Sandhya Radhakrishnan from Kodungallur in Thrissur district of Kerala earns Rs 25,000 per month while working from her home.
Sandhya was an HR professional, but she quit her job after giving birth to her daughter. Sandhya, however, did not want to waste time at home. When she was searching for a business that could be started without great expense, she came across a video on YouTube on crafts. She was attracted to portrait embroidery.
Sandhya’s mother was an embroidery teacher. So she had been practising embroidery from a young age. That familiarity led her to decide to take a look at portrait embroidery.
She learned more about portrait embroidery with the help of a friend who was into embroidery and through YouTube tutorials. It took her a little while to make an embroidery of Buddha, which she then put on social media.
The embroidery was completed during a period when doing anything else was not possible due to the pandemic caused by the coronavirus. It got a good response on social media. Following that, Sandhya shared her Buddha on various social media handles.
Sandhya received amazing support. A lot of people started placing orders for portrait embroidery after seeing her Buddha.
Investment of just Rs 100
The price of a portrait embroidery depends on the work done and its excellence. A good fee can be charged as the perfection in the work increases. Many people came to get pictures that were taken together embroidered as birthday presents for their loved ones.
Sandhya gained more attention through her portrait work. She spent hours with thread and needle to do embroideries that seem better than the original pictures. What is remarkable is that Sandhya found a way to earn an income when people were in distress due to job losses caused by the spread of the coronavirus.
Becoming more professional
The hoop required for portrait embroidery costs Rs 70 and the thread or yarn used for sewing costs a maximum of Rs 25. In that sense, portrait embroidery is quite profitable. There are people coming to get embroidery that ranges from family pictures to baby’s faces.
“As the orders increased, I became more and more professional. After making the portraits with hoops, I began framing them and tagging them. By improving packing, I was able to capture the market,” says Sandhya.
When her portrait embroidery started getting noticed, she began her company called Sandy’s Craft World and started branding her work. The portrait of Suresh Gopi and his family that Sandhya did was appreciated a lot.
Now, Sandhya says that even after her kid grows up and finds a job, she would want to continue with Sandy’s Craft World and grow it into a big brand.
Sandhya currently earns at least Rs 25,000 per month through portrait embroidery. The cost involved is only about Rs 2,000.
