She decided to pursue art therapy and chanced upon the expressive art therapy course, where she met Karen. But after this, she did not feel the same excitement at work any more. Neha worked as an advertising and editorial photographer for more than 12 years. It was then that she joined the one-year expressive arts therapy course. Shortly afterwards, she felt a need to use the arts as an expression in her work. In 2010, she joined IIM Bangalore’s women entrepreneur programme.Īfter the programme, she started a corporate training practice. Karen had earlier worked with ICICI Prudential in sales, learning, and development for around a decade.

“Our finger paints contain coconut oil and sweet orange oil, which create a multi-sensory stimulation.” “The sensory experience of playing with paints is not only fun, but also has benefits in terms of cognitive, motor, and language development,” she says. Neha says the startup is also bringing the trend of finger paints to India. “At every stage, the products were reviewed by a team of experts, speech therapists, art teachers, and early educators.”īesides safe paints and non-toxic crayons, Dabble has introduced a category of products called PlayArt, in which crayons come in different shapes such as animals and cars. “Soon, we commissioned a team of scientists and food technologists specialised in developing child-friendly products,” she says. Gradually, business ideas developed and Dabble was started in May 2018 to “bring innovation and safety in products for the early childhood segment”, says Neha. “One of our common friends let us use her outhouse for research and experiments.” Several months were spent developing products and letting their kids and those of friends test them. “We created our first crayon in August 2017,” says Neha. The pair then spent months researching crayons, natural waxes, and the first experiment was conducted in Neha’s kitchen. The next question was: “How about making our own crayons?” “That is when the idea was born: Why safe art only for our kids, why not for the children of the world?” “We had common ideologies on raising kids and art had a special place in our hearts and in our homes,” says 39-year-old Neha. Karen and Neha were both sourcing art products for their children from abroad and realised the need for safe options at home. While pursuing it, they became close and even gave birth just four days apart. The co-founders met at an expressive art therapy course they took up in Bengaluru. and its toxin-free products for expecting mothers Shared goals

“They also take about 100 years to break down and lower oxygen level in landfills.”ĭabble’s resolve to make non-toxic products also comes from the fact that its team of five are all mothers, says 42-year-old Karen.Įach product, she says, is developed with support from a team of chemists and food technologists, and tested at a laboratory certified by the government body National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories. She says that many crayons available in the market are made from paraffin wax, a byproduct of petroleum, and hence brittle. “We have also applied for a patent on our unique formulation.” “Our crayons are made from organic beeswax and come in fun shapes that are easy to grip and don’t break easily like other crayons,” says Karen. Karen Saldanha and Neha Bajaj set up their startup Dabblein May 2018 to manufacture art products from organic materials.

Concerned about the safety of art products for children available in the market, two mothers in Bengaluru quit their corporate careers to make toxin-free paints, crayons, and art kits for the zero-six age group.

Dabble kids