While studying Product Design at Domus Academy, Milan, in 2012, Parth Parikh saw how proud the Italians were of their design heritage, imbibing and celebrating the minutest of details in a most enthusiastic fashion. “Coming from a country that’s equally rich in its design sensibility and visual aesthetics, I too felt a strong urge to show what we have got,” Parikh recalls.
He picked Rajasthan as the topic for his thesis, and its fabrics, motifs and colours became the mainstay of his design. And thus was born the Safa stool. After briefly working with Gufram, the iconic Italian furniture brand, he moved to India with a determination to showcase the best of India through his designs. “As luck would have it, I joined a design company and worked there for four years. Then I decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge after I found myself not challenged enough,” Parikh says.
Design Clinic India was set up in August 2015. The real challenge began for this 26-year-old. He knew he wanted to create furniture that was innately Indian but found himself struggling for funds and craftsmen who would want to take up the work. “I did not have a manufacturing unit or a fleet of kaarigars. I still don’t, but I have a reliable set of people working with me who understand my work,” he explains.
In the beginning it was difficult to push the craftsmen who didn’t want to step out of their comfort zone. “Handcrafting the kind of furniture I design is a labour-intensive process. I cannot take chances or compromise on quality. I would hate to label my furniture a flash in the pan,” Parikh says.
This one-man army, learnt on the job, nudging the kaarigars to create visually appealing products. Along the way, he created a capsule collection with limited number of pieces. So, there are nawab chairs and chepoy inspired by low seating found in erstwhile king’s palaces, Dabbawalla Coffee Table, Angoothee Stool that imitates gemstone-studded rings, Safa Stool and Chair, Galla Stool inspired by the traditional cash drawers, Hathi Daat table lamp that takes the shape of an Indian tusker, and Matka Multi dining table inspired by stacks of matka (earthen pot) that women in villages balance on their heads, among others.
The designer from the family of Ayurveda doctors gets satisfaction when customers appreciate his work. “It was my second outing in India Design ID this year and I could not be in a happier space,” Parikh says. His Phoolmandi collection got an overwhelming response. Inspired by the flower markets of India, it was created with four coloured (orange, two shades of yellow and white) pom-pom balls made of dyed woollen threads. There are stools, poufs, loungers that look like garlands, baskets and gathari full of marigold.
Working from his home studio, Parikh likes to sketch with a pencil but has to turn to computer graphics to gauge the practicality and functionality of his designs. “Since, there is always a money crunch, we cannot afford to have too many prototypes, although I would love to do that someday,” Parikh says. He sources the raw materials from hyper-local markets in Delhi and adjoining states, and outsources spaces for manufacturing the furniture. One can order their choice of furniture online at designclinicindia.com.
Parikh plans to have more pop-up shows, open houses and collaborations with like-minded people and brands. “Since there is no showroom, I would like to generate the right kind of audience through niche spaces, offering a touch and feel experience to them,” he says.