How Sanskriti Sharma Brings Out Charms Of Storytelling With Human Doll Paño

As a child, Sanskriti Sharma always believed in the stories she read because they took her to places far beyond her reality and it was her first form of escapism. "I can’t imagine where I’d be or who I’d be without the essential tool of reading," she says. Years later, Sharma not just became a designer but also created a character that could emulate the relatable story behind her designs.

Creating a character Paño in the form of a human doll that easily blends into public spaces, Sharma's creative work has garnered massive attention on social media. Believing that the process of seeing yourself in the things that are not you is highly liberating, Sharma finds not one but multiple ways to express herself, one scenario at a time.

In an interview with SheThePeople, Sanskriti Sharma shares her inspiration behind Paño, how storytelling is the centre of all her ideas, why escapism matters in art, and what keeps her creative routine intact.

Sanskriti Sharma Interview

How did your childhood impact your decision to get into design, storytelling and art? 

As a child, my form of escapism has always been reading stories. It was like a holiday inside my head. I used to make imaginary characters inside my head and create stories with them. I used to translate the visions from my imagination in the form of puppetry shows for my friends during playtime.

I usually dress each puppet from the scraps of clothes from my mom's boutique and give them unique names. It was from moments like these that I discovered how cool it was to present imagination into reality.

How did the idea of Paño strike you? When did you create the character?

After my graduation, I built my own clothing brand by the name Paño (a piece of cloth in Spanish). While framing the brand identity for my clothing label, I realised that I wanted my label to have a character of its own, so I decided not just to design and create a character named Paño but also to create her own imaginary life story. After creating Paño, I realised that only designing clothes and creating a fashion line was not my actual calling but to present fashion in such an artistic way that has never been seen before. The unique cross-pollination between fashion and art. It is my way of presenting the wonders of the world I see.

What were the initial challenges from ideation to execution? 

I always think when you are trying to convey something, you must believe in it with every bit of your soul. From imagining Paño to creating her in reality was a never-ending process starting from exploring the suitable materials, finding the local artists for building the samples, finding the ideal expression, and achieving beautiful eyes as I have always considered eyes to be the most expressive and expensive part of one’s face and managing the ideal weight of the head.

We had developed ten samples only to get the right one. It was all about the little progress I made with the artisans every day. And just like that my dream started chasing me.

How did travel help you navigate that home isn’t always just one place and how did this impact your creativity?

“Where is Home?” is a celebration of the idea of home in a world where we move around so much. My muse has always been to depict reality in an imaginative way and to enhance the imaginary powers the eye has to travel. The meaning of home has changed for me over the months as I travel around frequently in search of stories. Travel is a freedom of expression for me. Every time I travel, I am gifted with beautiful inspirations and stories for my creation.

Sanskriti Sharma

What is your creative routine like?

I am a free spirit with no rules when it comes to my work. First, about collecting inspiration, I can be old school about this. I love magazines and, Pinterest but I like to get outside my den and spend time in beautiful corners of the city like an old coffee shop, a local furniture store or old bookstores. One of the ways I get ideas is to observe people. I just love to go people watching and I make-up stories in my head about their lives, and it’s all based on what I see. Sometimes, we just need simple things to inspire us.

Is there any particular scenario that’s closest to your heart?

Of course, the story of Paño itself. The first ever imaginative story of mine that became a part of the real world. Through Paño, my big head, I discover myself every day. It is like visiting myself and exploring the hidden secrets I’m made of. It is like therapy.

We meet different people but how often do we meet ourselves? It is very rare.

Paño is a form of escapism. How important is escapism for an artist and the one consuming the art form?

For me, escapism i.e., taking a break from reality has been an essential part of my creative process. Creativity isn’t the preserve of an elite few, creativity is what human brains do. I believe we all have our forms of escapism, be it travelling, reading, cooking, or anything that breaks the loop of the monotonous reality and refreshes our minds. Someone having an idea, making something, inventing something.

This strong suit of the human brain has propelled our ancestors from cave dwellers to space explorers and escapism plays a very important role in the creative functioning of human brain.

What keeps you inspired every day to be able to express yourself uniquely?

I have always been interested in other dimensions. Anything that allowed me to escape my reality once in a while. I don’t want to be just another digital creator, I want to create something that is unique to the human eyes and that goes beyond content creation. A piece of art that outlives me, is a dream for any artist. I want to bring colours of fantasy into the digital marketing Industry.

I believe in a world where everyone is overexposed, the coolest thing one can do is maintain a little mystery.

How has social media impacted your growth as an artist?

Today by taking advantage of the internet and social media an artist can share whatever they want, whenever they want and at almost no cost. They can be as open about their process as they want to be. In order for the connection to happen we have to allow ourselves to be really seen and social media has generously helped us in the same. Now, it is upon us to how well we utilise this advantage of the time. I believe in this era and time if your work isn’t online, it doesn’t exist at all.

Any advice for aspiring artists, especially those adapting to unconventional patterns?

Be an alien to the world and then you’ll start noticing small details around you that are mostly missed by our consumed human eyes. And always have a childlike innocence in your heart.

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