Somewhere deep down, I always knew — Entrepreneurship was my passion. It’s strange how well we know our interests as kids! If I told the 7-year-old me that I indeed became what she wanted me to, I bet she’d be more than thrilled! I have always been a fan of the arts and crafts and what I’m doing right now makes me feel like I’ve found my purpose - found myself! My journey with @thecraftybay has been exhilarating, liberating more so. It feels brilliant to have been able to get where I have on my own! I have always loved exploring my creative side and creating things by myself. My interest in the crafts too was kindled very early on and I used to participate in any and all creative and cultural activities. What did hinder the vision that I had early on was the need to prove myself - to my parents and my peers - which got me to spend three whole years of my life chasing something that I wasn’t cut out for. My competitiveness was at an all-time high and I began to prepare for one of the toughest professions to get into - Chartered Accountancy. And the fact that I couldn’t clear it threw me off and blinded me to the other possibilities that I was a lot more inclined to. Customised gifting was one of them.

It started off as an interest in handmade cards and explosions boxes but the horizons of gifting are ever-widening and I now think that it was the rightest choice I made. I completed my Masters in Finance in 2018 and was working a full time job, whilst developing my business on the side. And finally, in the summer of 2019, I quit the cushion my job provided and took up the rollercoaster ride of entrepreneurship, refocusing entirely on my startup. I started making hampers, kept my social media account updated and have curated gifts for every occasion.

The most challenging part, of course, was to have done it all by myself - designing, material procurement, market research, accounts, digital marketing, packaging, delivering and everything else.