PROFILE

Imagine a bookshelf that was once a row-boat or a driftwood-cum-metal Buddha sculpture that also performs the duties of a lamp spreading diffused mood-lighting. Cocoon, Sheena Rawla’s signature store for home accessories, is offering products with a new spin on design. But Rawla prefers to call Cocoon a rhapsody in “solid wood with a rustic feel”.

Cocoon offers an eclectic mix of products that you probably need for your home: from heavy-duty furniture to the smallest accessories. There are candles, napkin-holders, wine-holders and a range of mirrors framed with teak, rosewood and mango wood. For your personal style, you can take your pick from eco-friendly bags and silver jewellery from Jaipur.

A Master’s degree holder in Urban Planning, Calcutta-born Rawla entered the world of furniture design and home accessories almost by accident. Back in 2003, a cocktail party thrown at her Theatre Road apartment for friends got them interested in the furniture she had designed. Her friends were impressed by the furniture samples they saw and placed orders almost immediately.

Soon afterwards Rawla launched her signature brand, Cocoon. “I’m sold on solid wood furniture and it fortunately continues to be very popular in the Indian market,” she says.

Today there are two Cocoon stores in Calcutta — one on Theatre Road and another in New Alipore. With 170 karigars working in her factory, Rawla is now planning to take Cocoon to Chandigarh, Pune and Bangalore.

The furniture and knick-knacks at Cocoon are sourced from all over the country, but there’s also a healthy bulk of products from South Asian countries like Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Rawla’s own designs gracing Cocoon are made at a factory in Taratolla.

Cocoon has a fan following in the expat community and French, German, Italian and Thai diplomats based in Calcutta are among Rawla’s regular clients. Recently, she helped designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee decorate his home. She also designed the interiors of The Ffort Suites, businessman Harshvardhan Neotia’s upcoming hotel project in Raichak.

She may have her hands full with turnkey interiors projects and of course Cocoon, but Rawla hasn’t forgotten her love for bags. Coast, her line of linen, hemp, cotton and jute bags retails from four standalone stores in the city.

Trends

Trends in interiors are signalling a return to natural and eco-friendly materials, she says. Rawla too favours natural fibres like linen, hemp, flax and raw silk. She loves working with wood as she says the texture of natural wood makes designing furniture a pleasure.

At the moment, the Middle East and Africa are proving to be trendsetters in terms of colours, she adds. Earthy and vibrant Moroccan interiors with their colourful pottery and rugs are a major inspiration these days.

PROducts

Rawla’s line of furniture is knocked together only in woods like teak, seesham and mahogany. Check out the king-size Rajasthani bed in teak with an iron inlay bed-head (Rs 45,000, mattresses cost extra).

Bar cabinets, bookshelves and consoles are some of the most popular items at Cocoon and are priced between Rs 15,000 and Rs 40,000. An unusual one is a book-shelf fashioned out of half-a-boat that Rawla bought in Bali. Priced at Rs 65,000, it can be converted into a cabinet by attaching glass doors.

Rawla prefers wooden benches to sofas as she feels that they look very ethnic when combined with antique chests. While the benches cost around Rs 20,000, a chest that can double up as a centre-table is priced between Rs 15,000 and 35,000. The antique chests are more expensive than the newer ones.

More seating options come by way of leather poufs (Rs 6,500) and casual floor cushions (Rs 2,500 each). Cocoon’s dining tables are usually four-seaters and come in solid teak or seesham (Rs 20,000). There are chairs to match but at an extra cost.

Lamps are yet another Cocoon speciality and they have been sourced from all over India and Thailand. Some are fashioned from cane and driftwood (priced around Rs 4,500). There are interesting Thai lamps crafted from coconut shells (Rs 4,500 to Rs 7,500) and lightweight bamboo lamps from Vietnam (priced between Rs 3,000 and Rs 8,000).

There’s something for your walls too. You could pick up some antique windows from Thailand for Rs 4,500. For the ceiling there are wrought-iron chandeliers and there’s a special one that Rawla bought in Shanghai (Rs 1.25 lakh).