Text by Sarita Rajiv; images courtesy of Varnam
Varnam is one of my favourite gift shops for Indian handicraft products and I’m thrilled to profile it on The Orange Gift Bag . When I first chanced upon Varnam’s home décor collection in India, it was love at first sight. That instant attraction has evolved into a steady love affair for Varnam’s beautifully crafted channapatna products.
Varnam is the brainchild of Karthik Vaidynathan . What started as his personal home designing project grew to a social enterprise that works with artisans in the Channapatna region in the southern state of Karnataka. Varnam’s products are created using the ancient Indian craft of lac turnery, reinterpreting this traditional craft in the modern context. The deep, vibrant colours of Varnam’s home décor products are made using wood from the Wrightia tinctoria tree, also called ivory wood.
Accolades like the CII Design Excellence Award and the Kyoorius Design Awards aside, Varnam’s products are fun, vibrant and have personality. That’s what makes them such fantastic gifts; they’re sure to add zing to any home. Here are a few of my Varnam favourites:
These kuruvi (bird) wall hooks sure are chirpy.
.jpg)
Isn't this a cheeky cat-n-mouse paper roll dispenser?
Karthik sure has a zany sense of humour. Check the Oinkston Tableware series and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
I love Varnam's colourful ode to India. What do you think? You can visit Varnam's webshop here .
What’s the best way to get all these thoughtful and unique gift ideas? Sign up for our mails; enter your email id below:
Sarita Rajiv is a writer, gifting specialist and founder of The Orange Gift Bag. She’s on a mission to uncover the ‘best gifts after love’. When she isn’t dreaming up unique gift ideas, she writes for The Copenhagen Post and The National Geographic Traveller India among others.
You can follow Sarita Rajiv on Twitter , Google , Facebook , Pinterest , and LinkedIn .
