Today we’d like to introduce you to Priya Chandel.
Hi Priya, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
We are a mother-daughter owned business so our stories are a bit different but beautifully intertwined.
Mom grew up in India and had a henna plant at home. Her strict grandfather didn’t allow the girls in her family to wear regular nail polish, so as is common in India, mom used to use henna to paint and stain her nails which worked as an all-natural exception to the rules.
Back then, there weren’t cones or fancy designs, people used to use their bare hands or toothpicks to apply it to their hands.
Fast forward to life in America, mom was shopping at Sam’s for a cake for my birthday and saw the baker using a piping bag to ice the cakes. Mom asked her how she made the bag and the woman taught her how to roll a cone and she took off from there!
Despite watching my mom apply henna to others throughout my younger years, my only pre-practice was using gel pens on my hands when I was in elementary and middle school. I didn’t pick up a cone until college after I developed a baking hobby because I loved how therapeutic decorating cakes and cupcakes was.
I came home during break one year and saw a cone and thought it was so similar and ended up giving myself a full henna sleeve. Once mom saw it, I was basically hired on.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The most challenging chapter was the few years I was living in Miami. It was difficult to live in one state building a business from the ground up while managing and operating a business in another.
At the time, I had started to develop a reputation for my specialization in bridal henna, but I no longer lived in-state so the only solution was to fly back to St. Louis frequently for wedding bookings, which as you can imagine was a challenge in itself.
When you build a business on your personal work, it becomes a struggle to find solutions to scale because at the end of the day, you cannot duplicate yourself: your energy, your style, or your skill. But since I didn’t physically live in St. Louis, there were many events I had to turn down or outsource to other talented artists in the area to support mom. This gap created an opportunity for other artists to start their own businesses, which naturally, led to a decrease in our own business.
Weighing a variety of factors like mom’s growing age, the influx of younger, more hungry artists, loss of clients, and my lack of physical presence, we had to seriously consider the longevity of our business and whether we wanted to continue putting energy into it or let it be consumed by others.
Although a challenge, I don’t see any of this as a negative thing. This is natural in business. I’m proud that our accomplishments and circumstances were able to launch, uplift, and empower other artists by being an example that when you nurture your creativity, passion, and skill, it can open many doors for you.
If anything, this has led to a larger, supportive community of artists who help and inspire one another.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are the first henna company in St. Louis, having provided henna services for over 40 years in the area.
We are recognized for being a mother-daughter duo which I feel adds weight to the element of tradition that is brought forward through this ancient art form.
Individually, mom is popularly known as a “sweet” person – both literally and figuratively. If you’ve ever booked mom for your appointment, you’ve surely left your session filled up on her delicious, hand-made Indian sweets.
As for me, I’m probably most known for my attention to detail and fine art work, which reflects both into my henna work and directly into our brand. It makes me proud when clients mention the artistic curation and style of our website or Instagram and say that’s how they knew we were professional, serious, and care about what we do.
We offer henna services for brides and wedding events, and also for corporate events, social events, birthday and graduation parties, baby showers, maternity sessions, confidence crowns and more.
We recently opened up a physical location in St. Charles where we offer individual appointment services as well as creative workshops and classes.
This physical location will also host my other henna brand, The Henna Alchemist. This brand was created out of my desire to bring meaning back to the art of henna, which through its growing popularity, has turned from a cultural tradition into an almost fast-fashion-like commodity.
The Henna Alchemist brings positive energy, genuine connection, intention, and healing back into this sacred art form. The designs are created to be symbolic to the client’s journey and what they are currently working through emotionally, physically, or both. The name itself is symbolic of how we have the power to alchemize pain into power, and how something as simple as a paste made from a plant (henna) can be the medium that creates the opportunity for such a transformative experience.
The Henna Alchemist sessions will be available for booking at our studio in St. Charles starting in November.
How do you define success?
Feeling peace. Feeling fueled. Feeling supported. Having an avenue for creative expression. Owning your time and being able to spend it with the ones you love.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hennatattoostl.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hennatattoostl
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hennatattoostl
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hennatattoostl
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/henna-tattoo-st-louis-saint-charles
