It would be really difficult to track Ankita Jain's journey, but we will give it a shot. She designs apparel through her label Manthan Studios which includes wedding wear, stoles and even dresses with interesting prints that range from emojis to dainty flowers. When she felt the need to launch accessories to go with the apparel, she started a social media page called Chic Pitara through which she sells pretty jewellery (think classy earrings with tassels!). Also, she is a well-known food blogger, and as if all this was not enough, now she is taking up illustrating and not just on the sidelines, but with complete gusto. "I love illustrating because I allows me to be my own boss and it's my imagination at work from scratch," laughs the 28-year-old.
It was all trial and error really before Ankita got the hang of things and mastered it. She has churned out 400 illustrations in the past ten months and is moving to digital illustrations which she is carrying out on her iPad. How does she balance it all, is the question. "Out of 24 hours, I work 20 hours and usually don't sleep much. That's because most of my ideas come to me when I am in bed and then I have to quickly jot them down," shares the jovial youngster who doesn't believe in grand plans. What she does believe in is hard work and doing what she is doing to the best of her ability. "I really don't like missing deadlines so I go the extra mile to ensure that I deliver everything on time," says Ankita diligently, who even likes to pack orders herself to ensure that it's done to her taste.
Instagram has been particularly helpful for Ankita as her products have received rave word-of-mouth reviews. "And I've really faced no negativity," points out the youngster. "Going forward, I want to mix design and illustration and see my art on t-shirts," says Ankita. Now that sounds like something we would totally buy.
Some of her work:
For more on her, check out instagram.com/illustrationsby_aj
