We recently connected with Suhani Parikh and have shared our conversation below.

Suhani, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. undefined

For Suhenna, the very core of the company was based off innovation. Growing up in a South Asian community, I was surrounded by rich culture and tradition, including the art of henna itself. I was fascinated with it, but always remembered myself being sad when the color would begin to fade. Suhenna started as me just doing henna, but in order for me to grow as an artist, I needed to practice, to hone in on my craft, and I very quickly ran out of hands to practice on. That’s when the “Creations” portion of Suhenna Creations was born.
I bought a small tube of paint, washed and rolled a chip bag into a henna cone, mixed that cheap paint with corn starch to thicken it, and covered an empty wine bottle my aunt had gifted me in henna patterns. That’s when it occurred to me that the art of henna which is so famously and traditionally known to fade over time, could be preserved for lifetimes with a simple change in medium.
This opened an entirely new world for my small business and became the backbone of what kept my creativity flowing over the years. Suddenly, I no longer needed to convince people to let me “try out a new design on.” Whatever ideas I thought up, I was able to execute.
Now as I enter my office and look at the endless supply of quality paints, canvases, and an environment so thoughtfully curated to reflect each hurdle I jumped over, each problem I solved, and all the little quirks that I somehow made work, I think back to that $0.25 bottle of paint, the dollar store corn starch, empty chip bag and “recycled” wine bottle that got me to this very spot that a younger version of myself would be so incredibly proud of.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My South Asian background was not something I grew up being openly proud of. We’ve read the story one too many times of the child that gets bullied for the hair on their arms, the lunch they unpack, the oil in their hair, and it all feels so familiar and cliche until you’re the one that story is about. I was born in California, but my parents, more specifically my Mother, did their very best to raise me with as much culture and tradition she could fit into my little self. In hindsight, I am unexplainably grateful for it, but I would be lying if I said there wasn’t a period in my life where I wasn’t as loudly expressive.
Looking back at that younger version of myself, I am immensely proud that today I have grown this business solely based on that beautiful culture I was brought up on. There is something freeing and rewarding about being so openly proud, and expressive about a part of yourself you spent so long hiding and I hope that with Suhenna, I am able to serve as an inspiration to those still finding themselves in that place.
Being creative in a South Asian community has never been loudly celebrated or accepted, and it was and is one of the most difficult decisions I continue to make, but on the days where a message pops up in my dm’s telling me that after years, someone finally decided to post something they made, or finished a piece of art they started forever ago – it makes it all so worth it.
At the end of the day, I hope the work I do inspires people. I hope it gives people a reason to create, to pick up where they left off on something. To be creative, or to have the opportunity to express oneself creatively is such a blessing we take for granted, and this community we are part of has not made it easy to prioritize this corner of our lives in the slightest. I hope the work I do and share tells people that it’s okay, more than okay, to take a moment, an afternoon, a weekend to just create.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

If there is one thing I know I could have approached differently, it was knowing when I needed help. It is so engrained into our minds at such a young age that we must take care of things on our own, do things ourselves, and if we don’t, it’s seen as a bit of a failure. “Why are you unable to handle things on your own?” “It’s not that hard, you should be able to handle it..”
In 2020, Suhenna grew faster than I could have ever imagined. I was in over my head so deep I wasn’t even able to see it.
I did everything I could to make sure I was running this business to the best of my ability but the little voice in the back of my head kept telling me I had to do it alone.
Granted, I had my family who stepped in and generously offered their help whenever they were able, but looking back, I could have probably used a few extra hands.
Knowing when to bring help is one thing, but the struggle for me personally was letting up on the reigns I had on my business. Building a small business from scratch is not for the weak, and the more it grows, the more of yourself you pour into it, and the more childlike the business becomes. I could not fathom the idea of someone other than myself handling the operations or details of Suhenna because I knew that even in a perfect world, no one could care about it or put in the same level of work that I could. A bit of a pretentious trait, yes, but more so in the light of preserving what I worked so hard for.
This is still something I actively struggle with, knowing full well I could be growing more if I brought in experts in certain fields that are not my strong suits, but we live and we learn.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I started Suhenna when I was 15 years old, which made me a sophomore in high school. Between attending school for the majority of my day, after school clubs and sports, and marching band (yes, I was a band kid), I did not have an abundant amount of free time to bring in an income of any kind. I also was not of legal age to get a proper job, so that was a challenge in itself. Thankfully, I grew up watching food network for fun, so I took all of the knowledge I swore I’d accumulated to my parents kitchen and started baking. Cake pops were all the craze when I was in high school, they weren’t nearly as popular as they are today which made them harder to find and easier to sell. I would make dozens of cake pops every week, and sell them for no more than $0.50 a piece, and I did this for months. I bought my first tubes of paint with this money and from that point forward, very quickly understood the concept of reinvesting and spending money to make money.
I continued to reinvest every penny I would make from this little side hustle until I was able to land an actual job, ironically as a cake decorator at what is arguably the best bakery in my hometown. I would spend every day there after school, most weekends too, and did the exact same thing pouring every single penny right back into Suhenna. This lasted years, along with a few other jobs and a lot of sleepless nights, but I worked until I was able to fully run Suhenna completely on my own, and I have been since.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.suhenna.com
• Instagram: @suhenna_creations
• Facebook: Suhenna Creations
• Linkedin: Suhani Parikh
• Youtube: suhenna
• Other: tiktok: @suhenna_creations
  Etsy: Suhenna CreationsInstagram of my sister business: @suhennastudios
  Personal instagram: @suhaniparikh