Story of a Woman Carpenter – Shakti, Founder of Dark Blue Studios

Nomita Jeswani, Mumbai Uncensored, 22nd March 2023:

It requires more than just skills to succeed in any industry and even more when it is a woman trying to carve her niche in a male-dominated one. But for Shakti, it was always about making a strong mark in a community which, in our country, had not seen any lady take to the helm. Wood-working, as the word goes, is a type of occupation which deals in crafting wood, to make exquisite items, by ones own hands.

Shakti is an architect, by degree and a wood-worker(another word for carpenter) by passion. Early on, as an architect when she handled her sites, she observed that as craftsmen, her laborers were more interested in only finishing a job, than a job being done right. It was in that moment, when she realised that if quality is what she is looking for, it can be only found in passion towards achieving it and not in the rush of achieving it.

It has been 5 years now that she joined the industry. Teaching architecture and simultaneously creating pieces in her workshop where she self-taught and self-funded and shot them to create her own unique portfolio. Every journey discovers a mentor, a guide, who says the right things when they are meant to be heard. It was during her apprenticeship in Bangalore, where she picked up many more traits of running a business, to transform her skill to a profitable model. It was a journey full of challenges with new learnings, experiments, falling, failing, and then getting up again before she came up with her own company named Dark Blue Studios, makers of custom fine furniture in South Mumbai.

Dark Blue Studios is a single business that offers multiple exclusive services under one tiny roof in Dadar, namely Custom Solid Wood Furniture, Teaching Woodworking, Wooden Kitchen Products and Retail Wood for those who wish to tinker and not buy in bulk. Her vision is to bring back passion into furniture craftsmanship. The skills of former craftsmen, who, when made a piece of furniture, lasted for two decades and not two years. For it to see festivals, for it to survive tough times, for it to tell stories of the scratches it has endured, and still stand strong. To cater to customers in a way that when they call, it is always to place another order.

To quote the great RanchodDas ShyamalDas Chanchad, “chaaro taraf gyaan bat raha hai, jahaan se mile, lapet lo!” Youtube videos are a great source of knowledge for those who are hungry for it. Inspiration lies in the humblest of ‘kaarigars’ sitting on sides of pavements, making something. “If they are able to do it, so can I? Can’t I? It doesn’t look like rocket science” That’s what she thought, and dove right in and then it was, Sink or Swim.

In a space which has more male players, asking questions was always laughed on, shushed away, fizzled out. She found many such non helpful people, but also discovered many who were just like her, in the same boat, flapping paddles wherever, however they could, but managed to stay afloat. And this is a message she shared with us, “ I have always been in search for people who can share knowledge of our industry, hard to come across people who  honestly and openly speak of its details. So, if there is someone out there, who is genuinely curious about carpentry, and wishes to learn, or need a space, or just wants answers, I am up for a chat.”

In this ever-changing trend these days, visibility and sustenance are still, two of her major challenges, along with a slight healthy pressure of being better than yesterday and the day before. She says, “the real competition is the one which we should have with ourselves, and not with others” Having exceptional quality furniture and services right in the heart of the city, Mumbai, Dark Blue Studios targets to expand and extend her reach to other cities, where craftsmanship is valued and appreciated. She is of the belief that, no age is an old age to start something you really believe in. Nothing can stop one from achieving one’s desires if you really want to fulfil them.  She is a solopreneur (single person company), the creator and the heart of the business, managing the entire process from product conception to delivery, making the items by her own hand, paying close attention to detail so that when the product is delivered, the customer can feel the passion gone in crafting it for the years to come.