Banker quits job to start craft business; clocks Rs50 lakh annual turnover

Shisir Kumar Jena grew up seeing his father, Kushanath Jena, a school teacher, creating beautiful paintings on canvas during his free time. Still in school, Shisir would observe his father as he was drawn to the arts. In love with colours and the canvas, he trained in Pattachitra (traditional paintings of Odisha) from Guru Kalamani Rabindranath Sahoo.

However, the compulsions of education took the front seat, and Shisir graduated with honours in Chemistry, followed by an MBA in 2008.

“I then joined ICICI Prudential Life Insurance in Mumbai as an Assistant Health Assurance Manager. After two years, I moved to the Induslnd Bank. However, I felt restless and wanted to convert my passion for art and craft into entrepreneurship.  So I quit in 2012, and returned home (Baulakhaladi village in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha),” Shisir tells 30Stades. 

He started his enterprise ‘Art Godaam’ with zero investment, creating decorative items from waste materials.

“I made around 30 items using discarded plastic bottles, coconut shells and paper. Initially, I focused on making portraits, paintings, and home and garden decoration items,” he says. They included pattachitra paintings, papier-mâché products and lacquer work. 

However, he struggled to attract buyers for about a year. In 2013, the business took off when Shisir started posting about his work on social media. 

“People liked my handmade, eco-friendly products for their quality and sustainability. In 2014-15, Art Godaam clocked a turnover of Rs 4 lakh. There has been no looking back since then,” he adds.

The making of an art enterprise

Shisir says the objective of Art Godaam is monetisation of art and craft forms to provide a consistent income to artisans. “Craftspeople struggle financially despite their creativity. Art Godaam provides them with a regular income source. With the help of experienced craftsmen, we also train young people to promote traditional arts,” he says. 

Also Read: Pattachitra: Odisha's Raghurajpur turns hub of recycled art as artisans combine 12th-century craft with sustainability

When Shisir quit in 2012, he began travelling across Odisha to find the artisans from whom he could learn the intricacies of various art forms.

He would also collect craft pieces and store them in a room of his Bhubaneswar-based house. As the items accumulated, the room looked like ‘godaam’ (godown), prompting him to name his venture ‘Art Godaam’. 

His brother Sameer Kumar Jena, an architect and designer, contributed to the growth of Art Godaam, says Shisir.

While travelling across Odisha, the learning helped Shisir create over 100 products encompassing 24 crafts, like terracotta, dhokra, sabai grass craft, stone carving and wood carving. His creations include corporate gifts, trophies, memorabilia, home and garden decorative items, fashion accessories and other articles and artifacts.

Also Read: Married at 17, how this tribal woman fought poverty to set up a Sabai grass home business 

“Now I have employed 10 people. When the workload increases, I hire artisans and craftsmen, including five tribal people, to meet the deadline. Art Godaam’s annual turnover is about Rs 50 lakh,” says Shisir.

Young artisans who learn under Shisir get a monthly stipend of Rs 8000, while experienced people earn Rs 25000. He provides youngsters with an opportunity to become art entrepreneurs like him.

"The payment to contractual artisans varies between Rs 5000 and Rs 15,000 depending on the amount of work,” says Shisir, who won the CSAC Award from the State Lalit Kala Akademi in 2000.   

In 2024, Shisir received Rs 6 lakh bank loan to expand his enterprise. He then set up different segments like carpentry unit, framing unit and printing unit.

Also Read: Molela: Rajasthan's terracotta plaque art patronised by tribal people 

Products, pricing and marketing

Art Godaam creates decorative and utility items for homes, gardens, kitchens and dining areas, besides fashion accessories.

The price range of the handcrafted items goes up to over Rs3,000 depending on the product and craft form. The prices of wall clocks range between Rs 800 and Rs 3040.

Woodworks like a wooden deer with a hand-painted ‘pattachitra’ motif vary between Rs 960 and Rs 1920. Fashion accessories like handmade ‘dhokra beads payal’ and handmade ‘dhokra bunch jhumar payal’ sell at Rs 320 each. 

He has been in tie-ups with e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart since 2014. “Nearly 80 percent of my business is through e-commerce platforms, which sell more than 65 varieties of products. The remaining is sold to individual customers who directly place orders,” he says.

“I am confident that Art Godaam’s annual turnover would cross Rs 1 crore in the next five years,” says Shishir.  

(Niroj Ranjan Misra is a Cuttack-based freelance writer. He writes on rural and tribal life, social issues, art and culture, and sports.)

Also Read: How this tiny village near Madurai nurtures a unique doll-making industry

Look up our YouTube Channel