The Mother- Daughter
duo that has become a name to reckon with in the world of Mehendi and
its related creative fields.
Usha Shah
Her wide spread success and a client base that spreads to cover every
continent, speaks volumes about her achievements. Her Mehendi classes,
dedicated clientele, and creative designs have made her India's most
popular Mehendi Artist.
Raised in Alirajpur, MP, India; in a family of 9 children, Usha developed
her passion for creative arts, like Mehendi, Painting, Embroidery. She
completed her Graduation in Arts, was married, and then moved to
Mumbai.
Mehendi being her creative outlet, she designed only for close friends
and family. This modest lady did not realize her own potential.
However, people who knew her, recognized her talent and encouraged her
to participate in a Mehendi Competition, organized by the Walkeshwar
Mahila Mandal (Woman's Club of Walkeshwar). She won the First Prize
and with all the publicity came requests for teaching others her
skills with Mehendi designing. She started Mehendi Classes and there
has been no looking back from that point on.
Her first brush with worldly fame was in the year 1985, when one of
her many designs featured in a cover story in the in-flight magazine
of Air India, Namaskar . Namarata Dutt, wife of a prominent
movie star Kumar Gaurav, impressed with the intricacy of Usha s design
invited her to paint her hands with mehendi. Then as they say, the
rest is history.
Usha's business flourished - not by advertising - but simply
word-of-mouth publicity from extremely pleased clients. Her clientele
from Demi Moore to popular Indian movie stars and like Kajol, Ashwaria
Rai, eminent personalities like Neeta Ambani (Reliance Capital) and
hundreds of brides would stand by her work. Her clients are not just
restricted to Mumbai or the Indian sub continent. Usha has, on many
occasions traveled to USA, Australia, Europe, Africa and Middle East
on clients requests for Mehendi Design.
In 1994, Usha earned the "Professional Excellence" by the
Rotary Club of Downtown Mumbai. With a reputation of being an
authority in the field of Mehendi application, she has often been
requested to judge various Mehendi competitions.
She is friendly, affable and down-to-earth. A pleasure to work with.
Ekta Shah
Artistic
talents seem to run in the genes of this family. Ekta with her natural
talent for the arts has been helping her mother since her teenage
years. Equipped with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, a
Diploma in Commercial Arts, and a lawyer, she has introduced new
vision to her mother's existing business. Being an accomplished artist
herself, she has held many intercollegiate titles for Mehendi design
and Rangoli.
Her expertise is Mehendi tattoos, with clients ranging from fashion
models to Michael Jackson entourage. She has expanded her business to
include decorations for weddings, religious ceremonies and parties.
She is an avid photographer and her other interests are pottery and
folk dancing.
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