Rest on Floral Prints of the Past

Want to own a piece of art and rest on it too? Soft silky cushions designed by Nandini Sawhney under the brand name Pintado helps you do just that. Her new collection of cushions titled ‘Flora’ brings age old art of Chinese, Japanese and European floral designs right into your living room. “These prints are only found in museums – be it in India and abroad. In the past, say in the 18th century, before photography was introduced, the explorers recorded new varieties of fauna only through drawings. My collection is inspired by those,” says Nandini

The cushions, according to the designer, are more like pieces of art — a luxury — and are not for rough use. Each piece, which has big prints of flowers made on silk, tells a story. “I wanted them big, because only then the colours are shown better. If you see the background, I have printed the names of the flowers, as they were called then, in the areas they were found. For example, in one of the cushions, which has a lotus print on it, you will see the word Lian in the background. Lian, in Chinese, refers to Lotus, and the print is inspired from a Chinese sketch,” she says.

Drawn to old textiles and prints, the designer has been collecting them from the various places she travels to, for years now. This collection only showcases a part of it. “I have restricted this collection to floral patterns, and to areas like Japan, China and Europe — like Japanese white flowers or Egyptian tile print. I have Indian prints as well, but haven’t used them in this collection,” she says.

‘Flora’ cushions are available at Evoluzione, No 3, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Chennai. Call 2833 3627 for details.