eyecatching!

eyecatching Founder Sahan Dissanayake

By Fathima Riznaz Hafi

Tableware, signboards and other products attractively designed from wood are what eco-friendly entrepreneur Sahan Dissanayake has to offer. Having a deep interest in wood carved products, he started off by making bowls and plates and is now experimenting with new items based on customer feedback and also from ideas that pop up in his head once in a while. 

His neatly and elegantly designed cutlery has been well received not only by the locals but many foreigners, with repeat customers and requests for customised cutlery. 

This may come as a surprise but prior to launching this venture Sahan was an accomplished banker for 12 years and holds an MBA. Though it may seem like the perfect picture, he was not happy with what he was doing as his heart was elsewhere. 

Here we explore not only a start-up venture but also a young man’s journey from a career that was suffocating him, to one that’s gotten him so excited he just can’t stop talking about it. He shares with the Weekend FT the new found happiness, obstacles faced to achieve it, valuable lessons learnt and the undying zest that kept him going.

He started off talking about how he had always wanted to be an architect because he likes to create beauty and art but somehow due to the education system, ended up becoming a banker. Sahan has a creative streak in him – something he says banking has no use for. He wanted to use his imagination and his hands to create beauty while all he was dealing with day-in and day-out were ‘numbers’ and technical details. He was understandably frustrated and wanted a way out. 

One day he received a letter from his past lecturer. This letter marked the turning point in his life because this was when his ‘way out’ suddenly dawned on him – something that has been on the back of his head for years called ‘eyecatching’ that he just never got around to doing, was his ticket out of the misery. eyecatching was an idea he had presented as part of a project when he was doing his postgraduate some time back and his lecturer had liked it and wrote this letter later to check up on how well that was going. That’s when it really struck him that the time had come.  

So after a 10-year lapse, eyecatching came back to his mind and he finally embarked on this new venture that was going to take him to a whole new world – the one he had been seeking for years.

Commencement was easier than he thought because he had already presented the initial five-year plan for the postgraduate project and everything was in line. Now he simply had to gather all the related assignments and create the full plan.

Research

After creating the plan, he set off on some field research. “I really wanted to do something from wood and I wanted to do something different. I found that wooden plates and bowls are very rare in our market though we have good carpenters and good artists in Sri Lanka. So I thought I’ll start from that,” he said. 

Going through great lengths to learn the art, he sought the help of a local carpenter who he met in 2005, spending long hours in his workshop, working as his apprentice, so he could get first-hand experience and a sound understanding as to what goes into the carpentry process. 

“I also did a market search on the types of wood used and didn’t want to go for ‘kithul’ because it’s quite common. I studied the wood and looked for things like the hardness rating and how it reacts to weather. I chose mahogany.”

Then the initial stage started. “I started with a plate, bowl and beetle holder and learnt it all from him. Next I set out to try and meet people who are successfully running well-known gallery-type places. I wanted to sell my merchandise through them and also learn something from them – the marketing and sales part – but they were either busy or not interested.” 

Still, making the best of the situation, when an appointment with them got cancelled, he wouldn’t just give up and go home, he’d sit outside the boutique in his car and study the trend of the gallery. “I’d sit there for more than four hours and observe the crowd that is coming, what kind of buying pattern they have, the market segment for those kinds of things, etc. Sitting outside the boutiques I realised that there really is a market for this although these sorts of products are quite expensive. If I take this area (Kottawa) there is no market; so I had to identify such facts,” he said.

Craftsmanship

The crafting part is done by the carpenters as it involves 100% machinery and years of experience. Sahan does the designing and finishing bit which includes painting and testing. He is very particular about the quality and safety of his products and assures that he uses non-toxic material as it is used for food and adds that since he does it himself he knows for sure that it’s safe. 

As for the testing part, he takes great care in that was well. “I put it in water and soak for three days and check if there’s a leak or change in colour. I also leave it under sunlight for four days because the thing with wood is, it reacts with climate e.g. doors – when it rains, it gets stuck. I look out for such issues when testing. All the work I do is by hand – there is no binding or pasting – they’re all one single piece except the cake stand where the bottom part is pasted.

“In Sri Lanka it is very hard to find food-safe material – the non-toxic ones are now available but also very expensive. But when doing something we have to do it in the correct way. If we don’t, it can’t sustain long in the market and you won’t get satisfaction either.”

A place to sell

Next he had to look for a place to sell his goods. Some of the boutiques advised him to have more products ready if he wanted a place to sell, explaining that he can’t secure a spot in a boutique with just a few items. He wasn’t ready for that because he needed time to make more as this is a long process by hand that involves neatness and care. He continued his search and finally found his outlet – The Good Market – and that’s when he started to form a good customer base. 

