Kangofied: Excelling in handmade home décor items

To have something beautiful in a showcase in your drawing rooms to make the interiors of your house or office attractive and to make it different from other houses is a desire which everyone has. Kangofied, a home decor-based startup, excels in making products that are beautiful and are completely handmade. Founder and Creative Head of kangofied.com Kanchan Alone has been adding her artistic thoughts into several decorative products. After completing her B Tech and MBA, she ventured into this unique career which she chose for herself.

"Before starting my entrepreneurial journey, I worked as an IT professional for almost a decade. Since childhood, I had a penchant for home decoration and used to make mural art on the walls, make paintings, DIYs and many more artistic items for my home. My journey continues even now," says Kanchan.

The hobby of creating beautiful handmade artistic home decors turned into an idea of taking the next step into business. She conceived this idea when she was abroad and wanted to start her startup after returning to India. She did complete research and started making arty handmade products; she could taste success by selling these products in the market. Kanchan started working on the designs of her products and also researched on how to start a company. "At Kangofied, we understand that not everyone will like the colour of the product that we are offering or the product size that's available. We can tweak our product just for you," says Kanchan.

Kangofied has an online store that sells unique, handcrafted home décor products, which are created by local artisans and after which it is given an artistic touch at the company studio.

The company was founded in the year 2019 wherein an investment of Rs 70,000 was put in to launch three products on the website and in the market.

The idea behind creating this company is to offer an option to the customer to choose from a range of handcrafted home decor products. "There are plenty of home décor product companies that get their products imported from China and sell it in India at lower prices. Their products are all assembly line products made in a factory. India has a rich culture and has wide range of beautiful art forms which are getting lost in this factory model mass production. We are just making a small effort to revive these art forms by using them in our products and creating such an art work which suits any modern home," said Kanchan. The founder has been working with artisans coming from various places such as Odisha, Hampi, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and many more, giving them an opportunity to showcase their work and move-up in their lives.

Kanchan faced many challenges in her business career. She says, "Entrepreneurship is full of challenges, but for a woman entrepreneur the challenges multiply immensely. They not only have to take care of their business but their families too. The main problem arises when suppliers and vendors sometimes do not take us seriously. One needs to run after them to meet the deadlines."

To make the handcrafted products more popular and spread about the items across the world, Kanchan posted her products on various social networking platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Google ads and several more. Apart from this, she also exhibited her products at various expos and exhibitions.

According to the founder, a person wanting to begin a startup should start with a working capital. "While creating a product, think that you are creating a product for yourself. Always ask yourself a question, whether you yourself will use a product that you have created?" expressed Kanchan. She also told to pamper a customer with a premium quality. Kanchan also added that marketing on social media plays a key role to make one's company more famous and to circulate the products in a very smooth manner.

She added that having a strong brand value will definitely take the company far and also promotes the selling aspect to a higher level. "Attending several expos and exhibitions is also very beneficial for the company and always take that leap of faith," says Kanchan who has worked hard to take her dream company forward into the big competitive market.