Canvasso Nepal is one of the very few start-ups, that have brought about a revolution in the Nepali market. It has been able to gain huge popularity and demand among the people within a short time period. Not only that, Canvasso Nepal has proven that with proper research, dedication, and continued efforts, everything is within the grasp of our hands.
As the name suggests, Canvasso Nepal is an art startup that provides services – mostly related to art fields. This startup was initiated back in the year 2020 in October with the aim of providing quality art pieces at affordable prices. Since then, this startup has been operating committed to its aim and improving the scopes of art fields as well.
The main thing that makes ‘Canvasso Nepal‘ unique from others is that it offers you art pieces or portraits that you can hold within your hand/palm. Kool, isn’t it?
If you look into the market, most portraits and art pieces available there costs no less than Rs. 1500 – Rs. 5000. Along with that price, most of the paintings are wall paintings that are not ‘that’ portable. And this is where Canvasso Nepal comes to the rescue. Yup, it provides you with not only affordability but portability as well.
At Canvasso Nepal, you get portraits and art paintings at relatively cheaper prices than the general artworks which you can keep in your pockets and take wherever you like as well. These portraits and art paintings are relatively way smaller than the general A4 size ones. Basically, these art paintings are known as mini-canvas as they are painted on small canvases.
In the earlier days, Canvasso Nepal struggled to thrive in the market before being formally established. The unavailability of mini-canvases and extraordinary idea were some of the major obstacles. However, the founder at Canvasso Nepal looked into the Chinese Market and ordered about 10,000 mini-canvases (3 inches x 3 inches) in the first lot. This was about 6 months before formally inaugurating the business.
Canvasso Nepal was founded by Aman Shakya, a 22 years old young man who is currently pursuing Bachelor’s degree in Travel and Tourism. He started Canvasso Nepal with the aim to make art portraits affordable to everyone and portable as well. As of that time, mostly, big and medium-sized paintings were in practice and were way too costly for any individual to afford.
He explains, “I used to be one of those who wanted to give art pieces to parents and friends as gifts. But the art pieces would be so expensive that a mere teenager like me couldn’t afford it.”
Realizing that issue, Shakya wanted to do something different and solve this issue.
During that time, TikTok was having a huge surge in growth in Nepal and was gaining the attention of more and more people. Almost everyone was hungover for making TikTok videos and gaining popularity. However, Shakya wasn’t fascinated by those short-term goals and mentality.
He says that he isn’t a big fan of TikTok but thanks to it and YouTube, he was able to initiate a startup which would later be known as ‘Canvasso Nepal.’
But what does TikTok has to do anything with ‘Canvasso Nepal‘?
Remember in the above lines, I mentioned that Shakya wanted to do something different?
So, the thing is that back then, he saw miniatures bikes, cars, and many other miniatures things on social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube. He noticed that people were really fascinated by those kinds of stuff and were hooked upon by the fact that they were actually small and existed. And this thing inspired him and the idea of making paintings on mini canvases struck his mind.
As of now, everything is at ease for the management at Canvasso Nepal, and they don’t have to worry about thriving anymore. It is so because every month, they receive about 500-600 orders. As a matter of fact, the demand is so high that a customer has to wait for about two weeks to get their order delivered.
Since Canvasso Nepal is more of a family business, its exact net worth is not available to the general public. Yet, Canvasso Nepal is able to generate monthly revenue of around Rs. 100,000 excluding all the expenses. Aman Shakya, the founder of Canvasso Nepal, shares that one work from Canvasso Nepal costs around Rs. 800 – Rs. 1500, which is a decent price for the valuable work that they provide.
As per the analysis of the factual data, the estimated net worth of Canvasso Nepal is about Rs. 500,000. Though the monthly revenue is huge, most of it is used to cover the expenses of the art supplies, salaries of the artists, and other related expenses as well. Though these numbers are estimations only, it is without a doubt that the startup is surely going to achieve more than just these in the upcoming years.
However, the conditions were really contrary and unfavorable in the beginning phases of Canvasso Nepal. Shakya had wandered around many places including Bhotahiti, Bhaktapur, and Patan, looking for places to source his mini canvases. But people didn’t show any interest in his idea. Yet, he was not among the ones to easily give up.
So, to make it more practical, he then painted the canvas and gave about 10-15 such paintings to his aunt’s souvenir store in Patan. When he did that, his mini canvases finally started to sell and the sales scaled up in the store. After that, the demand grew from other stores as well.
“Although I received mixed responses initially, they were asking me to supply about 300 such art pieces at once,” Shakya shares.
When the orders started to come in huge numbers, he then decided to formally start his art business startup, Canvasso Nepal. The word Canvasso is comprised of two words, Canvas and Picasso where Nepal is there to represent the place where the heart of the business is located.
Related: I Am The Gardener – A Startup That Changed The Status Of Horticulture Industry In Nepal
Before initiating Canvasso Nepal, joined the House of Palettes, a painting studio in Lalitpur, when he was 17. He there used to work as an assistant to serve the customers and manage the paintings there.
“I had just joined the 11th grade at that time, Yet, I decided to take the job to earn my pocket money.”, Shakya remembers, ” But, gradually, my fascination with arts and paintings kept on growing while working there.”
His works are not only popular in Nepal but in the International Market as well. As a result, he receives a lot of orders from many international countries including the USA, Australia, and Canada. Due to his dedication and astonishing business module, he has been able to achieve many such great feats.
Currently, there are about eight artists working at Canvasso Nepal. Canvasso Nepal is more of a family business than a professional one. It is so because everything is based at Shakya’s home where his mom makes the boxes to pack the paintings, his sister handles the social media pages, and he and the team make art paintings.
In a recent interview, he said, “Now, I want to combine travel and painting and am looking forward to starting Canvasso Nepal’s studio and website. I want to form a team of great artists and explore different art forms.”
Canvasso Nepal has also been appreciated by many Nepali artists, influencers, and celebrities as well for its contribution to Nepali Art Field.
One of them said, “It (the mini canvas painting) is one the greatest gifts of my life because it’s the first time I have ever received such a gift. I surely going to take good care of it throughout my life. Thank You, Canvasso Nepal!!”
I’m sure you have heard about Paradygm TV and watch their YouTube videos, right?
If so then you must know about their gift session (at the later/ending parts of their videos) where they provide various gifts to the ones who take part in their games. Among the many supporters of Paradygm TV, Canvasso Nepal is one of them and provides gifts for the participants.
The gifts that Canvasso Nepal provides are mainly mini canvas portraits of either the participants or their loved ones. The participants are mainly known personalities, influencers/YouTubers, and celebrities. No matter what their field is, all these participants are always fascinated by Canvasso Nepal’s work and really appreciate their work. You can check their reactions for yourself at Paradygm TV’s YouTube Channel.
To be honest, I also got to know about Canvasso Nepal through Paradygm TV only and I’m really glad I did.
For the creation of this article, I took some references from other articles and posts as well. A big thanks to them for their help. Here are some of the references that I used:
