Article Category: Current

Presenting this year’s stellar line up of the honorees of the 17th ELLE DECO International Design Awards (EDIDA) India. Hosted at the iconic Liberty Cinema in Mumbai, this year’s awards unravelled over an unforgettable evening.

EDIDA young talent

Viti Mittal: The talented creative channelled Indian tradition to shape a collection of unglazed ceramic utensils. Women have always inherited family traditions and recipes. The kitchenware gets stained with every use, reflecting the cultural sentiment of utensils passed down from mother to daughter.

EDIDA student of the year

Akshay Chandekar: Akshay enrolled in the furniture design programme at NID, where he worked on Mingle, the table that won him this award.  Inspired by the foliage of a tree, the symbol of life, the idea was to encourage conversations in workspaces without the constraints of hierarchy.

EDIDA furniture

Iqrup+Ritz: The mother-daughter duo has been known for their beautiful design, understated luxury and expert craftsmanship since 2014. The Edo cabinet is inspired by Japanese design principles of Kanso (simplicity), Shizen (nature) and Yugen (profound and subtle beauty), whilst the Cell marble coffee table has been meticulously crafted by expert artisans in Jaipur.

EDIDA Furniture

Sandeep Sangaru: He believes in marrying traditional knowledge and skill with design and technology to make objects of daily use invaluable, accessible and enjoyable. His collections are an embodiment of his design language—a reflection of quintessential Indian tradition and craftsmanship.

EDIDA Bedroom

Priyam Doshi: The Bedroom is a playful and trendy bedroom furniture collection that offers handy, quick access open storage to the inhabitant. Making use of production techniques like pipe and metal bending, welding and powder coating, this collection landed Priyam the award.

EDIDA Bathware

Shonan Purie Trehan: The multi-talented designer looked to reimagine bathware as sculptural art through this collection. The washbasins and counters are sculpted in concrete and finished in polished pigment, cast in situ terrazzo. The terrazzo is fluid and sensuous—the perfect material for water to flow over,

EDIDA Tabletop

Harpreet Padam: Re-inventing the traditional form: Padam brings back the magic of the OID bidriware boxes, which are made of deep black oxidised zinc and inlaid with pure silver. Used for storing small valuables, coins, keys or collected ephemera, this ode to the craft of bidriware by the Unlike Design Co. founder was stunning, to say the least.

EDIDA lighting

Vibhor Sogani: Inspired by the weaver bird’s nest, Casa is a tribute to ‘home’ in the natural world. The homogeneous blend of burnished beads form a warm, comforting cocoon, whilst the light emanating from the egg-shaped marbled glass adds life to this breathtaking installation by the veteran designer.

EDIDA flooring

JJ Valaya for Ayush Choudhary: JJ Valaya’s celebrated design sensibilities and Cocoon’s mastery in fine rug weaving resulted in a stunning collaboration. Woven with natural, handspun silk and carded wool, the Isfahan collection is inspired by one of the oldest Persian cities, but maintains contemporary motifs.

EDIDA flooring

Ayush Kasliwal: The Vankar (weaver) Namda (felt) is a combination of two ancient textile techniques from Gujarat and Rajasthan. The coming together of two communities to create this contemporary black and white woollen rug is the perfect example of a harmonious India that AKFD Studio’s maestro strives for.

EDIDA Wallcoverings

Bandana Jain: The contemporary artist’s infatuation with a unique material, corrugated cardboard, manifested itself in this dynamic wall mural. Perfectly Imperfect was an attempt to arrest the beauty that lies in the involuntary movement of nature, such as waves in the ocean that can be likened to the spontaneous folds of a fabric.

EDIDA Kitchen

Ashiesh Shah: The EDIDA Designer of the Year 2016 and winner in the fabric category for 2017 took home yet another trophy this year. Inspired by a Japanese technique, wabi-sabi, The Celestial Marble Sphere can be fragmented into nine dinner table objects representing the shift from one to many moon phases.

EDIDA Fabric

Vaishali Shadangule: She draws inspiration from her ability to observe and listen, allowing her designs to speak for themselves. This textile is made by fabric cord, handcrafted motifs and intricate hand embroidery. It looks to represent nature in its entirety through textures that resemble abstract landscapes and spaces.

Take a look at this year’s stellar line up of honourees at the 16th ELLE DECOR International Design Awards (EDIDA) India, profiled against the beautiful heritage structure that is University of Mumbai, Fort.

EDIDA Designer Of The Year – Rooshad Shroff
There isn’t a material that this multi-faceted Mumbai creative hasn’t experimented with. This year, his inlay tabletop series, embroidered furniture, coloured Sanding collection and limited edition lighting for textile powerhouse Atmosphere land him the coveted title. Website: www.rooshadshroff.com

EDIDA Young Talent – Kunaal Kyhaan Seolekar
The multi-talented Pune-based creative uses natural and raw materials, colours and shapes as his inspiration. His Grid Bed is made using Himalayan pine and the Curve chair is designed to comfortably fit any body shape.Website: www.studiohaus.in

EDIDA Student Of The Year – Harjot Singh
Currently pursuing his Masters in Furniture and Interior Design at NID, Ahmedabad, Harjot won The Park ELLE DECOR Student Contest last year for his weather-resistant Concrete Jungle seater. Now, he bags this coveted award for his multi-functional product Furnitecture, which has modular units that can adapt to any living space.

