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Pinches Artcore was a busi­ness born online and is now thriving there. With social media, and Instagram in partic­ular, as its main platform, the company sells customized cush­ions, t-shirts and mobile phone covers, and is soon expanding into other personalized gift items. It is a good example of the success of social networking and peer-to-peer marketing online, even in a relatively poor country like Nepal. Shreya Joshi, the CEO of Pinches Artcore, started in 2012 as a freelance artist making wall art and hand-painted t-shirts on order. “I have always been interested in drawing and paint­ing. As a youngster, I started taking orders for customized hand-painted t-shirts and wall murals from friends and close circles,” says Joshi. “I had never thought I would be doing this full time as a profession.” With a passion for visual arts, Joshi first put her skills to good use to earn some pocket money. After get­ting an MBA from a local uni­versity, she started working for private organizations, with the eventual target of joining the banking industry.

“My family wanted me to be a banker and after getting ini­tial exposure of the corporate world, I applied to a few banks,” she says. Her applications were rejected. Instead, “a top banker at one bank encouraged me to continue with my work as an artist and become self-em­ployed. He said he saw potential in what I was doing.” Her big push towards entrepreneurship came via the renowned actress Priyanka Karki, whom she sees as the main inspiration behind the launch of Pinches Artcore.

“Priyanka had ordered some cushions from me to give to her fans. She was pleased with my work and recommended that I put my skills to productive use instead of looking for other jobs,” Joshi says.

“Priyanka then did some posts about me on her social media accounts, which gave an early boost to my career.” Kar­ki’s social media posts brought an influx of queries and orders for Joshi’s merchandise and thus Pinches Artcore as a company came into existence in September 2017.

With a starting price of RS 500, Pinches Artcore merchan­dise is popular among the youth for their innovative designs and personalized touch. One can have their loved ones’ names, photos or any other illustrated images printed on high-qual­ity cushion covers with com­fortable pillows inside and get them delivered at their door­steps. From a small office in Old Baneswhor, Joshi and her team cater to customers from all over the country. “Almost all my orders come from Instagram. I actively promote my business on social media and my market­ing costs are a bare minimum,” Joshi says.

Pinches Artcore client list includes actors, musicians, bankers, socialites and celebri­ties from all walks of lives who help the business by promoting its products on social media. The option to personalize mer­chandise and order instantly from computers or phones makes Pinches Artcore a digi­tally compatible business with no need for heavy expenses on marketing, advertisement and showrooms. Online catalogues and interaction with custom­ers help it take any kind of cus­tomized order. Using a team of dedicated delivery personnel as well as local couriers, the orders are sent to the doorsteps of customers in no time.

As raw materials are sourced from local markets and recy­clable, handmade materials used for packaging, the busi­ness thrives as a low-investment entrepreneurship based on cre­ative and presentation skills. “I am planning to visit a few over­seas markets to source material in bigger bulks as well as to look for new ideas for expansion,” the 29-year-old entrepreneur says. “If things go as planned, I will be taking bulk orders from corporate clients. In the near future, I plan to launch my own clothing line as well”.  

A total of 485,586 students are appearing in the secondary education examinations (SEE), which started on March 22. The exams are being held simultane­ously at 1,956 exam centers across the country.

The exams, which are held at the end of grade 10, span 13 days, start­ing with the English paper on the first day. Arrangements have also been made for practical examina­tions in all compulsory subjects except mathematics.

Following the eighth amendment to the Education Act-1972, the erst­while School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examinations, were scrapped and replaced by the SEE last year.

To conduct the SEE examina­tions, some 64,762 people are being deployed this year. AGENCIES

PAV’s Sindhuli district chief Ramala Bhandari said that Rs 517 million has been invested via the revolving fund and another Rs 256 million on infrastructure develop­ment. Under the latter category, there have been invest­ments in micro-hydro plants, schools, farmers’ markets, farm product storage centers, irrigation channels, etc, all of which contribute to income generation and capacity building of low-income families.

According to Bhandari, the PAV has completed 12 income generation projects and 242 infrastructure proj­ects in the district by collaborating with 10 local partner organizations. She said that all such projects will soon be handed over to the newly elected local bodies.  

By RAJAN GAUNLE | SINDHULI

Speaking at the event, Subedi praised Shah’s writing as a lively portrayal of characters from all over the world, which are in turn inspired by his many trips abroad during his Nepal Police days. Bhuinkhaat is a compilation of eight stories.

“Mahesh Bikram is one writer who makes me jealous,” Nayan Raj Pandey, another renowned author, said at the event. “His writings envision an inclusive society that is also diverse. From stories of Mad­hes to those related to the country’s political developments, Bhuinkhaat has it all.”

Author Shah, a retired police officer, is also an established name in Nepali literature. “For an author, the release of one of his creations is a cause of great celebration,” he said at the event. “My parents have always been my biggest inspiration and I would like to thank especially my father for encouraging me to write from an early age. He used to correct the letters I wrote to him when I was abroad.”

Before Bhuinkhaat, Shah had released “Satahaa”, “Sipahiki Swasni”, “Chapamaar ko Cho­ro”, “African Amigo”, “Jackson Height” and “Kathmanduma Com­rade”. APEX BUREAU