Entering Portside Café Furniture Studio in a sleepy corner of South Delhi is like taking a flight of fancy. Behind the bright blue doors—that can be mistaken for a cheery bistro—there’s a world of immense possibility and character.
The first few pieces that greet us are the ones from Aggarwal’s latest Cement series. It effortlessly stands out from other soft-at-the-edges leather furniture at the store, thanks to its sharp lines and texture that bore striking resemblance to cement walls. We touched the surface of the beam desk, almost expecting it to be coarse. But it turned out to be smooth, grainy leather. “That’s the idea behind it. The pieces look like cement blocks and walls, but feel like leather,” he says.
It is here at the studio in Lado Sarai that you see ramification of his creative brain waves. Aggarwal insists otherwise. “You should have a look at our manufacturing facility in Noida. The real drama unfolds there,” he says.
As we imagine the hullabaloo at the unit, he takes us through the collection. Nothing, it seems, passes through his seasoned gaze without transforming into a pièce de résistance for a minuscule second when he decides its worth as an element for his next collection. Not even unsightly blocks of concrete, for he can turn simple thoughts into tangible things worth possessing. “Some time I find myself waking up at night with an idea and I don’t waste even a minute to sketch it down.” The romance of paper and pencil has not left him yet.
“The thought originated as I gazed at the walls of my factory. The imperfections and fluidity of patterns—each different from the other—inspired me to develop something that has never been tried before, at least not with leather.” Thus, began the journey of the Cement series.
Photography was done at day’s end to get the patterns right, which were then turned into graphic designs. Swatches of leather were sent off for digital printing. “It took us two months to get the texture and look right,” he says. Since the pieces—work desk, chairs, back lit display shelves, a bar on wheels, coffee tables, dresser, console, cupboard, chest of drawers—couldn’t possibly be soft at the edges, they took a leaf from architects’ sketches for inspiration.
The furniture takes the shape of beams, panels and blocks of cement. “Brass accents were added to offset the rigidity of the columns. It’s an element of surprise,” Aggarwal says. The collection is available at the stores in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Jodhpur.
His previous collections—Balli Maran, Dak Bangla, Rose series, Warp n Weft, Mixed Metphor, Yatch Club, Barn House and more—speak volumes about his design mastery, yet are so close to the real world. Because Portside Café also exports to distinguished brands across the world, his kaarigars are quality-conscious and the staff is a stickler for timely delivery.
“Designing for Indian market is passion-driven. This is why we do limited pieces,” he adds. Aggarwal is of a school of thought that does not believe in pushing its clients into buying an entire collection or stuffing their homes with everything from his store. “I don’t sound like a businessman, do I?” he asks with a smile. The man—more of a creative force than a businessman—tried his hands at running a restaurant, organising rock shows, even making shoes, before finding his calling and how.
“It is easier to experiment with designs now than ever before.” He points out that Indians have started to accept non-conformity, something that keeps him going. “Architects and interior designers have also done their bit to educate people,” he says. It is also because of fearless designers like him, we say.