Today we’d like to introduce you to Roshni Lakhiani.
Hi Roshni, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have been doing henna and drawing as a hobby since I was in high school. Henna was always so intriguing to me as it is art you can put on your body, but it can be continuously changed. In 2018 I had my daughter and quit my job to be a stay-at-home mom and did not have time for hobbies anymore. After a few years, I wanted to start doing something of my own. My husband’s cousin Nina and I started doing henna for fun together on weekends. The idea was hatched to turn this fun into a business in the summer of 2022. Since then, Nina and I have been building our portfolio and knowledge of henna. We do festivals and markets together on weekends, and I take private appointments on weekdays. I am now expanding to home decor items that I hand paint the henna on.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I have never had a business of my own before so there was definitely a learning curve. The art was the easy part, it was understanding how to handle the finances, advertising, social media, and quite frankly everything else but the art that was a bit of a challenge. We have learned which markets are right for us and who to trust. Since we have such supportive family and friends, there has not been any specific instance so far that has been a roadblock for us. They have given us great advice and have been around to help whenever we needed them. However, balancing a family and a new business can get tricky. I want to learn as much as I can about owning a business, so I have taken some classes plus, henna is a job that is usually nights and weekends. That is a lot of time taken away from family time.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We do modern designs while still keeping some of the traditional. We are one of the few in the area that has more modern designs. We also love to customize designs for each event that we go to. For example, if I am doing henna at an event at a farm, I have made farm animal henna designs. I am constantly taking henna classes to better myself as an artist and hope to eventually teach others about henna. If someone gives us an item to henna, we do that too!
What’s next?
I would love to eventually open a home decor boutique with items sourced from India and items we have hand-painted with henna designs on them.
Contact Info:
- Website: dallashennachicks.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/dallashennachicks
