Anjali Mody is a creative force in the Indian interior design industry, and her innovative approach to design has earned her a reputation as one of India’s most exciting designers. At the last ID held in New Delhi, Mody took a tour of the exhibits across pavilions and picked her five favourites. They ranged from quirky pieces inspired from the parallel universe of a mad scientist Beasley Burette to collections that strive to reinterpret materials. All very exciting.
Project 810
PROJECT 810
Project 810 is a holistic design practice that collaborates with interior designers, furniture designers, and architects to create uplifting spatial experiences. They specialise in retail, hospitality, workspace, and residential projects and prioritise using local resources combined with quality craftsmanship to produce unique designs. Among their projects is the 810/TWO collection, which offers a serene and sensory experience.
Project 810
Mody shared her admiration for the brand at India Design ID 23, and stated, “I absolutely love this brand. There’s this really nice, subtle theme of grey tones paired with really light wooden furniture that I’m really appreciating in their work”.
Take a look at the exhibitors that showcased their works at this year’s ID
Wriver
NINE 01 (WRIVER – MORPHLAB)
Wriver, an extension of the furniture brand Alsorg, is headquartered in Gurugram and aims to make design accessible to trend-conscious consumers. Founded in 2021, the young brand carries on the legacy of providing bespoke furniture, modular kitchens, and wardrobes from inception to execution. They combine immersive technological know-how, business acumen and international standards to facilitate modern living across India. At India Design ID 2023, the brand launched a range of new furniture pieces designed in collaboration with award-winning design studios like MorphLab and MuseMART, among others.
Wriver – MorphLab
Mumbai-based MorphLab, an award-winning, interdisciplinary architectural studio with projects across India, designed the Nuolo series, which showcases Sahil Jain and Ajinkya Manohar’s boundless and diverse designs that venture into unexplored dimensions. Identifying the Nine 01 piece by MorphLab as one of her top picks, Mody stated, “This piece itself is one of my favourites. You can sit on it in a lot of ways. Casual, contemplative.”
MUSEVERSERE (WRIVER – MUSEMART)
Also included in Mody’s selection is Wriver’s collaboration with MuseMART, a product design division of the architectural firm MuseLAB, founded by Jasem Pirani and Huzefa Rangwala.
Wriver – MuseMART
The pieces from this collection called MuseVERSERE, are envisioned around the fictional kingdom of a Mad scientist Beasley Burette, with emotive craftsmanship and material detailing that animatedly narrate the adventures from a parallel universe. Mody expressed her admiration for two chairs in the collection, “Once again, these two pieces are my favourite. They’re almost like a father and a mother. One is slightly more dark, serious, grandiose, and the other one is a little more petite.”
Swell (One O One)
SWELL BY ONE O ONE
One O One is a contemporary furniture and product design company founded by Yasha Mehta and Hiren Ganatra. Their unique statement pieces, ranging from furniture to lights and accessories, are created by translating global design ideas into reality. Their maiden collection, SWELL, showcased at India Design ID 2023, offers a splash of modern eclectic style, combining mid-century aesthetics with a blend of primary and vibrant colours to add character to any space.
Swell (One O One)
While walking through their exhibit at India Design ID, Mody noted, “This is one of the few studios that I can say is really bordering on art furniture. The shapes are playful, the colours are vibrant, making it an interesting experience. Definitely not something that you would see every day.”
JOSMO
JOSMO
JOSMO, an award-winning product brand based in Goa, was founded by Anjali Mody in 2010. The brand specialises in creating products and spaces that embrace Indian heritage while appealing to a global audience. At ID, JOSMO displayed its latest Ceylon Collection which draws inspiration from the captivating textures and tropical atmosphere of Ceylon.
JOSMO
The collection features a range of solid wood and woven cane pieces that creatively blend hard and soft materials to create beautiful shapes. Alongside the new collection, JOSMO also displayed some of their best-sellers from previous collections that were given fresh life with brand-new finishes. “Our pieces are textural, tactile, honest, and simple in their making,” shared Mody.
Story by Ridhima Sharma, photographs by Atul Chowdhary.
