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Organic furniture
is the latest chant in elitist green circles. In their desire to buy all
things "natural", the Brits are showing a keen interest in India's
Kaaru-a design-led developmental organisation which has introduced "organic"
furniture in Britain.
Each product at the recent exhibition was designed to combine beauty
and functionality and stresses sustainability. "Integral to the work
is a consciousness to use easily renewable material. Wastage is kept to
a minimum. Natural flaws in the material are highlighted into beautiful
features of the design," explains Sanjib Chatterjee, designer-founder,
Kaaru.
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RESOURCEFUL: Tabletop from a plank of
reclaimed mango wood with eucalyptus base; Napkin ring of coconut
fibre featuring a monkey; CD rack from a single plank
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The exhibition drew leading designers from
Harrods, Habitat et al.
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The Kaaru work of art also explores the creative process through which
dying, traditional arts will be sustained by finding relevance in modern,
international, urban environments and lifestyles. The idea and the work
of Kaaru were toasted by leading designers, critics and media in London.
Some of its work was featured in Wall Street Journal and the Financial
Times.
"The London launch exhibition was an international test market
for Kaaru's designs. Being primarily self-funded with little sponsorship
for the event, we took the huge risk of investing time, money and effort
to bring an exhibition of such a scale to London," says Nilima Bhat,
spokesperson of Kaaru.
Satisfied by the response it has generated, she said, "It seems
our conviction that this is the way forward to sustain India's craft arts
is echoed by audiences here. Given that this was the first time we came
to London and that no one had heard of Kaaru before, we managed to sell
almost 70 per cent of the inventory. This, in a highly evolved and competitive
international design and crafts market, where the consumers are spoilt
for choice."
The exhibition attracted leading designers from Harrods, John Lewis,
Habitat and other furniture stores in Britain. Though the work was appreciated
for its design and purpose, there were some reservations about design
compatibility with standard English homes. Bhat responded that Kaaru was
willing to incorporate design changes to make the products more saleable
in the UK without compromising on the artisans and their art for the market's
sake.
The exhibition in London showcased 11 select craft forms from different
regions of India in a contemporary context, featuring home and lifestyle
items ranging from carved doors, dining tables, tableware to everyday
household products such as CD racks and napkin holders. Co-founder of
Kaaru, Anjali Wakankar, pointed out the indigenous arts and crafts incorporated
in the launch collection. These included bell-metal work/ kantalo, paintings/
patchitra and serpentine stonework from Orissa; mandla and sandstone work
from Madhya Pradesh; scroll paintings from Andhra Pradesh; paper-cutting/
sanjhi from Mathura; iron-metal from Bastar; sholapith work from Orissa
and Bengal; marble inlay work from Agra and wood inlay work from Karnataka.
The furniture did not come cheap. A chest of drawers was priced at $
3000, a CD rack for $ 1,000 and for a candle stand, $ 150. The exhibition
comes at a time when a study titled Handmade in India, sponsored by the
World Bank, has projected that the Indian crafts sector employs 9-10 millin
people, most of whom are poor artisans, and contributes $5.6 billion to
India's GDP.
Kaaru is working towards bringing traditional artisans and modern, university
graduate designers under the same roof. Lauding the work of Kaaru, European
Union Ambassador Michael Caillouet said, "What a pleasure it has
been to admire the work of a team of artists using the past and the present
treasures of India for a better future.
-Ishara Bhasi
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CURRENT
ISSUE DEC 17, 2001
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