The Black Taxi Exhibit - Colour & Design being the Theme!

Its just so nice to be among people who inspire you. Inspire you to create more, inspire you to make use of every little wasted material, inspire you to learn how to use different materials, colours etc! The Black Taxi exhibit inspired me to do all these things. I loved meeting so many wonderful designers and artist. It was my first display or exhibit made in Mumbai and I loved every bit of it.



So the above picture is the overall outcome of the little stall we rented. Kanika Bahl from Anek Designs & myself decided to share a stall since both of us knew each other through common connections! We'd also seen each others work and were super excited about how perfect our stall was going to come together.



I love this little spot! I displayed my burly mirror which I called Floral Goodness on the hand woven stool called Desi Moda and threw some of Kanika's lovely pillows to bring in the cosy look! It looked so splendid that I sold off the mirror!



Another side of the stall got a lot of attention too. It was the peacock themed stools painted in bright bold colours! I call them Serene Plumes & Curvy Plumes!



Bringing my colour stained easel did help! I displayed the unique little Bluesome Vespa mirror on it! It was so retro-ish and loved by all passer-bys.



I was glad to have Ms. Priya Dutt visit our stall. She not only admired the art and effort behind the textile and my designs but also genuinely appreciated our creative skills.



Some of us, bloggers came together and posed for a nice shot! May be some day we'll all actually get to meet and catch up on each others stories!

Just thought I'll a few more pictures!

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Lively-wood exhibits on Apr 22nd-23rd @ Executive Enclave, Bandra(W), Mumbai

For more details click on to Black Taxi Facebook Page

Some more designers present at the exhibition are -


Check it out on Anek Designs


Check it out at Artnlight

And more....of
Spyra - contemporary and trendy handcrafted jewelery
Limited Edition - funky, printed and unique bags
Tuesday Afternoon - ashion apparel and accessories
Riddhika Jesrani Jewelry
Masala Chai
Ai.ko
Pink Tonic - ontemporary fashion brand
Matsya - traditional Indian crafts
Pushme Pullyou - quirky graphics meet chic craft on bags, notebooks, scarves
Chromackey Designs - designer stationery
Velvet Frost - Cupcakes, Cakes and Cookies
Black Taxi....

After a long time I want Lively-wood to go public!! I hope to see you all there!!

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Organizing Art on Wall....Not A Big Deal!!

A lot of us pick up art and wall accessories from various places we travel or as and when we see something interesting. Once its home, it is either lying around somewhere or we get all stressed about getting it up on the wall! How do I drill holes in the wall? How high should it be mounted? How can it be arranged with other pieces to create an inspired statement? Lets talk about getting this job done with less stress and yet be safe, secure and beautiful!

Basics & Style



Step I: When you’re ready to hang the art, the next step is choosing where each piece should reside. If you decide to put more than 2 pieces of art together, make sure how they look good. If the wall is narrow and verticle, perhaps putting them one below the other may bring out its beauty. Or if the wall is wide, placing pictures horizontally might be more appealing.



Step II: When hanging a pair of works, one above the other, treat them as one large picture. It doesn't matter if they are the same or different sizes.



Step III: There is no right or wrong way to do it. Always start from the middle, pick a focal picture or art and work your way out. Work your proportions keeping the central artwork. It isn't even sometimes necessary to have a sequence or logic.

Step IV: Always ask someone to help you to hold these pictures against the wall for you. Then you can take a step back to see what the space is going to look like, understand the proportions and colors, best suited to the wall or the room.

Proportions & Spacing



Step V: Usually, while hanging art, the center of the picture should be about 60-65 inches off the ground, which places it at eye level.



Step VI: For spacing between art on the same wall, 2-3 inches are used for medium or large size pictures or 1.5 inches for smaller frames. Now, note that the same spacing is important above, below, and on either side of each frame.



Step VII: Lastly, do not be stressed about hanging pictures on the wall. It needn't be perfect or logical. As long as you have worked on your basic proportions, things can't go very wrong. Infact changing displays of art every once in a while freshens things up and lets you display your new work or collection!

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Leisure Lounge @ Home!!

Most of us have little getaways from our mundane lives; and certainly, we need to have at least some of them near us! Well that’s how the idea of the Leisure Lounge came up!

A room not bigger than 200 sq ft needed to be converted in to a lounge area which would accommodate several things and yet make it look like a lounge. The area needed to fit in a book case, study, storage, loft, a bar, a cabinet to showcase a shot glass collection and a stage to accommodate a drum set and other smaller drums from West Africa and Middle East. Now the challenge was to be able to fit so many things in 200 sq ft without cluttering the space and still making it look classy, roomy and artistic!



