Engrave | Chiselled frame
A design collective that specializes in engraved personalised gifts and lifestyle products
Past life
Nimish Adani, 33, who started Engrave.in in 2011, has the coveted IIT-IIM education.
A Mumbai boy, he completed his engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Varanasi, in 2001 and then went to the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow. Recruited by PepsiCo on campus, he worked with the multinational firm for a few months before moving to a branding agency in Bangalore for three years.
He then joined Izmocars.com, a company that specializes in auto design. His last job before starting Engrave was at the website Bharat Matrimony.
By 2011, Adani was keen to branch out on his own. He had been helping his mother, who designs bridal wear, in her business and was involved in innovations related to bridal wear, wedding gifts and accessories. So he was toying with the idea of a business related to personalized gifts when a friend gifted him an iPhone with his name engraved on it. Adani began Gratifi Ecommerce in partnership with Kartik Iyer. They parted ways soon but Adani then moved on to start a separate company called Craftby Products Pvt. Ltd and simultaneously relaunched the website Engrave.in, first as a hobby and then, as orders trickled in following publicity on Facebook, as a business.
Genesis
In the first year, while he was raising money, it was a one-man business—he was the designer, manager and techie, all rolled into one. He started with wooden plaques with engraved photographs.
Engrave allows you to choose a size, a frame and the texture of the engraving. After you upload your photo, Engrave executes it on wood and sends it by post. Adani set up a wood factory in Ahmedabad in 2011 and bought his first engraving machine, which is installed in his Mumbai office, in 2012. He now has a staff of around eight and over the last month, he has acquired two more machines. “We have increased our capacity five-fold in the last month-and-a-half," Adani says.
Reality check
“The first hurdle was awareness. It still is," he says. The initial step is to make people aware that this idea exists and then convince them about the quality of craftsmanship.
Plan B
Now he focuses on wood and canvas—the maximum orders are for engraved photo plaques (from ₹ 500-1,000), while canvas prints (up to ₹ 20,000) are Adani’s most creative products.
Secret sauce
“We ensure that once the product is executed, based on the order, we send a photograph of the finished product to the customer. Once they okay it, we mail it," Adani says.
“Photographs are taken professionally before mailing. Once an order is placed, we are available on chat for suggestions, recommendations, changes or clarifications."
Engrave puts up stalls at cultural events such as the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Mumbai, and the Mumbai Book Fair.
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