In 2016, Gurugram-based Sanpreet Kaur found herself at crossroads when she was pregnant with her son.
She had to make a choice between being a stay-at-home mother or a working one.
“It was just my husband and I. So, one of us had to quit our job, so I did. I left my nine-year-long career in advertising to raise my son,” she says.
While the baby boy filled her home with happiness, she felt something was awry. Soon, she started to have depressive episodes.
“I would miss working and find myself questioning ‘why is it only me?’ Because I’d worked really hard in college to get good grades and land a nice job,” she recalls.
She adds, “My parents spent a lot of money on my education, and I felt like I tossed everything away. Why is it always the women who suffer?”
While scrolling through YouTube, she came across a video that talked about post-partum depression.
She says, “When I saw the video, I realised I had most of the symptoms and there was no one who could help me. I realised my mood swings might affect the baby, so I decided to do something about it.”
When nothing could help, she turned to art. She had recently moved to a new house and decided to focus on redecorating it.
While scrolling through Pinterest to look for ideas she came across macrame pieces.
“I loved how they looked and wanted to try to make them on my own. I looked for tutorials on YouTube and found many. That is when it all started,” she says.
The art helped her ease her anxiety and stress. She started to post her pieces and progress on Instagram.
“A friend asked me to make six pieces of flower pots for her and I was elated. She was technically my first customer too. That is when I realised that this could actually turn into something more than just a hobby,” she says.
In 2019, Sanpreet started her Instagram page ‘A Tiny Twisted’ which started to gain attention.
Presently, she has thousands of followers and a team of eight. She has earned Rs 56 lakh in the past two years by selling her pieces.