EDIDA Student 1st runner-up – Radhika Sarraf
While studying in the Bachelor’s Programme of Furniture and Interior Design at NID, Ahmedabad, Radhika took a semester abroad in the Konstfack, University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. Inspired by this semester abroad, her product Lean On Lean Off is a take on a seater for people who need temporary rest in places where seating cannot be arranged.

EDIDA Student 2nd runner up – Karan Bhave
Currently majoring in Furniture and Interior Design at NID, Ahmedabad, Karan’s Link modular seating is an attempt to redefine the concrete chair. The multi-functional top can be used with a rocking chair base, a bar stool base or even that of an outdoor seater.

EDIDA Bathware – Husna Rahaman
At the Bengaluru designer’s label Fulcrum Studio, the Basins and Beyond for him and her are constructed in cool geometric patterns. They are made from hand-cut stone, marble, SS metal tessellations and granite. Website: www.fulcrumstudio.in

EDIDA Bedroom Joint Winner – Pravir Sethi
Envisioned under his Mumbai firm Studio Hinge, the Sweep Bed hopes to keep hotel rooms versatile. The two leather-clad single beds can be joined as a double sleeping system, and when to split, the sideboard serves as a table. Website: www.studiohinge.in

EDIDA Bedroom Joint Winner – Sarita Handa
Having previously won an EDIDA for Fabrics in 2013, the New Delhi-based textile brand wins for their Berber Cushion Collection, which is inspired by the hand-sewn rugs made by the Berber women of the Atlas mountains in Morocco. Taking the powerful stories and symbolic language represented by these carpets, this series uses a variety of colours, patterns and textures. Website: www.saritahanda.com

EDIDA Fabric – Ashiesh Shah
The EDIDA India Designer of the Year 2016 took home the trophy this time for his Silver Mesh. Using pure silver wire that’s handwoven into a textile-like structure, the process to make a single panel is so meticulous that it takes around four months to complete just a wall. Website: www.ashieshshah.com

 EDIDA Flooring – Bugali, Gulabi Devi, Mobin, Gaffar & Savitri Devi For Jaipur Rugs
The brand launched the Artisan Originals Collection with the aim of creating a personal connection between rural weavers and the international market. The range that wins them their first EDIDA showcases traditional Rajasthani culture, motifs inspired by nature, personal stories and shakkarparas. Website: www.jaipurrugsco.com

EDIDA Furniture Joint Winner – Ranjan Bordoloi
The Guwahati designer’s Pitoloi Stool was made in collaboration with a master craftsman of Assam’s Moriya community. Known for using traditional methods and skills to create high-end contemporary objects, Ranjan crafted this bar seater and stool in an effort to revive the dying form of making utensils and artefacts by hammering brass. Website: www.studiobordoloi.com

EDIDA Furniture Joint Winner – Saif Faisal
Previously winning for his lights in 2016, the Bengaluru-based designer’s Bidriware Qaiser table series explores various design patterns. Using walnut and beech wood, the range explores snowflake motifs and oxidised Zillij patterns. The curved stem and base give the illusion of defying gravity, as though the tip of the stem is just barely resting on it. Website: www.saif-faisal.com

EDIDA Kitchen Joint Winner – Nidhi Kalra For Artt’dinox
The Ghee Pot is a modern take on the traditional Indian method to melt clarified butter. Designed around the concept of a milk boiler by the New Delhi-based creator for Artt’dinox, it has a double-walled jacket which, when filled with water and kept on a flame, provides indirect heat. Website: www.arttdinox.com

EDIDA Kitchen Joint Winner – Ayush Kasliwal
The 2013 EDIDA India Designer of the Year’s Shiva Jug is inspired by the eponymous god. Awarded the UNESCO Seal of Excellence in 2016, this handmade copper pitcher has an elegantly balanced lid like the khamandalam, a yogi’s copper Ayurveda water vessel. Website: www.akfdstudio.com

EDIDA Lighting – Soumitro Ghosh
The Bengaluru-based architect’s 5 ft tall Sextuplet lighting system features interlocking geometric patterns made with stainless steel bent panels and cables. Website: www.mathewghosh.com

EDIDA Tabletop – Saif Faisal
The Bengaluru designer’s Cork Trays are inspired by the early era wicker platters. They have been crafted keeping in mind an ecological and contemporary expression of design. Website: www.saif-faisal.com

EDIDA Wall Coverings & Finishes Joint Winner – Shabnam Gupta
The Mumbai designer’s versatile Bricks can be used to build a standalone partition or screen, using terracotta and ceramic. It plays on light and shadow with perforations and hollow breaks adding a raw natural look. Website: www.shabnamgupta.in

EDIDA Wall Coverings & Finishes Joint Winner – Sanjay Puri
The Mumbai architect’s Paper Tube Ceiling uses fire retardant of different lengths in various compositions on the walls – this can be used within any space, transforming it structurally with minimal cost. Website: www.sanjaypuriarchitects.com