Indi-genius crafts

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Colourful paper towl holders

l Bengaluru-based Karthik Vaidyanathan is the founder of Varnam. He previously worked in the corporate sector for 15 years.

As someone who has had a keen interest in Indian crafts for several years now, I would visit every craft fair that came to the city. However, I began to notice the same designs, repeated time and again. Most crafts seemed to have a decorative value alone and were no longer relevant. Furthermore, the quality was often poor. I strongly felt that our crafts needed a serious design intervention that challenged artisans and pushed them to take their craft beyond its existing boundaries. This formed the genesis of Varnam’s craft philosophy: To create products that married craft with utility and also delivered a certain finish and quality that appealed to the globetrotting consumers of today.
“Design” for me, is a means to express myself. It is a constant reminder that life often gives second chances to people like me who were not fortunate enough to find their true calling earlier on in their lives.
At Varnam, the design philosophy is to find inspiration in our past and keep our crafts as relevant today by ensuring that they don’t just remain decorative figurines but also become an integral part and parcel of our daily lives. I think that the world is increasingly finding inspiration in designs of the past as they have a story to tell. No wonder that India and its traditional design stories are increasingly finding a strong appeal amongst international designers!
My attitude towards design has been shaped very closely by a dear friend — and a former colleague (who I had the privilege of working with during my years in the corporate sector) — Manjiri Rajopadhye of Mango Blossoms. Manjiri has worked on the graphic design for several key projects in the Indian music scene, and her ability to weave a story through her design and her attention to detail have deeply influenced me.
Manjiri is also one of those rare designers who I feel has the ability to understand the rich design stories that India has to offer at a far deeper level and hence interpret them better in a today’s context.
Thanks to another friend, I recently came across a range of home wooden accessories created by Los Angeles-based designer David Okum. The simple, clean, minimalistic yet functional designs of Okum’s “The Made Collection” left a deep impact on me.
I love the work that MOMA (Museum of Modern Art), New York, does in the realm of product design. Their ability to add a contemporary twist to traditional craft techniques appeals to me.