These 5 women-led home décor startups are betting on creativity and innovation to impress clients
Are you looking for bright coloured cushions, funky wall-hangings, or minimalistic wall design to give your house a new and warm feel? Look no further than these home-décor startups that can help you with creative and out-of-the-box ideas.
A house becomes a home when its people can creatively organise the décor to make it come alive with a signature look and feel.
Hence, it is not surprising to learn that the furniture and home décor market in India is a profitable business to be in. In fact, it is predicted to reach $27 billion by 2022, according to a report by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
While there are many established companies and startups like Chumbak, FabIndia, and , there are others who with their quirky and personalised creations are creating a nice for themselves.
Here is a list that might interest you if you are planning on giving your home a makeover.
The Lohasmith
Meghna Malik co-founded The Lohasmith with her husband Karun Malik in 2016 when she saw that more and more Indians were turning to modern and minimalist designs. The duo’s Noida-based company specialises in designing and manufacturing metallic home décor products.
The startup offers five categories of products including mirror and wall art, accent furniture such as side tables and floating shelves, bar and serve ware, garden planters, and sculptures and candle holders.
While many homegrown brands have cropped up in the home décor space, The Lohasmith has said it is banking on quality and unique designs, to win customers over.
Additionally, the startup also works with craftsmen and regional artisans to make functional and stylish home products.
Décor Drama
Founded by Sharon Colaco D'Souza who is also its Chief Styling Officer, Pune-based home décor startup DecorDrama makes sure one does not compromise on memorable items while building their dream home.
Believing that any idea is doable, the startup is especially focussed on making any inspiration or pictures work out by interacting with clients and asking relevant questions to understand them better.
Notably, DecorDrama makes sure to reuse materials that may have sentimental value attached to them. For instance, the startup turned a puja corner at a house into a wall feature and designed swatches of old saris that were worn during memorable occasions.
The Wishing Chair
Avneet Mann had aced corporate life for eight years before she turned to do something that made her happy while Vivita Relan quit corporate work within nine months to head the food section of the city page of The Hindustan Times. However, soon they started a lifestyle brand called The Wishing Chair.
Focussed on home décor and gifting space, the duo said it aims to ignite a sense of wonder and happy nostalgia through its products and count on women as its primary customers.
With an in-house team of designers and illustrators, it provides a range of products from various wall-hanging items to vases and garden planters, kitchenware, table and desk accessories like bookends and furniture, as well.
Sold on its website, as well as brick and mortar stores in Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru, in the founder’s own words, each item has to be “magical, dreamy, fairy-tale, whimsical, feminine, playful, and wondrous.”
Chairs & Company
Deena Rodrigues quit her corporate job as a communication and marketing professional after 16 years and turned to her passion for interior designing full-time. Before starting Chairs & Company in Indiranagar, Bengaluru, in 2017, the self-taught interior designer used to help design spaces and redesign furniture for her friends and family.
However, she took to entrepreneurship after many people saw how she had resigned four rosewood chairs and gave them a completely new look.
When you pick up a product from her store, she also shows you how it will work as part of your home décor. She believes books and plants make the furniture come alive.
Fabuliv
Ishita Singh founded home décor startup Fabuliv along with Sumit Rastogi and Anurag Singh who were all engineers before turning entrepreneurs. Founded in 2017, the startup aims to make traditional Indian handicrafts and design relevant in everyday lives.
The idea for the startup came when Ishita went on a trip to Spain and saw a beautiful décor item only to learn that it was made in India.
The entrepreneur got several exporters onboard as vendors and built a manufacturing unit as well.
Today, the startup uses a variety of material such as wood, metal, glass, terracotta, and clay to produce affordable and eco-friendly home décor products.
(Edited by Rekha Balakrishnan)