Best of Weekender: Fighting pandemic blues with music, handcrafted imaginative furniture, and more

In the third week of April, YS Weekender brought to you stories of music, entrepreneurship, entertainment, health and fitness.

Here are the top stories by YS Weekender from the week that was:

These former-Barclays bankers are helping India fight pandemic blues with music

Mumbai-based Furtados School of Music pivoted during the pandemic to offer online music courses for students of all age groups.

Launched in 2011, the music school is founded by Tanuja Gomes and Dharini Upadhyaya, former bankers at Barclays. Established as FSM Education Pvt Ltd., the music school is more than 75,000 students across the country.

During the nationwide lockdown, FSM pivoted its business model to cater to a larger audience, which was now stuck inside their houses. It partnered with 63 schools and started conducting online music classes. The team also explored the B2C channel and launched FSM Buddy, a platform for courses catering to right brain development. It is now a one-stop platform for all creative skills — music, language, dance, art and craft, speech, and drama. 

Netflix's Ajeeb Daastaans has a brilliant cast; ‘Geeli Pucchi’ steals the show

Produced by Dharma Productions, Netflix original Ajeeb Daastaans is an anthology of short films starring actors Konkona Sen Sharma, Jaideep Ahlawat, Abhishek Banerjee, Aditi Rao Hydari, Shefali Shah, and Tota Roy Chowdhury, among others. 

It released on April 16, and runs for 142 minutes.

Curious to know what we think about the film? Check YourStory Reviews.

This Bengaluru-based duo is handcrafting children’s furniture that helps in free flow of imagination

Founded by Karthik Srinivasan and Gayatri Vijayan, Gosh manufactures handcrafted imaginative furniture for children.

“We started Gosh with the belief that there are bound to be many more parents looking for similar products like we did: well-designed pieces of furniture for children that enable play. As space designers, we were also excited about the prospect of building furniture that can be customised for children with varying needs and preferences,” Gayatri told YS Weekender.

Products by Gosh include BLAT (big) and SLAT (small) art stations for young artists; the Cocoon— a low wraparound table that makes for a cosy maker-space; a Beach-in-a-Box, which is a portable sand-and-water station; and range between Rs 3,000 and Rs 30,000.

Seven skincare products that you should stop using in the summer

The sun’s shining bright and that’s not good news for your skin. It’s time to change your skincare routine – and swap your beauty products – to keep your complexion dewy, fresh, and glowing.

With summer on the way, you might want to reconsider the skincare products you use on a daily basis, especially since some moisturisers and makeup products are too heavy for everyday use. M.D Dermatologist Dr Poorva Shah writes about seven skincare products that one should stop using this summer.