Flowers Framed! 

From consumer research in export marketing to making artistic photo frames, Hetal Merchant has come a long way. "It all began two and a half years ago, when I was planning to have a baby. I did not want a hectic career to take away the quality time from my family life. I was undecided on what to do, since I refused to remain idle," says the young entrepreneur. While browsing through a book fair, she came upon a book on preserving and drying flowers. "This was something I had done only in school, preserving flowers between pages of notebooks. The idea caught my fancy and I decided to give it a try," she adds.

Today, her dried flower picture frames are displayed at the lifestyle store, Tressorie, at Bandra Linking Road.

Since Hetal had no artistic background and was more inclined towards understanding the technical aspects of this Japanese art, she roped in a commercial artist friend. Experiments followed, many successful, some unproductive. She used the dried flowers to beautify photoframes, thus giving them eternal life. Perfection lies in retaining as much of the original colour as possible. Roses, sevanti, mogra, carnations, jasmine, imported and wild flowers feature in her frames. "In Mumbai, the biggest hurdle I face is humidity. Fungus and insects are another hazard, which can destroy even a whole batch. The four monsoon months are trial time when it comes to drying flowers," she says.

It sounds easy - dry the flowers and paste them on to picture frames. Hetal begs to differ. There is a technique involved in the drying of flowers. They have to be washed clean, then air-dried for a particular amount of time, and later hand-machine pressed for up to 3 months. In one batch, 1000 to 1500 flowers can be dried. "Even my mother-in-law picks up rare and wild flowers and foliage for me on her evening walks. Some of the flowers I buy from florists, but I mostly pick up foliage from the roadside or from gardens," she says.

Her frames cost anywhere between Rs 110 for a single photograph frame, to Rs 1100 for a multiple photograph frame. Unfortunately, the imported wooden moulding constitutes 60 per cent of the cost of the finished product. The frames are available in various sizes from 3 1/2" x 3 1/2 " to 16" x 21", which can accommodate up to 8 photographs.

According to Hetal, this art has not yet gained popularity in India. It is quite sought after in Japan from where it originated, and also in the USA and UK.

Contact: Hetal Merchant

Address: 9 A, Nav Mangal Society, 167 B, S V Road,
Vile Parle West, Mumbai - 400 056
Phone: 670 0930

e-mail: hetal_pm@yahoo.com

Author: Anupama Vinayak
Photographer: Vinayak Prabhu