A mouse-shaped wine bottle holder. A throw cushion embossed with a cat, wearing blue and red John Lennon glasses. A propeller airplane, which doubles up as a wall clock. (Amelia Earheart might be offended, we would never know).
No, these are not some idle doodling of a hipster, while s/he is in the ‘zone’. All these ideas are very much real and are a part of the collection on bentchair.com, a new player in the ever-expanding space of e-commerce.
Helmed by the father-daughter duo of Neeraj and Natasha Jain, the outfit stands true to the adage that ‘functional things can be funky too’.
“When I moved back to India after spending nine years in the US, it was an uphill battle to find the right kind of furniture and furnishings for my place. In the States, it was just so easy—if nothing else there was Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, and definitely Ikea. Though there are websites and furniture stores here in India, none of the pieces connected with me,” says Natasha Jain, co-founder of the brand. “Our designs are inspired by mid-century and gothic concepts. With every piece that we create, we make sure that it is like owning a piece of art itself,” she adds.
The father-daughter duo endeavours to create a synergy between the contemporary—with the design and funk factor—and the traditional—by the execution of the idea. For example, the Corbett chair (which the duo emphasises is very close to their heart) is a square metal-framed chair, but the seat and the back of the chair is made of woven carpet material, handmade by the weavers from Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh.
“We have a 40,000 sq ft working arena set in Ambala, Punjab. There are about 100 artisans—ranging from carvers, carpenters, upholsterers and welders —and all of us are dedicated to the make even utilitarian things beautiful and artistic,” says Natasha. Now you know how to get the quirk back in your life.