Prem Balasubramanian and Carola Winnie of Chennai-based furniture brand Madras Makers are in Mysuru, furnishing a house with fine woodwork. In Ahmedabad, production is in full swing at Dhruvkant Amin’s 35,000 sq. ft. workshop for his brand, Tectona Grandis. Further north, in Manesar (New Gurugram City), Hitesh Sharma and Avantika Oli of Solid Bench are busy with their commission from Project 810 to make furniture with cirrus teak and live-edge slabs for the Delhi café Fio Pop. And en route to Puducherry, French designer Vincent Roy is hard at work prototyping an exclusive Wood’n Design collection scheduled to be out by the end of the year.
A deep passion for woodworking and a commitment to longevity distinguish these four studios. While their styles range from mid-century modern to Scandinavian and Japanese-influenced furniture, what unites them are their ergonomic designs with exquisite finish and how they prioritise functionality. But it has been an uphill journey. Balasubramanian laments the fragmented state of the industry, the difficulty of market penetration, and the poor understanding of actionable sustainability in building. “We can learn from the auto industry [where a product is assembled and delivered through a streamlined process],” he says. A point that Sharma of Solid Bench agrees with. “Solid wood furniture has had problems getting established because it lacks the capacity to scale up like plywood and particle board-based furniture,” he explains.
However, things are looking up now, especially with the interest in handwork and local craftsmanship post pandemic. Social media, word of mouth, appreciation from architects and interior designers, and new home builders with budgets from ₹15 lakh to ₹2 crore are helping these brands.
