Journalism of Courage
The city can now indulge in whacky merchandise from over 60 designers at the newly opened Bliss
Step into this store and you might forget that youre still in Pune. The Mediterranean,outdoorsy aura of Bliss at Phoenix Market City lures you in anywhere you look,your eyes meet with fun colours dominated by reds and orange. Racks are stacked with quirky products designed by 60 designers,quite unlike what the city has seen so far. And that’s its USP.
Tarana Seth,whose brand Tarana offers whacky home accessories like pipe vases,chocolate candles,pop art coasters and the Tree of Life (which is a metal sheet with a candle to cast a glow)to name a few,is travelling to Pune today to acquaint herself with her new clientele. I started retailing at Bliss on January 1 this year. It was only last year,in August,that I had this idea of designing quirky home products, says this ad filmmaker. She now designs everything herself and even makes some of the products herself.
There are a few designers who are working with artisans from rural areas. There is a section of the store dedicated to these products made by artisans, says Thakur. All the merchandise at the store ranges between Rs 100 Rs 10000. The average is Rs 1000. For that much,one can easily pick up a couple of things, says Desai.
In keeping with the bright,happy interiors is the product line All things bright and beautiful by designer Ekta Chadha. Her bags are inspired by kites. It was a sudden concept. I was working on a line of apparel,when I got mesmerised with kites. The faces,the colours,the art,the expressions,the individual flavour that each kitemaker lends to his piece of joy arrested me, says Chadha. A visit to the Lal Kuan gali in Chandni Chowk,New Delhi,resulted in a prompt switch from apparel to bags. The industry is overflowing with kitsch designers so we really have to make an effort to keep our collections different. I feel themes like Bollywood,autos,trucks and cycles have been done to death. I believe in reinventing with stronger and different concepts backed with a lot of research, she adds.
Pune was Thakurs first choice after Mumbai because of the citys young population. They appreciate these new trends that we have in store. The quirkiness of all the products will appeal to them, Thakur adds.