“The Good Market’s concept is also in-line with what I want. We share the eco-friendly concept. With that crowd I was very motivated because they encouraged me a lot. From the very first day I was contacted by hotels, online stores and other places. 

“There is a good trend for natural items at the moment. A lot of foreigners came to me and said how rare it is in Sri Lanka. They really like the use of wood in my work. They like the concept and that it’s in the eco-friendly category. Foreigners know more about this than the local crowd and ask things like ‘what’s the hardness’, etc. 

“A few customers requested cake stands and some wanted chopping boards – they said they could find only plastic ones and wanted me to make them out of wood. Following this request I sought insights from chefs in high-end restaurants who told me that the hardness of the chopping board depends on the type of knife you use. That was valuable advice and I set off making chopping boards and cake stands and they are moving quite well. I mainly responded to the customers’ requests and feedback – that’s how I build the business,” he said.

New ideas

“In the meantime I wanted to start something new and came up with the wine holder. It was quite a hit! That was launched in November so with the Christmas season it was very easy to sell. The usual gifts for weddings are porcelain, irons, hairdryers, etc but now people want something different and go for new products like this.”

He has also started making wooden trays. “It is a testing project and I don’t want to do the basic tray – I’m going for a rustic look – the outdoor kind where you can serve beer and hot stuff – the sort of food that leaves a mark. The 10” tray is the standard but I built the 12” as well. Surprisingly when I put them in the market the 12” sold more. So these kinds of trends we only see once we start selling. It’s the best way to link with the customer,” he noted. 

Sahan didn’t want to focus on only the middle-aged crowd; he wanted to cater to the young ones as well so that’s when he came up with signboards – it was an instant hit because he uses weird and fun common sayings. He asked me: “Have you noticed with 90% of homes in Sri Lanka the doorbells don’t work?” I nodded guiltily. He then showed me a signboard he came up with for the front door: ‘Doorbell broken, please knock and yell ‘Gedhara kaudoo’ very loud!’ 

He has more – for rooms, shops and even for washrooms. He then showed me an adorable one for a new born baby’s door: ‘Shhh … An angel is sleeping’ – that’s my favourite. He says people love his signboards and even if they don’t buy them, when they notice them as they pass by his stall, they approach, read and then smile – that’s enough to make his day. 

Combining education and skill

Not regretting studying something completely different before coming to this, he says, “The postgraduate really helped with my managerial skills; the academic part helps. I was unhappy as a banker but my career with banking was not a waste of time – it really built me to this level. Once you have that exposure, you can have a broader idea on how to build this thing.” 

“During my initial stages, when I was visiting workshops and watching rural carpenters in action I realised our carpenters have immense skills but the reason they always remain in that stage is lack of management. I badly want to help rural carpenters. The hard work behind these things, the time spent and the challenge they have is immense. I have management skills so I thought, why not interlink the two? If I collaborate with them I can put my education and managerial skills to use and they their carpentry skills.” He plans to look into this in the future.

“My ultimate goal is to open my own gallery but I have to build up what I’m doing and only later should I start that. I can’t just start a gallery – I have to study the trend first! I must have a basic structure; get an idea on how the market and demand is as that is very helpful. We have to be in-line with trends when building products. 

“I’m improving each day and the way I’m doing things now is better than when I first started. I’m learning so much by meeting customers and interacting with them. I’m meeting different kinds of people and getting so much advice and insight – these are things I could never get if I had just started a gallery right away. 

Conclusion

Sahan is trying to widen his range to more than tableware and also cater to different age-groups so as to provide for more people. Going forward he wants to start on wooden frames. He delivers to your doorstep and assures a helpful, friendly service and does this full-time now.

“It’s not about the pay – it’s about satisfaction. People warned me and so many asked ‘Are you sure? It’s a huge risk’ when I told them my plans to leave the bank and venture off. I said ‘Let’s take the risk and see’. It is hard work and very tiring but really paid off – big time!” he said.

“My deepest gratitude goes out to my family members for believing in me, to the people who encourage me and all eyecatching clients who motivate me day-in and day-out.”

It’s endearing to see this young man taking the risk and possibly making the biggest decision he’s ever made with all odds against him, to achieve what he’s been quietly yearning all along. He has only just begun and has a long way to go but having set his foot on the path he had long dreamed of, the road ahead seems promising. Safe to say, he is finally in his happy place. 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/eyecatchingsrilanka 

email: [email protected] 

Tel: 770599739

Pix by Shehan Gunasekara