This Woman Entrepreneur’s Home Decor Platform is Empowering Closeted Artists to Monetise Their Work

Founded by Pankhuri Gandotra, home decor brand Writing on the Wall offers skilled painters and artists to sell their artwork.

Pankhuri Gandotra decided to leave her well-paying stable job in the software industry at age 37 and take a plunge into being an entrepreneur. She started a home decor brand Writing on the Walls in 2018. Starting up wasn’t so simple though. To build something of her own, as first steps, Pankhuri and her brother began researching new and upcoming businesses. They noted that drop shipping was trending in the US. 

With little initial investment focused only on marketing, dropshipping allowed businesses to thrive without maintaining a lot of stock and inventory. For Pankhuri, the idea looked promising considering what she had in mind – tapping into the talents of closeted artists and painters whose artworks were remarkable but barely reached the market.  With Writing on the Wall, Pankhuri wanted to find a way to provide market access and customer reach for such artists.  

Having worked with about 12 artists so far, Pankhuri says most of them are homemakers including two mothers with autistic children. Pankhuri leverages social media platforms and her network of friends and family to spread the word and connect with people who paint as a hobby. 

“Most homemakers who paint have many paintings lying around and don’t know how to sell them,” she adds. Most of them are monetising their work for the first time with the help of Writing on the Wall. Specializing in wall decor products, the platform selects artists who have a collection of products for sale and chooses different types of artwork based on the engagement and customer data on its website. 

In addition to tableware and furniture, its most popular wall decor items include large wall clocks, abstract wall hangings, and different kinds of paintings. While abstract art is the most popular choice based on data, the platform tries to maintain a variety of options so that there is something for everyone. 

The artists have complete autonomy to decide the pricing and are not charged anything to get featured nor a commission on the sale, and Writings on the Wall earns from taking a margin –  over and above the artist’s pricing. 

Bootstrapped so far, Pankhuri is now on a mission to build a holistic home decor brand and stand out with unique paintings and products by catering to different communities like rural artisans and homemakers. Currently, she is reaching out to people who are promoting rural art because “that will help my brand stand out,” she says. Pankhuri now wants to build a complete home decor solution in both B2B and B2C markets by exploring both online and retail markets. In the coming year, she is targeting to achieve 10X revenue. 

Credits: HerStory

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