Photos courtesy of Jena

CFA Alumni

Inside the Industry

Satabdi Jena designs whimsical housewares in her sustainable ceramics studio

Prior to 2020, Jena (’11) was designing and producing corporate gifts, like mugs emblazoned with a company logo. When that work vanished, she had to reinvent her business. She decided to put her illustrations onto ceramic housewares and began selling them online and in pop-up stores and markets. With that, The Strange Co. was born.

Three years later, Jena’s Delhi, India–based studio offers a variety of wares. Some feature her “Misfits,” a cast of whimsical animal characters. Others depict simple scenes from monsoon season, like an umbrella blowing away. The designs are spare, but they overflow with personality.

“That leap of faith helped me,” she says of launching the company. It kept her in business until her corporate clients returned—and it taught her some important lessons about embracing her own creativity. 

Find your inspiration.

When Jena began drawing the Misfits, she didn’t think there was a market for ceramics with characters on them. She just loved animals and wanted to draw them. 

She based some of her characters on animals she saw living on the streets of Delhi. Their quirky personalities, however, came from the humans around her. “I eavesdrop a lot,” Jena says. She listens to people on the train and watches them in the street. Her monsoon collection is based on scenes she witnessed through her studio window. “That’s my creative process,” she says.  

More ceramics by Jena, including a mug with “Misfits” Ms. Meow and Bubbles (right).

Tell your story.

Jena’s characters inhabit an imaginary universe. There’s Ms. Meow and Mr. Chonk the cats, Jimmy the yoga-practicing dog, and Mr. Hendrix the confused rooster. To give customers a glimpse into their world, The Strange Co. packs a postcard with a character-specific poem with each order. Photos and animations on the company’s Instagram page further develop their personalities.

The importance of storytelling extends to The Strange Co.’s business practices. “People don’t mind paying that extra buck when they know how something’s been made and who’s making it,” Jena says. 

The Strange Co. relies primarily on the free marketing power of social media—Instagram in particular—and has also opened its studio so people can see where the products are made and take workshops. 

What they’ll see there is a company focused on sustainability. It uses local clay and natural dyes, and most orders are shipped in recycled materials. Communicating those practices is an important piece of convincing a customer to spend more on her products than they would elsewhere.

The idea of bringing joy to an individual customer motivates Jena. “It’s very gratifying for my creative side,” she says. She especially likes to imagine contributing to a customer’s early-morning ritual: “You pour some coffee and when you look at that mug, it brings a smile to your face. It may be a very simple object, but it really has an impact on your day.”