I just wanted to put up a quick note for those who are looking into henna at India Restaurant in Providence, RI and are somehow a bit confused 🙂 I have been getting a bunch of calls from people lately who seem to think I still do henna there – more calls than when I actually did, really! I just wanted to let those of you know who might be doing Google searches or whatever to figure out if that is me who’s there or not that nope, it’s not. I’m not sure if maybe there are some newly created materials out there that still have my info on them or what…
But, anyway, I stopped doing henna at India in May 2011. The whole team of artists who were working there stopped doing henna there at that time, in solidarity with one another.
I deepened connections with so many wonderful people while working there, and really got to get my feet wet with what it’s like to schedule a whole team of artists. But we were working for food, and whatever tips people happened to give. And doing henna (not to mention managing a team of 4-8 artists) for just food and tips isn’t sustainable. This is especially true since the restaurant wanted us to work with no promise of actual cash payment on weekend dates. Weekend dates are when henna artists have to earn the vast majority of their income, since those are usually the only days that people have parties, weddings, and festivals.
It is a beautiful restaurant, and the food is delicious.
If there is indeed still a henna artist there, please tip them super well – if things still are as they were when my team and I worked there, they depend completely on your generosity for their survival.
