Celebrating Womanhood

The contemporary Indian society depicts women in various forms ranging from homemakers to corporate CEOs and from soldiers to doctors. Not only this but our country is often referred to as Bharat Mata (Mother India), and we also speak of the wilderness as Mother Nature. Women have been entitled to equal powers and amenities by various governing authorities across the globe. With March 8 being celebrated as International Women’s Day every year, we at Bharat Floorings and Tiles stand to celebrate the women around us not just for a single day but through the entire course of time.

We have been working on collaborations with some immensely talented designers who have been instrumental in creating the current landscape of some major locations across the country. Here are some of them.

To start with, we would like to introduce Tejal Mathur whose profile outlines work in the field of interior design and architecture covering the domains of residential, retail and commercial spaces. With nominations and honours at the prestigious Indian Institute of Interior Designers awards, her recent works have earned her tags like “post –modern” vintage designer to “purveyor of the past”. Her works include famous places like British Brewing Company, The Nutcracker and Pali Village Café.

Over three decades, Brinda Somaya has merged architecture, conservation and social equity in projects ranging from institutional campuses and rehabilitation of an earthquake-torn village to the restoration of an 18th century Cathedral. Her philosophy, 'the Architect's role is that of guardian - his is the conscience of the built and un-built environment' is indeed inspiring. Winner of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage award and chosen as one of the 100 GLOBAL PUBLIC INTEREST DESIGN persons, Brinda Somaya holds numerable such priceless accolades. She’s also the first woman to have won the Wienerberger Golden Architect Award for lifetime achievement in 2007. Catch a glimpse of her majestic works at the Cathedral School and at Philips Antiques in Mumbai.

Richa Bahl began her career with advertising and somewhere in between discovered her real passion for interior designing while designing her own house. She professionally began with her design studio in 2009 and since then it’s been an exciting journey. Her choices and influences are based upon various travel experiences to different parts of the world. Featured in design magazines such as Elle decor and Inside Outside, Richa Bahl loves most the fusion of bringing the old and new together. Her work includes Alia Bhatt’s residence and Phantom Films’ office.

Gurmeet Akali studied and practiced architecture in Oxford before moving to Goa and co-founding Studio MoMo. She specialises in Interior Design with a Masters in Advanced Architectural Design. Gurmeet and Benjamin Robb form a unique partnership specialising in luxury villas and restoration of Indo-Portuguese houses of Goa. Being environmentally sensitive in her approach and putting passion into creating eco-friendly designs, Gurmeet’s work style is unique in its own way. Her recent works include luxury villas by Isprava nestled in the serenity of Goa.

Alice von Baum is an artist who combines her skills to create a style that is uniquely her own. She prefers to collaborate with craftsmen using traditional techniques to create a scheme of materials, colours & textures. Featured in Elle Decor, Marie Claire, Vogue and Times Magazine UK, she puts her passion, energy and aesthetic sensitivity to work for a very select clientele. She loves working with houses of different periods and a special interest in turning the Indo-Portuguese houses of Goa into elegant and contemporary living spaces, which soothe, inspire and nurture their residents.

Sian Pascale is a multi-talented artist. She practises as a ceramic artist in both solo and group shows internationally and also writes for design magazines such as The Australian Design Review and Architecture Australia. Apart from been featured in renowned international publications, Sian’s bespoke concrete tile designs for Bharat Floorings has won her an Elle Decor India Interior Design Award. Primarily inspired by the ideas in the book ’In Praise of Shadows’ and Sian’s years of meditation and yoga practise, the designs formed the conceptual framework for another design called ‘The Japanese Line’. Sian Pascale combines her international aesthetic and love of vernacular craft to create unique pieces of art and design evident at her projects like Mumbai's first boutique hotel, Abode Bombay.

Asha Sairam is a dynamic Team Leader and a talented Project Designer at Studio Lotus. She earned a Bachelor in Designing from NIFT, New Delhi. With a vast experience spanning over 6 years, she has mastered the art of interior designing with projects from various segments like Restaurants & Hospitality, Retail Spaces, Corporate Interiors, Exhibitions & Events, Installation Design, Graphic Design, Set Design, Brand Identity Development , etc. To mention her famous projects is one of Jamie Oliver’s Italian Restaurant chain located at New Delhi.

Vritima Wadhwa’s adolescence revolved around art and design. “I used to spend my breaks moulding clay pots and crafting sculptures and all my clothes had paint stains all over” she recalls. After graduating from National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad she worked under a couple of reputed designers until founding her own studio called Project 810 in 2014. An amalgamation of Interior Designers, Exhibition Designers, Graphic Designers and Architects, Project 810 showcases flexibility and expertise in handling projects across scales; from the minutest of furniture details to boutique stores and even large interior-architecture spaces. Vritima Wadhwa’s creativity and passion for designing is quite evident in her projects like The Artful Baker, Café Diva and The Hungry Monkey among others.

We appreciate all our beautiful designers as they celebrate womanhood and sincerely apologise for not being able to include other immensely talented ones, we admire you all and feel proud to be associated with you.