International Women's Day Interview: Bandana Jain, Founder- Sylvn Studio

Name: Bandana Jain

Country: India

Occupation: Artist and Founder- Sylvn Studio

ST: Please tell us briefly about you.

Bandana: An artist by passion, I founded Sylvn studio in
2011 – that sells eco-friendly, handcrafted lamps and furniture made out of
recycled corrugated cardboard.

While designing my
house and trying to find interesting home décor items in the market I realized
that there is a need for a new textured décor products. And that led me to
creating furniture from corrugated paper sheets. After a lot of experimentation
with designs and colors I was able to create a beautiful unique lounge and a
few more décor items through recycled materials for my house.

The appreciation
that I received inspired me to take it up on a bigger scale and this became the
root of Sylvn Studio.

My aim is to
continue creating beautiful visual experiences in varied spaces such as homes,
restaurants, lobbies and business centers with an aim to contribute socially as
well.

ST:
Who is a woman that inspires you the most and why?

Bandana: My Mom has always been my biggest inspiration.
Unfortunately, she passed away at a very young age. I have seen a very strong
woman in her who was extremely hardworking, very social and a humanitarian. She
was an influencer not just to me but many other in our community. It’s been 15 years without her. But her
absence has been felt by many. I am still recognized by her name, more than my
father and I wish to be more like her.

ST:
How are you celebrating this year’s International Women’s Day?

Bandana: I am planning to go for an outing with my care
takers. I literally want to thank them for pouring their love and care
unconditionally towards me and my entrepreneurial journey. Now it’s my turn to
return my respect to them and express gratitude for being there for me.

ST:
What is the most important message you want to send out to all the women around
the world on this occasion?

Bandana: Dear Ladies, please understand your value and stop
underestimating yourselves. I see so many women around like my cousins, my
sisters and aunties who are extremely talented and hardworking. Despite having
good education and a promising career they ended up having a married life and
are full time house wives. That’s absolutely fine except the way they sacrifice
their independence and rely solely on their male counterparts for their fate,
their life, their decisions etc. I really want women to make use of their
talents and be self independent and make decisions for themselves.

ST:
What according to you is ‘women empowerment’?

Bandana: For me women empowerment is to understand your
strength, value yourself, be independent and maintain your dignity no matter
what the circumstances are.

ST:
What would you say are the main challenges facing women at present in India?

Bandana: In my opinion ‘exposure’ is the biggest challenge a
women still faces in India and that leads to lack of opportunities for them.

ST:
Where do you want to see yourself in next 5 years?

Bandana: Making my brand available internationally. There is a huge scope of work with cardboard
in international market. Hence currently my focus will be to tap the right
market. Secondly, I am looking forward to making my venture fully functional
and automated so I can stay focused on
working with organic waste which is available in abundance across the globe.
That way I continue to contributing to the betterment of the society by making
better use of waste and creating opportunities for women in rural areas and
create a lot of employment opportunities for them.