After making the right noises with its contemporary bags, leather brand SVJ has made a big splash with the launch of its new collection in the home line section. If SVJ bags are known for celebrating the good life, its latest collection of luxury home décor items—trays, magazine holders, place mats, coasters, remote control stands, tissue box holders, photo frames, jewellery/watch organisers, etc—is all about living it well through fine goods. And mind you, these are all made of 100 per cent genuine high-quality leather.
Inspired by royal shapes juxtaposed against each other, the products highlight the concept of contrast by using different leather textures. They exhibit the ideal balance of royal and modern club luxe aesthetics in home decor products with the choice of colours black and brown. Hard goods focus on complimenting modern homes, while camel brown and beige belong to the traditional and royal homes.
“I always felt there was a lack of availability of high-end home products in leather here in India. It made me venture out and start my home line. I am excited as it is something new and innovative. I feel like I’m creating again,” says Sanya V Jain, founder and owner of the premium leather brand, who holds a degree in design from Parsons in New York and Central Saint Martins in London.
Born in one of Kolkata’s most distinguished families that has had a long association with the leather industry, she spent time playing with swathes of leather and product samples at home as a child. After finishing education in design from premium institutions, she forayed into business with the launch of her brand in 2014. The designs showcase her impeccable taste of colour, elements and silhouettes with a sharp focus on detailing and look.
Jain is multi-lingual and can speak English, Hindi, besides a little bit of French and Spanish after having spent a major part of her growing-up years in Canada, New York and London. It is not surprising that the exotic locales of Paris and New York are her inspiration. “The energy that I sense there is amazing. I just love to travel, and I think I can pick up ideas while travelling and observing people that give an edge to my designs,” she says.
SVJ has a number of factories spread across West Bengal and employs around 1,500 skilled craftsmen. The brand has a state-of-the-art tannery where latest technology—imported from Italy, Japan and Germany—is used to manufacture goods. “We have access to the best chemicals and colours, and it gives us an edge over other companies, most of whom do not have a tannery backup. So, we produce leather accessories from scratch,” Jain says.
Detailing the process, she adds, “First, we select the chemicals and rawhide. Then we produce them in our tannery, and then the leather is sent to the bag unit wherein it’s manufactured by cad-cam processes and line systems to attain maximum productivity. It is a backwards integration of sorts.”
About the quality of the leather, Jain says, “It should be as natural as possible with the grain structure undisturbed. It should have light finishing and packed with organic vegetable tannings which cause no harm when in contact with skin.”
A leather person, Jain is passionate about high-quality leather products and likes to wear leather jackets, carry leather bags and shoes because of their durability. For all leather lovers, she says, “One must handle leather products carefully and minimise its contact with water, oil and sunlight as much as you can to make it last longer.”
Like Coco Chanel once said: “Fashion fades, only style remains the same”. Jain, too, makes a style statement with SVJ, and quite fashionably!