Glimpse of Kaji. Picture by Rashbehari Das

Kaji, at 38/A Garcha First Lane, is all about exclusivity. Entry into this 600sqft designer studio is by appointment only. Designer-proprietor Srivant More has opened the month-old store in his home. Four months ago, the just-married Srivant and Devina More were toying with the idea of starting their own business and by October, they were ready to begin. “I was always designing friends’ rooms and consulting on design spaces but it never really occurred to me to take this up as a profession,” admits Srivant.

A look around the home accessories space and it is clear that being a novice is no deterrent.

THE DECOR

The studio is dominated by a wacky two-tiered chandelier made of beer bottles. The brown pint bottles (Kingfisher Strong) make up the first tier and green bottles (Kingfisher Premium) make up the second tier. The influence, Srivant says, is London. “I was studying there and it has such a culture of pubs and beer, I’d often see lights made of glasses,” he explains.

Bright silk curtains give the all-white interiors a trendy, yet classy touch. Two miniature artificial French windows are mounted on a bare white wall for quirky effect. A golden birdcage and vintage trunks add old-world drama.

THE COLLECTION

Retro dominates the collection, from a funky accessories stand shaped like a mannequin to mirrors framed with quilted, synthetic leather mounted on plywood. Digital prints define most of the items like cushions, coasters, trays, clocks, dustbins and photo frames. Some digital vector images will even make good wall art or function as a screen.

Artfully edited images of Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando and Audrey Hepburn peek at you from all kinds of surfaces — from behind the hands of a clock or from a cushion reclining on a sofa. Prints of period movies like Devdas, Jodhaa Akbar and Mughal-e-Azam stare at you from wacky trinket and tissue boxes. In the making is a “must-have” Friends poker set of 250 chips that comes for Rs 5,500. Quirky coasters with funny one-liners about beer cost Rs 550 for a set of six. Another eye-catcher is a photo-frame made by a painstaking process of gluing together folded strips of glossy magazine on newspaper.

Kaji, near Gariahat Pantaloons, is also the place to go if you want your home’s interiors planned.

t2 pick: A dramatic 70x74 inch headboard that you can mount on the wall. Lined with teak ply, it has 12 colourful silk and velvet cushions stuck on it by magnets. It comes with extra cushions in different colours. Price tag: Rs 25,000 (approx).

Malini Banerjee