We were lucky to catch up with Artee Kumar recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Artee thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
The timing of when I started my business was so perfect because there was a void in the market for my niche. My parents are immigrants that came to the US in the mid 1970’s from India. Our weddings are very different. They are elaborate and involve many different ceremonies which also require specific hair, makeup and styling. There were very few to none artists that could offer the full package. Most brides would have to go to a full service salon where the owner did all that and also serviced regular clients. When I got married in 2002 I realized there wasn’t anyone offering the full package plus coming to the brides location. I knew at that time I was solving a problem no one else was solving.
Artee, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Artee Kumar. I co founded Blush and Glow LLC in 2005 and Blush and Glow Cosmetics in 2014. I provide hair, makeup and styling to Indian Brides. I also teach makeup classes and have developed a full line of Cosmetics. I built this company on passion. The first ten years of the business I also worked a full time corporate job and did this on the weekends simply because I truly enjoyed it.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
After I had my daughter in 2014 I decided to leave my corporate job and focus full time on my business. I took a chance on myself and I haven’t looked back since. It was the best decision I have ever made. Being your own boss is so rewarding.
We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process./
After teaching hundreds of makeup lessons and sending my clients home with a list of products to buy from other brands it clicked that I need to be creating these products. With the help of my business partner we contacted manufacturers and attended beauty tradeshows. We started off with mink lashes and added products slowly. All our products are fully funded by us. We worked with my cosmetics and packaging vendors. We made many mistakes along the way and even lost money. Everything has been a learning lesson. I would recommend choosing a manufacture that you are able to visit during production or hiring a quality control specialist.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.blushandglowcosmetics.com
- Instagram: @blushandglow @blushandglowcosmetics @arteekumar
- Facebook: facebook.com/blushandglowllc
- Twitter: @blushandglow
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/blushandglow