Jyotsna K, a SAP technical analyst, has an additional name card, which qualifies her as a craftsman of greeting cards, the process of which is always customized and sometimes elaborate, taking several days to create. Her works are available on Instagram (@that.corporate.artist), with the page’s title alluding to the two parallel universes she inhabits. Creating handmade greeting cards with a tone for the recipient rather than any other creature in the entire universe was not her daily job; It never was, and didn’t turn into one on the way. On the basis that the work presented on Insta through Reels is extremely good, this may turn out to be their primary job. Therefore his explanation is justified.
Jyotsna K (@that.corporate.artist) is a SAP technical analyst whose corporate job lasts from 4 pm to 1 am. She devotes a few quiet hours of the morning to her art. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“I never planned it as a business,” explains Jyotsna. “People kept asking me to create something meaningful for their loved one. That trust propelled me forward. Working evening shifts as a SAP technical analyst (4 pm to 1 am) gives me a few quiet hours in the morning, which I dedicate to my art – usually about three hours for creating orders or filming reels. On weekends, I do bulk work. I shoot content and schedule it throughout the week. It’s not always easy to balance the two, but doing something I really love brings a lot of joy and keeps me going.”
Apart from creating personalized greeting cards for customers, she also teaches how to make them through workshops. The stack of reels on his Insta page act somewhat like tutorials, offering DIY greeting card ideas for special days – Teacher’s Day, Father’s Day, etc.
A laborious but gratifying way of greeting someone. Jyotsna K. A work by Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Handmade cards clearly don’t come off an assembly line, and they waste time like gourmets. On average, work on a handmade card is completed in two days, apparently given she has a corporate job, and free hours are taken away from those days. But Jyotsna also runs a marathon with these good wishes. Scrap books containing ten to twelve pages took several days, while resin elements took up to six days to dry. “The wait becomes part of the experience,” says Jyotsna, who hails from Adyar. “When someone orders a New Year card early, it already shows care.”
Personalization is always an unexpected child, there is no telling what new demands it has lurking beside it. Some subscribers come with reference reels saved on their phones, but many come with stories instead. “They tell me about their journeys, their relationships, their memories,” she says. These narratives are translated visually through photographs, handwritten messages, song references, dates and timelines. “It’s never just decoration. It’s about their story.”
Handmade greeting cards start at ₹200, while scrapbooks are priced per page depending on the complexity. Pricing often invites questions. “To some people, it just looks like paper,” she admits. “But behind it all there is time, creative effort, lots of revisions and quality materials. Only the manufacturer understands the patience involved.”
Jyotsna observed that young customers respond strongly to handmade New Year wishes. “Gen Z values emotional connection,” she says. “They want something intentional. Something that feels chosen, not forwarded.”
warmth on paper
At the age of 11, a child would not be expected to carry projects from craft class at school to home, let alone carry the weight of a craft-based brand on his slender shoulders.
Kavya Arvind at work; 11-year-old child creates customized greeting cards from quilled paper. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
11-year-old Kavya Aravind fulfills the latter responsibility without being deterred by her toughness. Kavya, a student of Velachery-based Sunshine Chennai Senior Secondary School, runs Crafty Kings, designing greeting cards, making flowers, trees and festive motifs (an immediate example being the Christmas tree) from thin paper strips. Making greeting cards fits into the margins of her days around school, homework and weekends – the support she receives from her parents ensures that she does the balancing act admirably.
“I started making greeting cards when I was in third grade,” says Kavya. She learned the art of quilling from a neighbor, starting with a simple card decorated with quilled flowers. Keeping no limits creatively, Kavya honors the power of seasonality while creating greeting cards. For example, Christmas and New Year have their own unique idioms, flavors, and even tropes. She adapts the designs to the language of the season without any complaint. “My friends asked me to make Christmas greeting cards with a tree,” she says, as if such requests were inevitable.
Some greeting cards made by Kavya. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Simple greeting cards can be completed in twenty to thirty minutes; Intricately designed, about an hour. The equipment is modest. paper. Quilling strips. glue. A thin quilling tool. Yet the smallest step often proves the most unforgivable. “The sticking part is the hardest,” admits Kavya. “If we don’t apply the right amount of glue, it will come off and we’ll have to start over.”
Kavya has priced her greeting card at ₹200; and canvas wall hanger at ₹250. Orders now come through WhatsApp groups.
published – December 27, 2025 06:34 pm IST