Surprisingly, it isn’t a hot day in Delhi. Or rather, it is, but not at the Nicobar studio, where old, indigenous trees spread their canopies, and an organic kitchen garden thrives. Here, a clutch of people — some from the suburbs and a couple from places as distant as Paris and Dublin — gather for an immersive Garden Studio Experience. Located in the Chhattarpur farmhouse area, you’re led away from the capital’s traffic, down shaded lanes to a pace that’s immediately slower than what you left behind, just 100 metres away.
Nicobar, founded by Raul Rai and Simran Lal, is a design-centric brand for those who have a young mindset. It tells a story of living life the modern Indian way: through travel, exposure to varied experiences, and an appreciation of all that is deeply rooted in our culture. In a collaboration with Airbnb, the brand offers a four-hour experiential (almost a tutorial), in slipping into a life that is authentic and natural to who you are. “It’s a touchpoint to engaging with people on thoughtful consumption, on styling, and on giving people a sense of the journey behind a finished product,” says Lal.
Finding balance
The workshop elevates the mundane life choices that we make, meshing them with a design philosophy that is simple at heart. For instance, a live table-setting demonstration shows participants how to use separates from a crockery cupboard and still keep the harmony, how to layer a tablecloth (transforming a heavier cotton printed one by throwing a sheer one over it, for a light summery feel), and how, by using a base plate of white, you can unite the setting and still play around with the mats and bowls. The staff also shows us how a table arrangement doesn’t always have to a floral centrepiece: it can be a receptacle of greens at one side of the table, balanced at the other end with another item of interest, like a large salad bowl.
NEW DELHI, 27/04/2017: A table setting being explained during a workshop at Nicobar Design Studio in New Delhi on Thursday. Photo: V.V. Krishnan
“We don’t want people to buy too much, nor do we want to keep it all match-ey, match-ey,” says Rajiv Purohit, who heads product development and sourcing. The thought: add to your accessories with things you pick up from all over the world, and it’ll all add up to who you are and still feel like it belongs in the same space.
Style and the city
As you are led, from one experience to another, the space shifts and you’re introduced to the staff that specialises in a particular section. So as you stand under the frangipani in the gravelled yard, two boys who block-print for a living, help you do it for yourself. Pushing wooden blocks into colours like bougainvillea pink, rain-cloud grey and aqua, you get a sense of what it’s like to block-print chanderi fabric. The boys tell you exactly how much pressure to apply, how to do a border without the design overlapping and the way a simple chevron can take so much alignment.
NEW DELHI, 27/04/2017: Rajiv Purohit explains block printing during a workshop at Nicobar Design Studio in New Delhi on Thursday. Photo: V.V. Krishnan
There’s also the styling segment where the vibe is almost gender-fluid, easy and accessible. It’s simplicity in design with only natural fabrics – mal , chanderi, linen, silk. Elephants, palm trees and hearts – these are motifs you’ll see constantly, pulling you into playfulness, even with work-wear. There are people from the team to help you with trials, and no matter what you pick, it seems to work!
The hours are punctuated with nimboo paani and bhel puri , conversations about travel and discussions on the difference between bone China, porcelain and stoneware. There are little surprises thrown in, but we won’t give those away.
International sensibility
The evening is rounded off with a gift-wrapping session, with scraps you’re sure to have around the house — like newspaper, twine and sprigs of rosemary. “It’s a refreshing perspective on a mindful lifestyle. I liked the way all the designers we spoke to brought out how our Indian roots can find a way into everyday comfort and modern living,” says Sattu Mujumdar, who is currently in India setting up a global shared-services centre for Airbnb.
As you sit in the ‘rig room’, where the month’s sensibility is on display — by way of clothes and home accessories — Purohit takes you through what the just-over-a-year-old Nicobar stands for. The room is where the team sits, to understand the details of what the finished product looks like. He doesn’t make you feel like it’s a sales pitch and draws the group into conversation. Having lived in New York for 25 years (he began studying medicine and then switched to fashion design!), he has worked for brands like Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein.
He’s just back from a trip to Burma and weaves his own experiences into his telling of the process of design – from concept to finished product: inspiration, idea and mood board, to tassel crafting, printing and panel making. “Yes, we make products, but it’s not about ‘you need another pair of pants’; it’s about the simplicity of sharing our joy of what we do with everybody who’d like to be a part of the journey,” he says.
At ₹4,000, the next session is on May 18. Book on airbnb.co.in/experiences/41178
