An Artist profile — Halifax Henna’s Vineeta Rajani

Back in February I ran a contest — I do that a few times a year, to give back to people in my community. I am so thankful to be living in beautiful Nova Scotia that running contests is a no-brainer — it’s a great way for me to share my talents as a photographer and an artist and meet even more of the beautiful people of Halifax and beyond.

Needless to say that when a fellow artist won my February contest I was super excited — the winner was no other than Vineeta Rajani — the owner of Halifax Henna! 

We scheduled our portrait/branding session for March 8th and both appreciated that the session will fall on International’s Women Day — what better way to mark such a day than for women entrepreneurs to get together and chat about their businesses and have a photo session! 

While henna art started as a hobby for Vineeta, today she runs a is a successful business; she artfully decorates brides and sometimes even grooms with henna tattoos for their wedding day, hosts henna parties and private classes, and creates a variety of colourful products that are a joy to look at. While there are a few other henna artists, Vineeta was the very first in Halifax and Nova Scotia to have an online presence, and today she is the most trusted for couples to have their traditional henna tattoos done before their wedding day. 

While I was sipping my herbal tea in Vineeta’s kitchen she told me a bit about the history of Henna - you can read more about it on her website right here. 

Vineeta operates her studio out of her gorgeous house in Bedford. Her basement studio is filled with hundreds of tubes of acrylic paint, and such a sight always makes me happy — before taking up photography full-time I painted huge, colourful paintings that resemble stained glass. So if you are into art, and feel like a kid in a candy store when you’re at Michaels then you might know exactly how I feel about paints, colours, and everything crafty. 

Halifax Henna’s Vineeta Rajani at her Bedford studio

She’s got Henna for every occasion — farmer’s markets, tea parties, weddings, birthday parties, hen parties; prenatal photography sessions are becoming more popular and more ladies are looking to decorate their bellies for their maternity photoshoots. In today’s world when there are so many forms of art forms, henna art seems like the type of activity that will calm your mind and keep you grounded while you either watch the artist or try it out yourself — have you seen Vineeta at work? It’s so satisfying to watch her create lines and dots, big and small, over and over again— you almost don’t want it to end 🤗.

Today Vineeta constantly updates her skills by learning new designs, buying design books and creating designs herself. She is super popular with adults and kids alike and is invited to multiple festivals in Halifax and Nova Scotia throughout the year — every March Break she is at the Immigration Museum at Pier 21, Halifax Buskers Festival, Bridgewater Festival, and Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival to name a few.

Vineeta’s Creations

There are so many brides in Nova Scotia looking for unique ideas for their bachelorette parties (or hen night as some might know it) and henna party might be just the thing they didn’t know they wanted. While the idea might seem a bit out there - hear me out - Vineeta has decorated many brides in a way that allowed them to have their tattoo and hide it too! It’s as simple as having your henna done on the inside of your hands. This way if you’re posing for your bridal photos with your brand new spouse you can choose to reveal your hands or simply hide them - a good photographer will keep all the little details in mind and will make sure no tattoos are visible if you don’t want them showing. Having your henna tattoo appointment a couple of days before the wedding is essential, as it takes that long for the pigment to darken, so as soon as you have your wedding date set, give Vineeta a call to set your appointment and then reach out to me to see what my offer is! 

In traditional Indian weddings, no matter whether it’s in India or right here in Halifax, Nova Scotia a bride will choose to decorate her hands and feet with henna bodyart. I haven’t been a part of an Indian wedding yet, but I would so love to participate - so if you’re reading this and planning on having Vineeta decorate your body with henna art, give me a call - I got something special in store for you. 

I hope this post inspires you to try out Henna Art - whether it’s for your maternity session, your kid’s birthday party or your bachelor/ette party, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be a hit. And if you want to pick up a few unique presents for your loved ones, or brighten up your house with colourful art, check out Vineeta’s work on display at the Halifax Shopping Centre - she’s there for the month of April! You can purchase her work through her website — https://www.halifaxhenna.com/