Designer Gaurang Shah Brings India’s Handcrafted Heritage Home With Neel, An Indigo-Themed Décor

Neel is a celebration of India’s rich tapestry of handcraft and techniques, spanning the length and breadth of the country.

“In this collection, we have brought together a wide range of regional techniques. Jamdani weaves from Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam and Venkatagiri villages form the anchor of the collection. Lucknow's chikankari embroidery, Bengal's Kantha work, and Bihar's Sujini embroidery are also employed in various pieces, while Kalamkari's delicate hand-drawn designs, Batik's intricate wax-resist patterns, Shibori's organic tie-dye expressions, and discharge block printing demonstrate the versatility of khadi as a canvas for indigo dye,” explains designer Gaurang Shah.

This initiative provides year-round work and fair wages for artisans skilled in these intricate weaving techniques, fostering both economic stability and the highest levels of creative expression. Interestingly, the collection is all about handmade and hand crafted elegance, instead of the cookie cutter manufactured products that do not add a sense of personality to the home.

Get floored

One of the important aspects of the collection are its distinctive carpets that come in three different sizes – a circular design for bedrooms, a 7×9 ft piece for drawing rooms, and an 8×10 ft creation for dining areas. “The beauty of Neel lies not only in its design but in the subtle imperfections that tell the stories of the artisans themselves—small knots in the yarn, variations in the weave, and the emotional nuances woven into every thread,” says Shah. Another standout piece of the collection is the modern interpretation of a four-poster bed with a handwoven Jamdani canopy, which replaces traditional heavy curtains for a more contemporary look.

Fashion forward

As a fashion designer venturing into home décor, Shah has discovered that creating pieces for residences adds a new dimension to his work and processes. “Designing home decor has a fascinating complexity. I approach this with the idea of how one can ‘make a house a home’ to live in. My work as a fashion designer has instilled that sense of fabrics, colours, textures in me, which also translates into the upholstery, the furnishings, and other pieces,” he explains. In the Neel collection, these design sensibilities are also evident in the creative process—reimagining a delicate pink Lotus into indigo hues, much like how he would approach a fashion collection with a central inspiration. Using age old methods in the creation of this collection has ensured that there is a personal touch in all the pieces.

Colour coded

Naturally, the question is why the colour and pat comes his reply. “Neel, or indigo colour resonates deeply with me. The colour does not just evoke the deep, serene shade, but also connects to the limitless sky and the concept of eternity, something that we wanted this collection to represent. The idea was to capture this colour and its profound symbolism and reinterpret it in the lotus motif. In Neel, we have explored this palette to capture the meditative beauty through various textures and patterns.” And with this he also aims to capture the many stories behind each of the pieces that make up the collection.

Décor details

The entire collection has been designed in a way that one can incorporate this as a set into various rooms by balancing the patterns, or as individually curated pieces to adapt to a room. For instance, the bedroom can feature the signature four-poster bed with elegant Jamdani canopy as a centrepiece, with pillow cases, bedsheets and circular carpets complementing the look. Drawing room can be enhanced by a collection of ceramics, to achieve a unified colour palette. “Neel isn’t simply a collection of home decor. It is a preservation of India's cultural heritage, explored through contemporary design. By employing handwoven techniques that tell stories through subtle imperfections, Neel places itself as an antidote to mass produced goods. More than just that, the entire collection is a nod to how the ‘places we live in’ can achieve a modern look, without compromising on traditional craftsmanship and cultural authenticity,” concludes Shah.

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