Aug 7, 20213 min read

Toying with an idea...

Updated: May 14, 2023

A hand playing with colourful Blocsk around a mobile phone showing ArtCAKEtect explore page — ArtCAKEtect Building Blocks for Play in Edible Construction Cookie Material addting Taste to play time

The Pandemic has changed the status quo and reengineered our way of life forever. This past year and a half has been a three sixty degree overhauling of our beliefs, priorities , lifestyle, outlook, consumption patterns, social dynamics, economic situation, health awareness, our personal relations and most of all, our mental makeup.

Like most people on the planet, many a well established industries and businesses know not what hit them. Their manufacturing capacity lies idle and under-utilised , reeling under the demand contraction , disruptions in distribution and exhibition channels and drastic alterations in consumer behaviour , which have adversely impacted some sectors more than others. The booming retail and hospitality sector, like their Tourism counterpart, were not exactly prepared for this bolt from the blue , that has now almost re-written - if not written off - the brick and mortar retail and hospitality story, whose glitzy malls , multiplexes and cinema halls now lie empty and in want of rehabilitation , as the population is still very much vary of getting back to life and crowds , as it once did, after this gruesome second wave.

As for the children gaining consciousness of their surrounds, in these peculiar times, our ‘normal’ would seem to them like a folklore. After all , childhood and youth is feeling the biggest brunt , with their heydays passing in lockdown, and their playgrounds and playmates having been snatched away at this crucial age. For this was their time to live unfettered , get dusty and dirty in the playfields at school and relish the nonsensical idle banter with friends. But here they are , speaking in greek instead - about alpha, delta variants- and having every aspect of their lives scrutinised and sanitised with micro - if not microbe - precision ! Add to it online schooling and an overdose of screen time - for work and pleasure- that is exponentiating anxiety levels . The fine lines of distinction between the professional and personal fronts are getting slimmer , and skinning our patience levels alive, while we are trying to keep alive! For who can say it is fun to be cooped up at home with overworked and overburdened parents, and vice versa for parents, who desperately need avenues of offline pursuits to de-stress - to creatively engage with their children, at their childish level , and also with their partners, in a light-hearted spirit - to make them forget their worldly cares; if only, for a few moments of escape from this overbearing sense of malaise , as we continue to live in a state of fear, not knowing when - or if ever- things will be back to normal.

Hands of a child and blue hand prints in colour paints on paper — Art and Crafts with ArtCAKEtect

In short, the pandemic has spared no one and no aspect of our lives . We all basically need a break! A break which we socially fear to ask for, given the compulsions of our homes , country and global environment, which has dystopia written all over it. We all carry this ‘latent need’ for an offline escape , a change - howsoever fleeting- to forget our cares. This hidden , unexpressed need is what we at ArtCAKEtect aim to address , by delivering to their doorstep a delightful box of goodies that has the potential to unlock the pandoras box of emotions, happiness , camaraderie and an avenue for content creation- for their social media posts - sitting right at home and getting their hands down and dirty in icing and candy for a selfie galore!

After all, anything is worth if it lets us ‘play safe’ indoors and even better, if it manufactures happy memories - a precious commodity, given our altered priorities.

ArtCAKEtect aims to home-deliver this very playground- albeit in 4DX!