His dream of becoming a commercial pilot remained just a dream, due to a weak eye sight. But being an optimist that he is, marketing expert from Mumbai, Akshay Sharma , went ahead and designed something that according to him, symbolises the soaring spirit; the propeller. The idea hit him, when he couldn’t find one, to put up in his house. Then when he finally managed to buy one online, it got lost in transit. Out of sheer frustration, he got down to making one himself, and put it up on a wall, in his house. Though, it did take several months of trial and error, all his friends and family who saw it, appreciated it and soon he was busy handcrafting propellers for them too. Propellers have been used as eclectic decor elements, at offices and homes, over decades, but according to him, what makes his propellers special, is that each design is an inspiration, and each of them has a name. Akshay, uses treated pinewood to make the propellers. Since each piece is handcrafted, no two pieces are the same.
Akshay says that his propellers represent not just his dream, but they represent a milestone, an achievement and happiness. He’s also had weird requests from people, asking him to design centre tables and bar stools using propellers for legs, to even bizarre ones, like wrapping the propeller with non-functional 1000 rupee notes and also a Swarovski studded one. He commercially introduced his design under the Wood Feather brand, in March, 2017. While he has a whole bunch of customised orders in the pipeline, his future plans are to collaborate with renowned painters and artists, to make propellers. that can be auctioned for a good cause. Besides building new brands and creating marketing campaigns across industries , and now, designing propellers, he is also passionate about food and owns the Belgian Fries outlet, at Inorbit mall, in Malad, Mumbai. Just like the propeller lifts a plane, Akshay’s handcrafted propellers, help his spirits soar high. For all those who want to know more. or are interested in handcrafted propellers, you can check out the details on his website : WoodFeathers
