Buying an art souvenir for their infant nephew inspired Delhi-based sisters Samira Khandelwal, 29, and Anshu Morarka, 31, to set up Kroma, an art gallery just for kids.
Samira (left) and Anshu
Anshu: I was working with the ICICI Prudential Life Insurance as a state manager, customer service & operations, Delhi. Samira: I had completed my Masters from the London School of Economics and was working with my mother in her garment manufacturing company, Crayons.
What motivated you to set up Kroma?In 2007, we had visited Thailand, where we came across some artists who were working on a mélange of cartoon-like figures and animals. We gifted some of these art works to our three-month-old nephew, who was very fascinated by them. This encouraged us to study about the influence of art on children and finally led us to start Kroma in 2008.
From where do you source the paintings?We source them from various South-east Asian countries such as Vietnam and Thailand. Our collection features artists like Monchai Kosolpradit and Joe & Ole from these countries.
Did you face any problems while setting up the gallery?We ran into some teething troubles, especially while looking for a suitable location. Luckily, we had enough money saved from our jobs, and it helped us buy a few paintings and rent space for the gallery at Shahpur Jat. What is the price range of the paintings? The price varies from Rs 5,000 to Rs 1 lakh and we sell about 10 paintings in a month.
What are your future plans?While paintings will always be our forte, we aim to expand our horizon with children’s furniture, toys and other stuff. Our objective is to make Kroma a one-stop destination for kids’ produts.
