I am increasingly more confident that high quality products can be manufactured throughout India and not just in Rajasthan. The day after I visited the Furniture Fair in Bangalore, I went to Kynkyny Gallery, initially to see paintings, but found myself pleasantly intrigued by the furniture also on display. I was told that all pieces were made in Bangalore.
I decided to go back and meet the owners Vivek and Namrata Radhakrishnan. While Namrata oversees the artistic exhibitions, Vivek is in charge of the design and production of the furniture. Vivek and Namrata set up their company in Bangalore after leaving New York 7 years ago.
Bangalore was then the city of all things happening in India; a perfect opportunity for a new brand of furniture to exist in an art gallery.
Vivek explained that there are several challenges in providing products of quality to a market; first in finding people able to produce them and then identifying people who appreciate and buy them.
Rather than setting up a workshop around a design, Vivek’s furniture is designed to best exploit the capacity of his production unit. The pieces are plain, simple and practical, detailed and finished to the highest standards.
There is a big divide between Indian manufacturers who cater for the western market and those who target the Indian market. Kynkyny’s ambition is to bridge that gap and bring Indian-made quality design to the Indian market. India is shifting from a culture of buying as cheap as possible to one which purchases the most expensive brands. This is somewhat ironic as local brands that propose new products need to earn their seal of quality from overseas markets. Vivek admits that the majority of his clientele comes from Bangalore’s large expat community. When his clients move on or back home they take their purchases with them.
Still, Vivek would not be here today if he did not firmly believe that his home country can produce anything to the highest standard.
In Vivek’s opinion most things, if not everything, can be manufactured in India. For him, it is a matter of requesting the highest quality and not fledging – I would add that you need to be very clear about what you expect. You can find a manufacturing outlet in India without an agent, but finding good intermediaries along the way is crucial.
The great news for European designers is that Vivek is a key person when it comes to prototype and scaling up production.
If you want to find out more about Kynkyny you can contact them through their website.
If you have questions about your product feasibility or about this post, please contact Marion.
