Henna Brunei is an international mehendi company started by Nishara Sayer and her family, with humble beginnings, today the company has reached incredible success for its unique designs.
The stunningly creative designs got the attention of the Bruneian Royal family; the team is constantly contacted for various occasions of the royal household.
Nishara talks to Glamour about the spectacular art of Henna Brunei and opening academy in Sri Lanka for aspiring henna artists.
What inspires your Mehendi designs?
Everything around us actually; nature, buildings, Jewelry, and even food! There’s no limit to where any artist can draw their inspiration and the art of Mehendi is no different!
How long have you been in the business?
We’ve been running Henna Brunei since 2014. What started off as a weekend hobby between the ladies in my family has grown into a pretty decent past-time spanning 3 countries and a loyal fan base of more than 11k on Instagram!
What is unique about your designs?
I suppose the fact that we don’t stick to one particular style; Our team have been able to create Arabic, Moroccan and Indian themed designs and even portraits! We are able to cater to almost any of our clients’ tastes or needs when it comes to design preference.
You do Mehendi for the Bruneian Royal Family, tell us about your experiences.
It was truly an honor to be called in to “hennafy” members of the Bruneian Royal family. While it may not be common knowledge due to their subtle nature; members of the Bruneian Royal family are some of the most welcoming and humble people you‘d have the fortune to ever meet.
Strangely enough, our first encounter with a member of the Royal family was at a pop- up booth, where we met her Royal highness Princess Sarah (The future Queen of Brunei). She stopped by our booth with her entourage and wanted to get some henna done for herself, with some face-painting for her kids. I guess she was pretty happy with the results, as ever since then our team have had the fortune of being called in on a regular basis to provide henna services at Royal Family events.
How has the art of Mehendi evolved in Sri Lanka?
Mehendi in Sri Lanka is catching on quite rapidly; different cultures have started enjoying the art of Mehendi and it has become a pretty fashionable trend to have henna available for your guests at major events such as weddings and family functions.
Mehendi designs have evolved so much over time as well; from just applying simple dot patterns of freshly ground henna leaves on our palms using matchsticks, to the intricate abstract art it is today. It is definitely growing into a flourishing art form.
Have you done any complicated designs so far?
We love complicated designs; the more difficult the design the better as we love to take on that challenge! I suppose the most complicated designs or situations we face are when little kids want their henna done with heavy designs. That’s always the most challenging as we need to fit the designs onto their tiny hands, and make sure they don’t mess it up before the design dries out!
Where do you see Mehendi in the next five years?
In the next five years I’d love to see henna used in high end fashion shows. Would love to see models adorn their hands and bodies with this unique art form in a way that compliments their attire; not only for their traditional wear but also for modern clothing. Maybe we could start here in Sri Lanka first… you never know… but I feel that will give us henna artists the opportunity to contribute to the fashion industry in the country and give it some extra flair.
What would be your dream design and with whom?
We want to open a henna academy in Sri Lanka and develop the skills of aspiring henna artists in the country; building on our success thus far and tapping into the lessons learnt and exposure we’ve gained to guide others in their honing of the craft.
By MI