Getting hang of wall art

Akanksha Aga says the benefit of having her husband as a business partner is that they can have impromptu business meetings over dinner. The downside, she says, is that they can have impromptu business meetings over dinner.

“It’s a combination of knowing when to be patient and knowing when to be persistent,” Aga said of the challenges of mixing family and business.

But Aga and her husband, Samir Dhamija, are finding that balance and growing their North Providence family business, My Méz, which specializes in customizable tables and trays that double as art that can be hung on walls.

The idea was born when Dhamija, a photographer at heart, decided he wanted to do more with his amateur photographs. He started applying the photos to different surfaces to see how they looked.

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“I didn’t want to come up with another coffee mug or a mousepad,” he said.

Eventually, he tried it on a table and it clicked. He knew it would work and when he brought the idea to his wife it took some convincing – but just at first.

“I didn’t see how it was going to work,” Aga said. “But I went along with it and when I saw the first real piece that he made, I thought, ‘I would buy this.’ ”

The couple took it one step further and decided to give the tables a second purpose. So they’ve built it in such a way that the legs can fold up. Instead of taking up space in a room or closet, the photo tables – or trays – can be hung on the wall like any other painting or photo.

The idea really started picking up steam when visiting friends started asking to buy the furniture/art work. The duo started taking their work to trade shows, including NY Now, a trades market held twice a year in New York City that features home and lifestyle products.

“What gets us excited, No. 1, is the great reactions that people have when they see it,” Aga said. “The other exciting thing is our repeat customers. People are buying this as their Christmas gifts and then they’re putting in orders for weddings and birthdays through the year.”

The tables and trays are built out of birch, which is light enough to hang on the wall, but strong enough to hold a case of wine, according to the company. The tables are covered with a photo or a collage – customer’s choice – before being finished with a high-gloss polymer coating. The top is water- and alcohol-proof and can be cleaned with a damp cloth or a cleaning compound.

Today, the couple is happy with the growth of their company and they’ve hired another employee to help with the workload. But looking forward, Aga and Dhamija would like to see the company’s brand grow into one people everywhere associate with home and lifestyle products.

The business partners started their company around the same time Aga was pregnant with their child, so – with some seriousness – the duo likes to joke that My Méz is a part of the family.

“We have two babies, our real one, and My Méz,” Aga said. •

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