Today we’d like to introduce you to Chhaya (Charu) Rege.
Hi Chhaya (Charu), thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I first started my journey as a henna artist in India after seeing the incredible work done by other henna artists at weddings and holiday celebrations. Seeing their skill and dedication inspired me to channel my inner artist as well. I started learning how to do henna (known as mehndi in India) in my home city of Pune before moving to New York in 1996. At the time, I was still shy about doing my art in public, and so I continued my work as a microbiologist instead. However, one day I was at a street fair, and a certain booth caught my eye. In that booth was a man doing henna tattoos for dozens of people. Seeing the customers’ enthusiasm and love for something so integral to my culture gave me the drive to get over my nervousness. I decided to do henna myself and began practicing on anyone who would let me (mostly my friends and family). When I gained some confidence in my skills, I started my business in small pop-up markets in New York City, just to try it out. It was a huge success and especially important for me because I had recently become a single mom. I was working in a middle school then, and my henna job was flexible enough that I could do it even with my other job. This gave me more time to take care of my kids, as I wanted to ensure they could succeed in life. Eventually, I decided to move with my two children, and we came to Austin six years ago. It was slow at first, as being in a new city was very confusing and I had no idea where I should start. But eventually, with the help of my family and the friends I made in this new place, I became a vendor for the city of Austin. Currently, I live in Round Rock, and so my business takes place in both cities. It has started growing quite a bit due to the popularity of live music events artwork in Austin. I do a number of different events, from festivals and weddings to birthday parties and even corporate events. I am very excited to discover what the future holds for me, I can’t wait to share my passion with all my customers!
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?
It certainly was not a smooth road, but that’s what made it exciting! When I first started learning how to do henna in India, I had gotten into a serious car accident and ended up with a severely injured right hand. Luckily, I was still able to do henna once I recovered, but the injury made me lose my motivation for quite a while. It wasn’t until I saw people doing henna in Manhattan that I gained the confidence to start again. Later, when we moved to Austin, being a single mom meant there was a lot of struggle with settling down and finding a new job to support my kids. I couldn’t solely rely on my business yet, as I had no idea where to start and no exposure. I ended up being an assistant-teacher in a school in downtown Austin, where I helped with fundraising by volunteering to do henna. Everyone loved it, and a few of my colleagues helped me expand my network so that I could further improve my business. Even then, it wasn’t smooth sailing. Troubles with commuting to work and my business consumed a lot of time, as well as trying to balance all that and having time for my kids. Then there were the things that no one could ever predict: like the time a tornado passed by one of my events, and the resulting wind threw my tent into a tree! Luckily, no one was hurt, and now it is just a funny story I can tell people when they come to get henna done. Overall, I’m proud of my success, and all the troubles I went through just helped me improve and get more joy out of my passion. I hope my story can inspire other women, especially single mothers, to follow their dreams and become successful.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My business specializes in henna tattoos. I use all natural, organic henna that I mix myself. I make my formula using henna powder, therapeutic essential oils, and sugar. I find this really important, as many people nowadays use premade henna cones, which is often synthetically made and has dangerous chemicals/colorings. For example, black henna, which is synthetic and contains the chemical paraphenylenediamine (PPD), is popular because of how quickly it colors the skin. However, this kind of henna often burns one’s skin and can leave red marks where it was applied, as well as causing allergic reactions in some people. I despise synthetic and dangerous substances like black henna, which is why I make the paste myself, and use organic ingredients. I specialize in henna for all types of events, including weddings, festivals, parties, individual orders and corporate events. One of the things I am well known for is my speed; I can do many different designs in less than 5 minutes, and I also customize designs to fit my customer’s budget. If a customer really likes a certain design, but it is too expensive for them, I can freehand a similar design that falls within their price range. I do this because I know how difficult it can be to get something you want while on a tight budget, especially with the pandemic raging on, and I really want to give people a design they can afford that they will come to cherish. One of the things that makes me the most proud is when a customer sends me a picture of them getting a real tattoo of the design I did for them. It shows me just how much they appreciate my artwork and helps motivate me even more. One thing I firmly believe in is giving back to society, and so one thing I do is give free head crown designs for cancer patients who lost their hair. It really gives me a lot of happiness to give joy to people who have gone through so much struggle and still never give up, and I see doing their design as a sort of celebration of their inner strength.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
One fond childhood memory I have is when I made a hand-drawn portrait of the Indian prime minister at the time: Mrs. Indira Gandhi. I was elated when after I had sent the portrait to her, she actually sent a personal letter of thanks back to me! It was one of many cherished experiences that helped inspire me to further my artistic career after all these years.
Contact Info:
- Email: chhayadalaya@gmail.com
- Website: https://hennabycharu.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hennabycharu/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hennabycharu/
