Jaya Ibrahim

Jaya Ibrahim, son of a Javanese princess and a diplomat father, is one of the foremost interior designer in Indonesia. Jaya's designs and work proudly display his Indonesian traditions and heritage, as well his exposure to the best in design in the western world. Read more about Jaya here and take a look at his many luxury hospitality projects. A few images from his elegantly designed home right here!

[All images: Jaya Ibrahim]

Fenton and Fenton

I love these beautifully styled rooms from Lucy and Emma Fenton's delightful store and retail space in Australia. Fenton and Fenton is filled with bohemian picks from around the world, including India. Take a look at their range of products there and my pick from their photo shoots right here!

[All images: Fenton and Fenton]

P.S: Hope you have hopped over here and here and left a cheery little hello to enter the giveaway? Just two days left before the winners are announced!

India Design Forum

[Featured above: Designs by Viya and Klove Studio] 

India Design Forum [IDF], the first ever international design event conceptualized and organized by the Coimbatore Centre for Contemporary Arts, is currently on in Delhi. The 9 day long design festival celebrates not only innovations in design in art, architecture, fashion, interiors and graphics in India, but also aims to strengthen it's collaboration with the international design world. The IDF concludes this Saturday, with a 2 day intense forum featuring design industry experts and influencers. An Indian Summer is very pleased to announce that it has been invited as an official associate blogger for the event! I am very excited at the opportunity of attending the speaker sessions (at least a few - prior work commitments are playing killjoy :/), and bringing to you that what catches my eye and interest.

The speaker and topic list for the forum is eclectic; with sessions covering design ideas and innovations, design in Indian context and identity, ethics in creativity, cities and architecture and more. Take a look at the IDF speaker list and the sessions lined up for Day 1 and Day 2.  

[Speaker snapshot]

If you are in or around Delhi, and if you sleep breathe and eat design, then it would be a great idea to drop in and register yourself for the forum. See you there!

India Design Forum on Facebook and Twitter and YouTube (connect for live event feed)

Holi Mubarak...

...and

A Very Happy Women's Day!

To celebrate,
An Indian Summer brings for you

Giveaway and Goodies!

First up is...

fabulloso!

fabulloso!, an online store, founded by the husband and wife team of Gaurav and Anupma Taneja, offers a curated selection of beautiful things for you and your home. The store went online in January 2012 with an array of Indian designer wear, wardrobe classics, shoes, accessories and exquisitely designed and meticulously crafted home décor items. The store also stocks a selection of investment pieces like photographic art, paintings and sketches. Along with selections from some of India's top and emerging designers, fabulloso! also has it's own in house line with beautiful designs. 

fabulloso! is offering An Indian Summer readers in India a 10% discount on their first purchase! The offer is valid till April 15th. Just sign in, use the exclusive promo code 84198 and shop away! Visit fabulloso! on facebook right here.

Aniika

I showcased Aniika in November last year. It is still one of my favorites sites to browse through a hand picked collection of original designs from young designers from India. On this Women's day, Aniika would like to offer An Indian Summer readers in the US a special 15% discount till the 15th of March. Use the code ANINDIANSUMMERANWD2012 as you shop!

Cleosara 

Cleosara is an independent brand of urban, chic, sterling silver jewelry with natural gemstones, based out of Chennai. The designs are made for the contemporary woman who loves clean, simple lines and diverse range of jewelry to match her every day living. You can find Cleosara on Etsy, UsTrendy, ASOS, Zaarga.com and their newly launched online shop.

Cleosara would love to giveaway this gorgeous pair of Hayden earrings (above) to one of You! All you need to do is head over to An Indian Summer's page on facebook, and leave a comment right here! That's right - just leave a comment on the pic of this lovely pair of earrings on facebook. Cleosara and I would pick a winner (random selection) on March 15th. The giveaway is open for my fabulous readers from all countries!

Alloy Jewelry

Alloy Jewelry, is a hobby turned passion for the Vermont based Leah Jones. A former editor, Leah makes these hand-stamped, personalized sterling silver and copper necklaces and bracelets, on a table strewn with books, tea cups and play dough, and in the midst of the laughter of two mischievous children.

Leah would love to giveaway this heavenly Sweet Dandelion necklace (above) to one of You! All you need to do is head over to An Indian Summer's page on facebook, and leave a comment right here! That's right - just leave a comment on the pic of this lovely necklace on facebook. Leah and I would pick a winner (random selection) on March 15th. The giveaway too is open for my fabulous readers from all countries!

Much thanks to all featured stores for hosting the giveaway and discounts! :)

[All images copyright An Indian Summer and respective stores]

Photowallahs

Oskar Landi

Oskar Landi, a photographer born and brought up in Italy, has been capturing the many moods of India and it's people in his sublime images over the last one decade. His project 'Also In India', captured on Polaroid peel-apart instant film that was later scanned and enlarged, is currently up at the Impossible Project space in NYC.  Oskar's evocative art photographs are also available as limited edition prints.

