A mehndi artist who grew up in Southall has won a nationwide Starbucks design competition with a henna-inspired pattern she created freehand on a coffee cup.
Manii Basran, 36, works as a lettings manager and has also been a mehndi artist for almost 20 years, regularly creating designs for brides.
Her winning mandala design, which will now be featured in a nationwide outdoor advertising campaign, was drawn in a single sitting using a mehndi cone on a cup she picked up from the Starbucks opposite her office.
Ms Basran said the circular shape of the Starbucks logo made her think of a mandala, a design she has used on brides for years and which she plans to use as part of her own wedding celebrations later this month.
She said: “My first thought was ‘cone to cup’. When I looked at the circular Starbucks logo, a mandala felt like the perfect fit. It’s a design I’ve used on brides for years, so it felt like a natural way to bring my two passions together.
“I didn’t sketch anything out; I work across the road from my local Starbucks, so I popped over, picked up a cup, took it back to the office and just started creating. Growing up in Southall, West London, mehndi has always been part of the celebrations and traditions around me, for as long as I can remember.
“It’s an art form with such a rich history, so it feels incredibly special to bring something so meaningful to me into a new, modern and unexpected space.”
Her design was selected from hundreds of entries submitted from across the UK to the Starbucks Illustration Club competition.
The entries were judged by a panel headed by British-Nigerian artist and designer Yinka Ilori MBE, who will also provide Ms Basran with one-to-one mentoring.
Mr Ilori said: “This artwork really celebrates the beauty of art as a global language. Taking henna, which is a very traditional technique, and applying it to a cup, is genius.”
