Things that'll make you go wow

Imagine wearing bangles designed by painter Anjolie Ela Menon. Or having curtains by fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, owning a clock by Yusuf Arakkal and using table linen by Anamika Khanna. Now meet Preeti Goenka and Sumedha Saraogi, partners responsible for making some of the country’s best know artists and fashion designers chuck their medium for a lark and channel their creativity elsewhere.
“It all started with a germ of an idea when we were talking to a few of our fashion designer friends,� says Preeti.“Not only did they jump at the idea, the artists we knew loved it as well. It was a great opportunity for them to channelise their creativity to newer needs and create lifestyle products.�
Sumedha, meanwhile, seems to have fallen in love with the wooden planter by Sunil Padwal. “There’s the silhouette of a man with a white strip running through the middle. It’s so exquisite, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to put a plant in it! But I’d love to place it in a corner with my other plants.� The artists seem pretty excited. “I’ve never done anything like this before,� says Yusuf Arakkal. “I did this because one of my earliest collectors and good friend, Harsh Goenka asked me to.�
“This is an extension of what you do as a creative mind,� opines Anshu Arora Sen, who has designed slippers, among other things. “My favourites have to be my cushions, which are quirky and great fun,� says Sabyasachi. Opinion is divided on practicality of the designs. “My tables have paintings that are covered with glass and easy to use,� says Arakkal. “Who would want to use a work of art to plant flowers?� asks Padwal. One thing that’s clear is the products are attractive. “They’re not products,� corrects Yusuf Arakkal. “They’re my art!�
jamal.shaikh@timesgroup.com