart.com we take care of all the marketing and SEO for your artworks and photographs. We also see to the offline sales for corporate gifting, interior decorators and other places.Our vision is to give your artwork or photograph a global recognition as well as tapping both online and offline market. You don’t have to register and the entire process is absolutely FREE. All you need to do is send the photographs in three different sizes so we may upload them on our website (to be launched soon) – two lower-def images watermarked with 2Dkart’s logo to display on the website and an high-def image with your watermark (at the bottom of your artwork) that we may share with the buyer.
Once your images are approved, we will contact our vast database of customers on social media and other places to take a look at our website. If they like your work, we take care of the printing, framing and shipping your precious artwork to the buyer (unless it is an original painting which you will have to ship yourself). You get good royalty on every unit we sell (about 80% on MRP for digital goods and 20% on MRP for physical goods). Don’t let your images sit on your desk, let them make money for you. Let them decorate the walls of someone’s living room.
So I can sell my pictures and artwork without paying anything? How nice!
Tell me about your family.
My dad, who I look up to, my mom who is a housewife and I have two elder brothers. I do wish to own a pug one day but my husband is very against owning dogs, fingers crossed.
A quote that influenced you…
Live life to the fullest and without regrets.
You can reach Deepika by mail @ deepika.kalyani@gmail.com or call 7406302847 or follow 2dkart on facebook.
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