THE BRAND

The Playful Indian brand is all about putting smiles on peoples faces and spreading happiness. It’s about sharing a love of (mostly) food through my cheesy food pun cards and gifts or motivating those around you with positive quotes in the form of art prints. 

It’s also about tying together both east and west cultures through South Asian festivals such as Diwali and Raksha Bandhan and creating modern cards and gifts and keeping traditions alive. 

THE FACE BEHIND THE BRAND

It all started with a dream… I joke, I joke, well, kind of. Hi, I’m Dina, i started this whole thing off because I felt like there was a lack of modern, funny Asian greeting cards. I studied graphic design and illustration at university so it must have been my destiny… also the typical Asian jobs my parents wanted me to do were no good for me:
1 – I can’t count so accountancy wasn’t an option
2 – I have a bad memory, so being a doctor/ nurse was not a good idea
3 – I don’t know anything about engineering!

In 2012, I left a full-time job to make cards, with the help of The Prince’s Trust Programme. I used to make everything from cards to jewellery to knitted scarves and more – I didn’t really have a plan! 

In 2014, I rebranded and The Playful Indian was born – aaaaaaahhhhhh. I also was back at work full-time – booooo. This was so I could pay rent and bills and feed myself and my cat of course. I spent a lot of time developing the brand and creating products and building up awareness to get to where I am now. I also like to think the brand and the name represents me as a person – fun, colourful and witty. 

Cut to 2019, I gave up a full-time job to put all my time and effort into making this work properly and seeing where it takes me because it is my dream and I want to spread all the happiness around but also remind people that our culture is important and we need to keep it alive. 

Right so, that’s me. I better get back to this work thing now…