Image caption, harmoniously combine two usually distinct indulgences
The link between the two main areas, the one closest to the entryway with the bar counter and lounge and the one at the rear reserved for aesthetic treatments, is a decorative feature with a great scenic impact: a series of deep blue glass portals guides the gaze towards the beauty area, giving the space perspective depth and a theatrical feel. This liminal space also houses the boutique and the facial bar, functions that will cater for a passing public and have faster times than the more complex treatments, as well as delineating the perimeter of the two lounges. “The management of flows and technical spaces,” the architects tell us, “was especially complex. The brief for both Ballard & Fant’s identities were quite specific and binding, so the phases of the choice of space and the layouts of the areas were the most challenging points in the whole project.” cts tell us, “was especially complex. The brief for both Ballard & Fant’s identities were quite specific and binding, so the phases of the choice of space and the layouts of the areas were the most challenging points in the whole project.”The link between the two main areas, the one closest to the entryway with the bar counter and lounge and the one at the rear reserved for aesthetic treatments, is a decorative feature with a great scenic impact: a series of deep blue glass portals guides the gaze towards the beauty area, giving the space perspective depth and a theatrical feel. This liminal space also houses the boutique and the facial bar, functions that will cater for a passing public and have faster times than the more complex treatments, as well as delineating the perimeter of the two lounges. “The management of flows and technical spaces,” the architects tell us, “was especially complex. The brief for both Ballard & Fant’s identities were quite specific and binding, so the phases of the choice of space and the layouts of the areas were the most challenging points in the whole project.” cts tell us, “was especially complex. The brief for both Ballard & Fant’s identities were quite specific and binding, so the phases of the choice of space and the layouts of the areas were the most challenging points in the whole project.”
The link between the two main areas, the one closest to the entryway with the bar counter and lounge and the one at the rear reserved for aesthetic treatments, is a decorative feature with a great scenic impact: a series of deep blue glass portals guides the gaze towards the beauty area, giving the space perspective depth and a theatrical feel. This liminal space also houses the boutique and the facial bar, functions that will cater for a passing public and have faster times than the more complex treatments, as well as delineating the perimeter of the two lounges. “The management of flows and technical spaces,” the architects tell us, “was especially complex. The brief for both Ballard & Fant’s identities were quite specific and binding, so the phases of the choice of space and the layouts of the areas were the most challenging points in the whole project.” cts tell us, “was especially complex. The brief for both Ballard & Fant’s identities were quite specific and binding, so the phases of the choice of space and the layouts of the areas were the most challenging points in the whole project.”
Image caption, harmoniously combine two usually distinct indulgences
The choice of materials and finishes was in keeping with this chromatic landscape. “Through the moodboard we visualized the allure of the space,” explains Pennesi. “An interplay of alternations between more or less tactile surface textures, contrasting colors and opaque and translucent finishes that create intriguing peep-through effects.”
This led to the choice of stoneware tiles by Ceramica Sant’Agostino, which deck the floors and bar counter with their dense and uniform speckled pattern and bind together the different areas into which the space is divided, wth laminates from Arpa Industriale and Kaindl, used respectively for the support surfaces and the structures of the bespoke furnishings.
“We chose these materials for both aesthetic and functional reasons. Aesthetic because this type of semi-finished product has color ranges that enabled us to make choices consistent with the palette we created; and practical because they are wearproof materials and ensure easy sanitization. In particular, Fenix, a special laminate we used to coat the counter top, with a surface that has a non-porous outer layer, makes the material easy to clean and suitable for contact with food as well as fingerprint-proof and pleasant to the touch.”
Even the lighting was curated in detail, helping create a pleasant and richly detailed environment. Bellhop cordless table lamps designed by Barber & Osgerby for Flos, illuminate the tables with their discreet light. Suspended above the bar counter is a spectacular suspension composition created with a series of “leaves” in Diphy polycarbonate. Designed by Mirco Crosatto for Stilnovo, it was inspired by a fascinating Japanese plant, whose flowers turn as transparent as crystal in contact with water.