Very few people have an inclination of collecting something special that will remind them of a place, person or an incident. Here, the challenge was to be able to accommodate over 120 shot glasses collected from travels all over the world. A cabinet had to be made to display, preserve and present the collection.



Next came in another very interesting feature yet a little discreet and innovative. A bar had to be made in a way that an outsider would not know, yet when opened, gave you a surprise! A chic painting with miniature bottles studded on the door of the bar makes it unique and funky! Along with a regular bar, a mobile wine cellar with bottle holders and a tray was also made to be able to push it around to other rooms.



Since this room is a mixture of some fun and work, a study and book case had to be accommodated. More than 200 books needed to be placed and protected from the ever increasing dust. Despite the space constraint in the bookshelf, a small feature had to be added to break the tedium of the quadrangle. An illuminated square was fixed off centre in the bookcase with zigzag shelves which flaunted odd some objects breaking the monotony of its content.



A long desk was made with two storage cabinets. The one on the left was made permanent while the one on the right is movable in order to fit two people on the same desk if need be.



Lastly, the room couldn’t be complete without a platform to hold a striking collection of drum set. The reason for the elevation of the podium was to reduce noise and vibrations produced while playing. Taking advantage of the height, some storage was also created under the stage. The wall and door that bordered the drums was demolished and a glass was fixed in order to cut the noise that made its way outside.

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Tic-Toc goes my Clock!

Its been long ain't it? I've got my hands on the blog after the festive season. You may be wondering why is my title 'Tic-Tok goes my Clock'? Well this time, its all about hand-made and hand painted clocks made specially for this gifting season. So here is a glimpse of my work -

Sparkle Pinkie
I call this clock Sparkle Pinkie. It is obviously pink as you see it and has a whole bunch of feminine features in it like the flowers, a pretty ceremic shoe and to break the girlie monotony and stainless steel plate!


Zardosi Ghoongroo
This clock is inspired by a beautiful saree I saw recently. The lady carried it very elegantly on her with some tiny ghoongroos or bells attached to them. I wanted to use it in my work and the most recent one I was making were the clocks...so here it is!



The Foot of the Lord
This clock is a melange of English colours and the traditional copper foot imprint with several motifs drawn in the Hindu religion.


Saree, Bangle, Mirror!
Another clock inspired by the tradition of India and seen very commonly among women, yes, it is the saree, bangle and the mirror!


Star Flower
This clock is a work of geometry with some beads. It will serve best in kids rooms!


A Bright Sunny Day!
One day I got up to such a beautful morning with home grown sunflowers and bold blue skies. This clock is all about that day! Happy happy thoughts!


The Tool Clock
Sometimes, leftovers from factories makes me want to use it in my work. The 'Tool Clock' is a combination of bits of stainless steel and wood.


You will find all these clocks @ Bliss in Andheri (180, Aram Nagar1, Fisheries University Rd, 7 Bunglows, Andheri. Ph: 022 26332111 )

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Home - Colour, Art & Tradition Inspired!

View of the farms, feel of the winds and openness of the large windows inspired me to take up this project. A small splash of colour was the only thing required to make it look cosy and inviting.





The living room is large with its king size windows and a terrace which opens to a farmland so vast that it is unbelievable to conceive that it is a part of Pune. The owners had some sturdy Sagwan sofas with orange jute upholstery which became my focal point and helped me design the rest of the home. The dark brown furniture helped me to tone down the blues of the walls, orange of the sofas and the yellow of the lamps. We made the room look retro with its retro sofas and a mix and match of wall decor.




To accentuate its retro look, we designed a corner shelf and a little magazine table to balance out the spaces and to help them store things. Instead of using veneers and laminates, I decided to give it an old rugged look to match the rest of the living space.




I also wanted to use some original artwork in this area. It had to be something that nobody would have in their homes. We got some paintings done for less and from the scrap we had.




A corner of the room was also made to store CDs, music system and their TV with a little bar and glass cabinet.




A dance studio became one of the other important themes of this home. The room belongs to an upcoming dancer who according to me should wake up every morning feeling inspired. Hence the ‘dance studio room’!




I could not forget the hallway and the entrance. They had to be classy and inviting. They provided storage for shoes, helmets, tools, newspaper, and inverter.






Lastly the master bedroom, done traditional with so much sunshine and freshness and a mixture of art from various parts of India.

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