Bengaluru loves all things Indie. From fashion to gigs, the obsession has clearly taken over Instagram and Pinterest – indicating that the theme is here to stay. And, there are no signs of simmering down, any time soon. But, if you’re looking for ways to give this trend a try, help comes from Nilma Dileepan – who’s recent venture is the answer to every hipster aesthetic lover’s prayers. Owner of "With Love, Nilma”, the event stylist is in the business of making dreams a fresh reality out of an Instagram and Pinterest page, with her quirky décor and lighting elements. Despite being born in Thrissur, Kerala, Nilma claims to having been a true Bengalurean all her life. She is a communication studies graduate from Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru.
With parents who run a successful advertising agency since over 30 years, Nilma claims that entrepreneurship runs in her blood. Hence, her first start-up, which was founded in the August of 2014, was always on the cards. “I found a sense of peace and this weird zen whenever I set up simple things at home and the keenness for decor and doing up spaces has always been there. So, naturally, when a lot of my friends were getting married and having babies, I volunteered to do the decor for their weddings and baby showers,” she says. “Balloons, confetti, and lots and lots of fairy lights. You can never have too much of them. They are magical!” she lists, trying to sum her art up. From weddings to baby showers, her aesthetically pleasing ideas and set-ups look like an Indie fanatics' dream. The inspiration to try turning the world of make believe into a reality is not something she acquires on a whim. “I find huge inspiration from peoples home, home decor magazines and blogs. Our style has to be pleasing to the eye and most of our clients want decor which is minimalistic and almost feels home-like. Nilma believes that,“I do your event with love, as if it were my own. And in the long run I hope that you do everything with love.”
Nilma professes the importance of understanding the clients’ ideas to execute their vision to the very last detail. “Bengaluru is willing to experiment, but it also believes less is more,” she observes. So, be it the perfect tea party down the rabbit hole or the quintessential Bollywood wedding with added colour and flavours, Nilma promises to bring them to life, with love!
