FROM AN ONLINE COMMUNITY TO AN E-COMMERCE STORE - A CHIT-CHAT WITH SHLOKA SHANKAR OF BRIC-À-BRAC

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 Shloka Shankar, a Best of the Net nominee, Pushcart Prize nominee, and an award-winning haiku poet, is also an editor, publisher, and self-taught visual artist.


But this conversation focuses on the community of artists and poets, she was instrumental in creating. And why? The collective will soon be launching their e-commerce store featuring art prints, framed prints, postcards, amigurumi dolls, crochet and macramé pieces.


Come, let's understand how she and the community of artists and poets thought of this endeavor with a brief conversation with Shloka Shankar (SS).


TBS: Please can you share your journey from a poetry group to an online store collective

 

SS: I started conducting online poetry workshops quite extensively during the pandemic and worked with various platforms, including Lampshade Writers. It took a certain amount of faith to “go solo” and begin conducting workshops through my own website and brand, bric-à-brac: the art & poetry shop. Along the way, I met some of the kindest and warmest souls, who I am more than proud to call my students. They feel more like close friends and family now. These connections have their roots in the Mentorship Program that I began conducting in June 2022, where we meet online twice a month and discuss all things poetry, including Japanese short-forms, the odd free verse poem, and even visual poems.

 

Vidhi Ashar, one of my students turned close friend, suggested that we should participate in flea markets as a group. This got me and the others thinking about doing something similar online, since we already had a store in the form of my website. And voila, the bric-à-brac collective was born!

  

Please share some kinds of products and a little about how they were created

 

I have been selling my digital abstracts and collages since 2018 on platforms like Society6, Redbubble, and my own website. The collective will focus on selling limited edition products such as art prints, framed prints for gallery walls, postcards, amigurumi dolls, crochet bookmarks and book covers, macrame frames, plant holders, and keychains, as well as handmade journals in future. The focus is to have a new batch of products launched every few months so that the collections remain fresh and exciting. These will not be mass produced and each piece will be made in the signature style of the artist.

 

 amigurumi doll by Vidya Premkumar

It’s so beautiful to see a group of poets come together! Any memorable moments within the community you wish to share?

 

We have our share of rollicking fun almost every day in the WhatsApp group. We constantly keep in touch with each other, share updates, poems, recent publications, awards won, and we encourage each other to do better, always. Perfection is never the goal; staying true to your craft is. And, of course, there’s the playful bullying every so often to make sure things get done. ;)

 

amigurumi doll by Raghav Prashant Sundar

What are some suggestions for communities to keep the bond between their members going?

 

I think it’s giving each individual the space they need to blossom. I’ve always supported my students and keep telling them to put their work out there. Some are more reserved than others but they have all gone on to achieve so much as writers. The camaraderie is infectious and we’re truly lucky to have found each other in this sometimes isolated world.

 

Lastly, what are your future plans with the online store?

 

The first set of products will be launched in May, followed by the second in September, and the last instalment for 2024 in December, along with our much sought-after bric-à-brac calendars that we bring out each year. I hope more of my students will join the collective next year and we continue to grow and nurture each other’s talents.  



art prints by the collective


Her website: Shloka Shankar

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