Mysore :

Some people take years to realise and discover what their passion is. But this young lady had set her mind to see herself as an entrepreneur when she was a child. Entrepreneurship had been her dream and choosing it for life came naturally to her, courtesy: being born into a family of entrepreneurs and also being married into one later.

Some years ago, city’s Savitha Shenoy Ranga started off her career as a software engineer after graduating from NIE. Her quest to feed her brain with things knowledgeable made her do many things different. Post her tryst with a corporate firm she set out to teach graduate and undergraduate classes in Mysore and New York and even worked with non-profit organisations in the Heritage City. But she proved that dreams do come true when she established her own art studio – The Hobby Place recently.

The Hobby Place in city is a creative hobby centre that conducts for art enthusiasts, a variety of art classes and workshops each day. Home to a team of talented artists with years of experience in teaching various art forms, art lovers can go here to see, learn or even teach art if they intend to.

Talking of her firm and the reasons behind her starting it, Savitha says, “I firstly did not want to become a stereotype so always tried my hands on different things. Having travelled extensively across six continents, I realised that life is perpetually busy no matter how old you are and that taking time to live will only inspire you to work better. With this life lesson, I envisioned a hobby centre in Mysore with the aim of making learning and pursuing hobbies more accessible to Mysoreans of all age and to make childhood more fun for kids and to broaden their exposure to newer activities out of the ordinary.”

At the Hobby Place, people can conduct special events and workshops, private lessons and custom events as well. “We also undertake orders from individuals, interior designers, architects, and organisations and execute tailor-made designs. It could be anything from customised pottery to a mural and one of a kind art piece to kitchen-ware, ornament or a hand-crafted gift for a friend,” says Savitha, adding, “our team of experienced artists will make sure it is implemented right to the finest detail.”

Some of the art forms that one can look forward to learning or practicing at the place include pottery-making, mosaic art, painting, crochet, knitting, courses in theatrics and more. And the clay used for pottery making is all natural and chemical-free and most other hobby materials are hand-made by rural women, according to Savitha.

Apart from running the art studio, Savitha also volunteers as an honorary teacher at Rangarao Memorial School for disabled and is a volunteer consultant at SVYM-V-LEAD under Dr. R. Balasubramaniam.

“But if I am talking so much about my dream profession today, it’s all because of my family which has supported me extensively in making my dream come true,” the 29-year-old gushes, “if not for my husband’s help, I couldn’t have researched so much about art, found such unique artists and set up The Hobby Place,” speaking of her better half Vishnu Ranga – Managing Partner, N. Rangarao & Sons, Mysore, and adds, “and everyone else in my family including my in- laws and parents have been equally supportive as well.”

And aware of the fact that the life of an entrepreneur is all of challenges, Ms. Ranga asserts, “The Hobby Place will do its best to keep the artists and art lovers continually enthused, hosting and organising the best of things by the dexterous most. It is then that the rest will follow…”

The Hobby Place is located at Yadavagiri and is open to public between 10 am and 11 pm all days except Monday.

— AN

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / October 03rd, 2013