stories through design

A collection of creatives

studio samayam - In traditional Ikkat handloom weaving, the shuttle carries the weft yarn across the warp, slowly binding single threads into cloth. The shuttle lamp by studio samayam embodies the story of the weavers village in Bhoodan Pochampally - a town born out of the 1951 Land Gift (Bhoodan) movement in post-colonial India. 'the story of privilege' installation narrates this extraordinary history of land, labour and shared hope through the commonplace and indispensable tool of handloom : the shuttle.

House of Thinai, a furniture studio-shop based in Chennai, India, presents ‘The Lambadi Lounge Collection’, ‘Trustfall’ and’ Timber Tight’. The Lambadi Lounge Collection translates the Lambadi community's intricate needlework into modern furniture design. Trustfall bridges the space between the gallery display and daily life, translating the vibrant, hand-woven Jamukkalam into a dual-state object. Timber Tight carries the vernacular intelligence of the South Asian daybeds into contemporary furniture design.

Fifth Origins - ‘What We Carry Forward’ explores how traditional craft knowledge can move into contemporary life without losing its roots. Across the Himalayas, Kutch and Bengal, Fifth Origins works with handwoven wool, Kala cotton, Ajrakh, Rabari embroidery and Kantha to create pieces shaped by place, memory and material.

Surmeyi - Belonging and storytelling are at the heart of everything we create at Surmeyi. As a jewelry and accessories brand, we create objects that evoke our sense of belonging, inspired from our own stories, of the people around us, the places that shape us and the cultural memories we carry. We believe it is these stories and a sense of belonging that connect us - that make us feel a part of something bigger than ourselves.

Ping Chen - ‘Thing in Itself’ explores how clothing can embody memory, identity and care. Rooted in memories of my great-grandfather, the project reconsiders masculinity through everyday gestures of care—carrying, embracing and domestic labour. Through tailoring and textile processes, clothing is allowed to become a material archive where personal memory and cultural narratives are continually reconstructed.

Cottage Disco - ‘River Finds a Way’ is a body of garments crafted using resist dyeing techniques. In an era defined by accelerated production and consumption, these handcrafted pieces are an act of resistance. Each textile is an exploration of resilience that holds the memory of its making, and of the artisans whose hands carry tradition forward with relentless spirit.

Ritika Kedia - For centuries, Shekhawati's painters have told the stories of wealthy haveli owners, but rarely their own. ‘The Artist Madhouse, Mandawa’ is a series of three hand-painted tables produced with artists Ashok, Suresh and Sonia in Rajasthan, who equip traditional motifs, primary colors, and natural stone pigments to depict their personal curiosities.

Studio Nuna - ‘Sitting with it’ is an assemblage composed of a found object and a bagasse composite, staged as a reflection and exploration of the history of the South African Indian community. By layering a local recognisable material of the past with the material of ancestral oppression it acknowledges that the community evolved past the sugarcane plantations and made its way into everyday objects.