Sujata Sheth: Ode of Love
"To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power," American poet, memorist and civil rights activist Maya Angelou once described her mother. This could very well apply to mothers in the world whose offspring is the centre of their universe.
To siblings Lara (5) and Aleena (8) their mother Sujata Sheth is like a hurricane that never stops giving to their family. She is their wonder woman who is strong, honest, and continues to push the boundaries.
“Mommy works very hard and takes care of everybody. She is always loving, sweet and caring. She always has time for us and is always there even when she’s doing so many things.” Lara recounts why she loves her mom so much. “I love my mommy. She’s always kind to me and always gives me yummy food to eat.” Her older sister, Aleena, says.
“Sujata is an amazing mom. I literally don’t know how she does it all. She absolutely adores her kids and they stick to her like glue. She works so hard to make everything special for her family. The girls and I are very lucky to have her in our lives. We love her and don’t know what to do without her,” husband Priyesh adds.
Sujata works as a doctor in the Emergency Department of a public hospital in Singapore. She recently launched Art4Keep, Singapore’s first and only platform that celebrates kid’s art by preserving them and personalising it into beautiful coffee table books.
“My family and friends inspired me to turn my idea into a startup,” Sujata says.
Sujata with her beautiful daughters, Lara and Aleena.
Lara and Aleena browsing through their memory book, which was lovingly made by their mother for them.
Sujata is very sentimental about both her daughters’ creativity. It was important for her to preserve her daughter’s childhood memories. “As a mom, I saw how creating art brings my daughters so much joy. They feel happier and feel proud when I appreciate each drawing and painting. I want my daughters to remember all the happy moments they spent creating and using their imagination.”
“My kids have made such beautiful pieces of art through the years, some pieces I framed, and the rest I put into storage. One day, I opened the box and many of the pieces were yellow, dusty, or ripped. I realised I should have properly preserved it and place them in a safe place where I can look at and appreciate it when I wanted to. I, then, created my first art book and placed it on my coffee table so they can see how much I cherish everything they do.”
Sujata gets her inspiration from her kids. Here are Lara and Aleena getting ready to unbox Art4Keep.
Sujata in action.
“Instead of having piles of drawings here and there, I now have keepsake books I can gift my daughters when they are older. Not only will these keepsakes mean a lot to them, but it will also be a great way for them to remember and share their childhood stories with their own families.”
When Sujata’s friends visited her home, they saw stacks of coffee table books beautifully arranged in her living spaces, and they loved what she did for her daughters’ art. Sujata soon realised, like her, other mothers wanted to lovingly display and keep their children’s art pieces while keeping their home devoid of clutter. From there on, Art4Keep was born.
“My friends, who are also mothers, motivated me to start Art4Keep. During the pandemic, they had stacks of artwork in every little corner of their home. Realistically, they couldn’t keep everything their kids made. Placing their works of art in storage boxes was not an option because it will just be forgotten. So, my friends started asking me to create memory books for their children.”
Because Sujata enjoyed doing it for her friends, she took it up a notch and invested in state-of-art equipment to professionally take photos of the art pieces. She then slowly started creating a part of her home into a small studio. Since she launched in March 2022, Sujata has been getting a high volume of orders on a monthly basis, however she only accepts 20 orders every month to manage her time.
“I love being a doctor. I love the excitement that no day is the same in the Emergency Room. Moreover, I love spending time with my family. I am currently working on scaling the business — my dream is to expand it to other countries. I would like to see keepsake and memory books as a staple in every family home.”
“Art4Keep is an ode to my family and all the mothers out there who like me want to celebrate their children’s creativity and preserve the beautiful memories of their kid’s childhood.”
Tisha | ws
Images: Art4keep | Contact: art4keep@gmail.com | +65 9336 9420 | Location: 285 Orchard Blvd, Singapore