Manasi Kashyap

Manasi Kashyap, a lifestyle photographer and film maker, travels worldwide to capture beautiful homes, weddings, life events, portraits, products and much more. Based out of London, and occasionally Bombay, Manasi's portfolio captures the space, the environment as much as the key subject. Manasi shoots her lifestyle images on film for the beauty and warmth it lends to the photographs. Do browse through Manasi's beautiful portfolio on her facebook page, and her website.

[All images copyright respective photographers]

P.S: I had promised to put up this post last week, but well, I couldn't. The husband and I had sudden unexpected whirlwind of days, and not of the nice kind. We are both catching our breath, and gradually getting back to normalcy this week. If you have written to me over the last one week and haven't heard back; do give me a few days more. Am going through my inbox as and when I am finding some time. Your emails, as always, are helping bring back my chirp factor :)

Oodles of Talent

..is what this post is about
A few bright peeps and some lovely stores

And a couple of discount codes!

Padmaja Krishnan

Padmaja wrote to me a few weeks back and shared her work with me. As I browsed through her albums, I was mesmerised by the gossamer fabric and fluid silhouettes of her beautiful clothing line. I could almost feel the gorgeous clothes through these images! Padmaja, an alumnus from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi, has had solo as well as group exhibits of her work in several countries including UK, Japan, USA, Hong Kong and Portugal. Her work has recently been covered brilliantly by Vineeta and Kavita - do click on the links to read more about her profile and inspiration.  

You can find Padmaja on facebook, and via her site/blog Transit Design

Nikheel Aphale

I chanced upon Nikheel's work late last year. I am a huge fan of calligraphy, and illustrations, and completely fell in love with Nikheel's works of art! According to Nikheel, his work reflects the image-centric visual abstraction of letter forms, where legibility often plays a secondary role. He likes to explore compositions of letters and expose their hidden beauty through interesting forms, spaces and surfaces with the help of unconventional tools and techniques.

Nikheel currently works as an independent graphic designer and calligrapher in Delhi, India. His artworks are available for sale, and he can also be reached for doing customized design work.

Get in touch with Nikheel on his blog - Personaleekhin, and via this email

Little Prachee

Little Prachee is an adorable clothing line designed and run by Prachi Walia, a graduate from National Institute of Fashion Technology, Bombay. 
Little Prachee's inspiration comes from vintage clothing. The lovely 'mom' crafted frocks and the joy of dressing up. The choice of fabrics come from beautiful heritage of rich Indian handloom to which is added imagination and finesse of modern tailoring, and, a touch of love to everything!

Find Little Prachee on Facebook, and their soon to be launched website.

L'Atelier Des Cousines

L’Atelier des Cousines is founded by Barcelona born Cristina and  Elisabet. They have accumulated their experiences and interests from their stay in London, Australia and France and created the delightful line of kids and home accessories called L’Atelier des Cousines. Bringing together damask, Scottish pattern, french cottage chic and eastern ethnic style together, their collection is a must see!

Find L’Atelier des Cousines on their blog, and shop for their products on Etsy. The good news is that An Indian Summer reader's can avail a special 15% discount on all their products on etsy by using the code ANINDIANSUMMER1. Happy shopping! 

 The Butter NYC

A chic downtown NYC based design team, hailing from Japan, offers cards, stationery, invitations, all of which can be customized to your liking! They have some exciting patterns in their latest collection, and, a special discount code just for you! Use INDIANSUMMER here while making purchases, and you'll get a 10% discount! 

The Butter NYC's website, their blog and also on facebook!

It's Handmade

Conceptualized and run by Shreya Bajaj, a 22 year old student from Bangalore, India, ItsHandMade, an online selling portal gives an opportunity to all creative people to share their creations on a common platform. Shreya's dream is to give people a reason to create art all the time as a means to a livelihood, instead of practising it as just a hobby. This is what I would pick from the promising site:

 

Shop for products here and Connect on facebook with ItsHandmade

Zaarga.com

Pavithra sent me information on another interesting online portal called Zaarga.com. Zaarga aims to create an aesthetic online market place as well as a community feel interface that enables sharing of ideas and feedback through social sharing and blog inputs. My pick of goodies from Zaarga are right here!

Shop from Zaarga and connect with them on facebook

Himani's Photographic Narration 

There's a new blog on the block, and one that I am watching with interest! Himani Mantri Grover is a product designer based out of Gurgaon, India, and has recently started the blog Chicory Chai. This is what she says about herself and her blog: I am influenced by the past & the stories it tells. I love the luxury in ‘ancient’, glamour in ‘retro’ & the chic elegance of ‘vintage’ & the priceless charm of ‘handmade’. I can't wait to see more of her beautifully photographed images!

Say hello to Himani here!

[All images: An Indian Summer and respective owners]

You now know why I said Oodles of Talent at the beginning of this post, right? 

Some seriously talented people are right here in this post!

There are two peeps whom I still need to write about

Two brilliant photographers

One from India, and one who loves to photograph India!

Do come and visit me tomorrow

And I promise to regale you with beautiful visual stories

Photographed by these two photo wallahs :)