INDIKA CREATIONS

Started in 1999 by Shanta Narayan, Indika Creations is a veritable goldmine for connoisseurs of period furniture. Indika Creations, is into the restoration of old furniture and collectibles made of teak or rosewood. It is an unusual furniture boutique with collections from the past, restored and displayed in their full glory. The wooden easychairs, writing desks, chest of drawers and trunk type chests, all remind one of grandmas place.

"Shanta started Indika by accident", says Suresh Narayan, her husband. After years of living overseas, when the Narayans came back to India and wanted to furnish their home, Shanta found that there was a dearth of good furniture in Chennai. What was good, was too expensive and what was affordable, was not appealing. So, Shanta made furniture of her own. Some friends who saw the end result, asked them to make furniture for them as well. And thus, the seeds were sown for Indika. Apart from restoring old furniture, they also customise furniture to suit contemporary tastes. For example, Shanta converted an old tailor's table in to a mini bar, a teak wood armoire in to a television cabinet and a carved window pane in to a centre table.

Suresh, who till six months ago was working as a consultant, decided to join Shanta and help her out in her business. They have recently acquired a factory in Kandanchavadi, near Tidel Park, where they are planning to shift their workshop, currently operating from home. Their home serves as both workshop and display space. The Narayans have consciously avoided displaying their furniture in a showroom, as they have got a good feedback for the kind of personalised service that they offer. "People just walk in anytime of the day, as and when they find time, our timings are not structured...also, they are able to see the furniture in a home atmosphere. They are able to see the furniture as, it will sit in their homes. Also, people come and tell us this is the budget we have, what can be worked out for this price? We work together with them on deciding what we can do best. Our prices cover the cost of the furniture, the labour that goes into modification, cost of any additional wood used for modifications and a small margin that we add to the total cost", says Shanta.

The objective is to give good furniture to middle class people. Says Suresh, "We bought a sofa set 20 years back and at that time itself it cost us three month's salary. It is really difficult to buy good furniture at affordable prices. Our customers are between the age group of 30 to 50, who have travelled a lot and understand the value of these furniture. The prices are very competitive, our furniture are 30% less expensive than what you find in showrooms"

The Narayans buy old furniture in the second hand market, change it a little bit, give it a different look and sell it. But are old furniture available in plenty? "They are becoming fewer and probably in five years time, they will all disappear, because, people do not seem to appreciate good vintage furniture in India", says Suresh. The furniture the Narayans acquire are very old, some are as old as 70 or 80 years, one or two they have are 100 years old.

The Narayans have around 8 - 10 carpenters, working for them. According to Shanta, it is very difficult to get skilled furniture restorers. Furniture restoring is not like carpentry, it is a different skill altogether. "These are very old furniture, you have to be extremely careful when you are working on old furniture. You have to constantly monitor them". Shanta prefers to hire the workers on a daily wages basis. "Because if they are on contract, they try to rush the job. What's to be completed in three days, will get completed in a single day. You will never know the difference till you start using it. They are so quick with it. A nail here and a nail there, they will do an excellent patch up job, and nobody will know the difference".Do they really understand what you are trying to do? "Yes, they do", says Shanta. "The present bunch is really much better than the ones I had in the beginning".

Shanta is doing this primarily out of interest and her love for this work. " I see so much beauty in wood", she says. All the modern furniture that we buy now-a-days, is not even going to last our lifetimes, and our grandparents made furniture that has lasted for generations. It is really sad to note that there is a huge export market for these furniture, while we ourselves prefer 'medium density fibre furniture'.

The Narayans want to experiment with other wood as well, besides teak and rosewood. They feel there is not much awareness among people about the different types of wood and about what can make good furniture. They want to educate people on this aspect.

Address : Indika Creations, # 12A, 4th Main Road, Gandhinagar, Adyar,
Chennai - 600 020.
Phone : 442 1707.
Fax: 445 2548.
E-mail: indika@eth.net.
URL : www.indika-antiques.com

|