When studying at UCL in London, Indian art and innovation enthusiast Nimisha Bothra was inspired by Arttenders while reflecting on starting her own business in her home country. After reaching out to Faye and Siobhan for advice, they became her dedicated mentors and guided Nimisha and her sister Nehal towards the launch of their startup. One year later, their company D’Trove has gained a lot of publicity after working on multiple projects in their home city of Jodhpur.
D’Trove Xprience
“Having come from a business family, we knew for sure that we would be running our own business one day,” Nimisha says, asking her about her entrepreneurial spirit. “Both studying at the same London institute, my sister and I were determined to return home with an idea, a plan.”
“We’re a family of travelers and explorers, always wondering what’s new and what’s next.”
“We grew up in Jodhpur, a city that boasts of culture and vibrancy. Our father runs a handicraft business so for us, art and innovation have always gone hand-in-hand. We’re a family of travelers and explorers, always wondering what’s new and what’s next. In the summer of 2016, we were overwhelmed by one of the biggest light festivals in the world: the Sydney Light Festival. The massive projections on the skyscrapers and the beautiful Sydney Opera House made a strong impression on us. Little did we know that art and light installations would become our world.”
D’Trove Immersive Balls Experience
“India has been gradually developing its infrastructure. There has been so much innovation with lighting in the last few years, so we evaluated the scope of the field and decided we wanted to be part of this progress. We might not have an art background but we can identify art in the smallest of things. We connect the dots of an art piece and weave a story out of it. We believe in our vision and passion to create beautiful immersive experiences.”
Guided by Arttenders
That is where the Bothra sisters were inspired by Arttenders. Browsing our website, Nimisha loved the uniqueness of the concept of connecting business and art. Keen as she was on exploring possibilities in the field, she dropped us an email asking for guidance.
“Faye and Siobhan became our inspiring mentors: they showed us how two entrepreneurial women can take the lead in the public space domains.”
“I was surprised by Faye’s warm reply, as she was happy to help. A few months and several Skype calls later, we met in Rotterdam. Faye and Siobhan became our inspiring mentors: they showed us how two entrepreneurial women can take the lead in the public space domain, working on amazing projects. The duo taught us how to manage our own art consultancy company. Moreover, Faye has always been a call away to support us with our vision. This encouragement and support, that’s what we love about those two!”
D’Trove
Arttenders’ guidance led to establishing D’Trove. D’ stands for Design and Trove is a collection of delightful experiences. “With D’Trove, we aim at designing spaces and experiences by exploring technological innovation and intertwining it with art and design. By collaborating with artists, designers, programmers and creatives, we design and produce visually appealing spaces and experiences. We focus on art installations, branding, advertising and commissioned art interventions. However, our long term goal is to get into urban planning and development.”
D’Trove: on to wonderful projects
“D’Trove was commissioned by the state government to create an innovative intervention in the context of the biggest annual festival of Jodhpur. We came up with two experiential tunnels and two interactive installations. Next to that, we revamped the city’s tallest water tank. Being a small heritage city, Jodhpur has been away from the progressions made in science and technology. We wanted to showcase such technological innovations to the public. This opportunity was the perfect place to kickstart our careers. We received a footfall of over 100,000 people in a 10 days span. The response received was truly overwhelming.”
D’Trove Water Tank in Jodhpur.
“I think that the Netherlands is an interesting creative hub!”
“At the moment, we are working on brand activation campaigns and real estate development pitches. We are also targeting a few festivals to exhibit our work. Our dream project? That would be to create the world’s biggest permanent city light show and infrastructural installation. There are so many artists we would love to work with. The scope of our work is massive and that leaves room for a lot of experimentation. I think that the Netherlands is an interesting creative hub, to be honest. That is why I would like to take this opportunity to call on Dutch artists to introduce themselves to us.”
Are you a Dutch creative, interested in collaborating with D’Trove? Send your application to founder@dtrove.in!
D’Trove Interactive Discs