Getting High on Design
There is a perennial hurdle that my colleagues in the field and I face. Every day as we sit down to translate a client’s vision to reality we do it with one hand tied behind our backs. We are limited by choices we have available in the market in terms of furniture and accessories. Sometimes we are lucky to have a budget to allow for bespoke furniture. Though arguably the choice these days is considerably better, there has always been the desire in each one of us to design and produce a range of furniture and accessories.
A year ago Purvi returned from Milan armed with a Master’s Degree in Industrial Design. She constantly pushed us to take that step and design a collection of our own. In June last year we started DesignBar to facilitate this. For a while we worked with sketching, creating prototypes, experimenting with material and colour. Though initially driven by the work we were carrying out at the time, we soon had a collection with which we could take the next step. And in the beginning of the year we did so.
In February, DesignBar held a Pre-Launch Exhibition of its first series of hand-crafted furniture and accessories. We are excited by the response and acceptance it has received.
I thought it a good idea to put across our thoughts and ideas behind DesignBar through a little chat between Purvi, Ajay and myself. So, here goes –
Q. What is the concept behind DesignBar? Ajay : DesignBar is freedom of expression for me with no prerequisites, I can design what I fancy and the way I want it. Sejal : DesignBar for me is breaking away from the mold and designing out of the box. Purvi : DesignBar is a medium to reach out and bring a bit of design to every individuals living or work space.
Q. What is the idea behind the tagline ‘Get High on Design’ Ajay : Whenever I see good / well thought out design I get energised... it’s like in that moment everything in the world and life is good. That’s the feeling we want to pass on through DesignBar. Sejal : I want people to experience the euphoria that I feel when I design , through my designs Purvi : Getting high on design is a state of mind brought about by a bit of design that stands out in your space. It gives you the feeling of happiness, makes you smile... You just feel good!
Q. What was the tipping point that got you started? Ajay: Lack of sufficiently good and inspiring designs. Sejal: To take design to every home Purvi : The need to get people to be more sensitive to having a bit of design in their space.
Q. What are the products that will be a part of the DesignBar portfolio? Concepts, smart comfortable designs, easy on the eye furniture, useful accessories. uncommon designs, compact and multipurpose furniture.
Q. What is your current collection called? 'The Hand Crafted Series'
Q. What is unique about the collection? Ajay : This series can fit in the tightest of spaces, a good way to reach design to every household. Sejal : Can be moved around easily and helps to remodel or change configurations. Purvi : You get what you want as everything in this series can be bespoke.
Q. If you were to sum up the collection in a few words what would that be? Folding, bespoke, lightweight, chic, minimal, vibrant and inspiring.
Q. Going forward what are your plans? Ajay : To experiment with different materials and break the norms that exist in conventional design. Sejal :To reach out to all classes and make design easily accessible. Purvi : To promote hand crafted furniture and take it to different parts of the world. We also want to simply enjoy the process of design…….and hope to transfer this joy to the end user.
Q. When do you plan to put out the next collection? We will definitely put up our next collection within the year.