Maker story: Nilofer poured a business out of her balcony
From one coaster set in 2024 to a full studio in Bandra. What she'd tell you to buy first — and what to skip.
Nilofer Sheikh bought a starter bench in March 2024 because she wanted a set of coasters for her mother. She now runs a six-person studio in Bandra and supplies three hotel groups.
The first year
"I poured on a balcony with a bedsheet over the railing to stop the dust. Everything I made for four months was slightly wrong and I sold all of it anyway, at cost, because I needed to know what people would actually pick up."
What she'd buy first, again
- The scale. Not the pretty things — the scale.
- A proper respirator, day one
- One good mould instead of six cheap ones
- Enough resin to make the same piece three times
What she'd skip
"Forty colours. I bought a forty-eight colour set in month two and I have used eleven of them. Buy a small set and learn what your palette actually is before you buy the cabinet."
Nobody's first hundred pieces are good. The trick is making the first hundred quickly.— Nilofer Sheikh
Put it into practice
Everything in this article, on one bench.
Our starter benches ship with enough material for two attempts and a printed pour card — so the technique above has somewhere to land.