Meet Nitika Ghosh of Khoj.City – Making Upcycled Jewellery out of Cardboard

Nitika and her team have been upcycling cardboard and making beautiful handmade jewellery out of it. Let us hear from Nitika about her journey in building Khoj.City.

Nitika Ghosh 

1. When and how did you get the idea to start Khoj.City?

I was working in the development sector at Bharti Airtel and was in charge of the payroll giving of the employees for the Satya Bharti Schools project. In 2018, I got a maternity break and went to my maternal home in Calcutta. I had time on my hands. So, I started making fabric and wall paintings and coasters for my friends.

We had old notebook covers and sweet boxes at home. My mom was an arts and crafts teacher, and so from a young age, I have seen her upcycle materials to make art. So, I upcycled the cardboard and made a coaster with a lotus motif. One of my friends suggested that if I can attach a thread to the coaster, she can wear it around her neck. This gave an idea to make earrings and neckwear out of upcycled cardboard and the concept of Khoj.City was born.

Aviva Handcrafted Necklace

2. What were the initial steps in forming Khoj.City?

My husband also was working in the development sector for UNICEF. I developed the website for Khoj.City with the help of my husband. We applied for the website domain name City at GoDaddy and got it. We integrated a platform named Shopify on the website which made shopping simple.

On 8^th May 2019, we registered the company in the name of Ekhoj Enterprises Pvt Ltd. Simultaneously, we launched Khoj.City on all social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter along with the website. Our first office was a co-working space in Gurgoan which was established in June 2019.

My cousin sister Priyanka Das who lives in Calcutta was also good at painting and artwork. So, both of us joined hands to create the jewellery. Initially, we scouted for ideas on Pinterest for hand-painted jewellery and finalized 5 designs. 

Jiera Handcrafted Earrings

 3. How did you further develop the designs of the beautiful earrings and neckwear?

We hired an intern from NIFT, Coonoor. He specialized in art and photography. Every week, we brainstormed as a team. I was good at tribal motifs. Priyanka was good at flower designs. We got ideas from Google search. We also had a collection of hand drawings we had done in our childhood. Combining everything we came up with design ideas. Now, we have more than 250 designs for our brand Khoj.City. 

Amari Yellow Handcrafted Necklace

4. Can you tell us more about the upcycled materials for making jewellery?

We don’t buy fabric that covers the cardboard for the jewellery. We get the leftover cloth pieces or katrans from the local tailors. When the orders increased, upcycling cardboard was not sufficient. So, we bought soft cardboards from stationery shops.  

5. The size of the earrings and chain pendants is quite big like 3 x 2.5 inches. How did you decide to go for such big jewellery?  

Big and bold accessories make a style statement. Even though it is big, the jewellery material is cardboard and so it is lightweight. We use acrylic fabric paints for painting. If the canvas is big, it is easy to paint beautiful designs. 

Alyssa Blue Handcrafted Earrings

6. Can you describe the process of making an earring or neckwear?  

First, we do a sketch on paper. Next, we decide the shape – circle, flower, or square. Then, we select the colours for the design. Priyanka or I do a sample first. Once we are happy with the sample, we do the painting and assembling. Then we do a photoshoot and launch the product on the website.  

7. How have you empowered employees of Khoj.City?  

Initially, on paper, I was the Director and we had internal funding. Our first employee Sujata Adhikari is in charge of collaborations and marketing. She now has a 1 percent partnership in the company. Apart from that, we have given a platform for many homemakers like Priyanka Das to showcase their skills.  

Priyanka Das 

8. Can you tell us more about your office spaces?  

We usually go in for co-working spaces for our customer service, social media creative team, and operations team. We have such offices now in Calcutta and Greater Noida.  

We have people for assembling the pieces with beads, metals, and threads. Some are involved in packaging. Some people paint on sarees. We also need warehouses. For such purposes, we have rented houses at Calcutta and Greater Noida.

9. Where all do you deliver now?  Do you have customers outside India?  

We ship all over India. We have minimal abroad orders now. These orders are more on a personal basis for family and friends in Australia, the USA, and Bangladesh. We don’t have a global store on the website as of now. We plan to have one in the next 6 months.  

Masked Beauty Necklace

10. What is the most difficult part of your work? Which is the easiest? 

Painting and launching new designs is our passion and it is easy. The difficult part is shipping and keeping the delivery timelines. The weather also plays a big role. On sunny days, hand paintings dry up fast. On other days, it takes longer to dry. Some customers want to have 10 pieces immediately. So, we have operational challenges. But, some customers love to wait. We now have courier partners who deliver in the villages also.  

Pescado Handcrafted Earring 

11. You also sell sarees online. How do you identify artisans?  

There is no set process. We advertise in the website and people have contacted us directly. We place orders for Kota Doria sarees in Kaithun village of Rajasthan. In Kaithun, every house has a loom. Even during pandemic we placed 3 orders and helped the weavers. We get Bengal sarees from Bankura in West Bengal. We have distant relatives who sell us sarees from Bengal.  

We wish Nitika all success in her future endeavours.

Khoj.City website: https://www.khoj.city/

Khoj.City Instagram handle: @ekhojcity 

Rhim Jhim Handcrafted Earring