The Raj Company (and a brush with the Mumbai Mirror!)

When the Mumbai Mirror recently requested to interview me about antiques hunting, they asked if they could meet me in Chor Bazaar for an photo opportunity. Well you know how much I love Chor Bazaar...but you also know that with temperatures around 40 degrees and rising humidity in Mumbai, I was likely to end up fainting and embarrassing myself. That's when I suggested that we meet at The Raj Company in Mahalaxmi - with its huge open display rooms of high quality, original and reproduction antiques, and a ground floor full of as-yet unrestored pieces. Especially as I was in the market for a new bed.

This is the bed I fell in love with. They erected it outside so that I could get a good look. Expect to pay over 1 lakh (£1,000/$1,500) for this type of model (this one is reproduction and an American queen size). I thought the price was very reasonable - it's all solid teak with a finely crafted rattan headboard.

I went to The Raj Company premises a bit ahead of time to have a look around (I had already asked their permission to be interviewed there by the paper). The manager, Rohaan Lamba, showed me into his lovely office - full of interesting antiques and decorative objects (and more importantly, air conditioning!). Then he proceeded to explain some of the services that his company provides.

I was well aware of The Raj Company's ability to produce the most popular colonial and Indian furniture designs (as well as restoring the original pieces that you will find on the ground floor). But what I did not know, is that the company can actually reproduce just about any design of furniture you can think of. Rohaan showed me a stunning coffee table book by top New York interior designer Tom Scheerer - which was full of specially commissioned furniture made by Raj. I saw pictures of beautiful Chinoiserie chairs, contemporary side teak side tables, conservatory furniture, enormous dining tables in bleached wood etc etc. Such diversity! Later, Rohaan showed me a room containing their latest commission - by the trendy Soho House London which opens later this year in Mumbai. The style is a sort of funky English gentleman's club - classic furniture with a twist and I particularly liked the yellow leather dining chairs. The ability to simulate and reproduce to order and with such craftsmanship really impressed me - and all you have to do is provide a sketch or a reference image.

Some wood samples to show the kind of non-standard finishes that can be achieved. Underneath - Tom Scheerer's coffee table book containing many pictures of Raj Company work.

On the top floor of the Mahalaxmi property is, literally, bedroom heaven. I have never seen anything like it - a room full of antique four poster beds! There are lots of styles to choose from, and if you don't find what you like or a size that suits, specialist carpenters will of course, make it for you to order. I particularly liked the original opium beds with their ornate sides, the colonial teak style with four shorter 'twisty' posts at the corners and anything in precious rosewood. The only problem would be...which one to choose!

Bed heaven!

After our little chat and a tour of the premises, the Mumbai Mirror reporter and photographer arrived. Thankfully, we were allowed to sit in the air-conditioned office for the interview, as it was quite stuffy outside and I was already beginning to feel uncomfortable. After the interview, I spent the next 30 minutes trying to strike a pose for the photographer (difficult as I hate my photo being taken!). I hung off four poster beds like an idiot, I lent on chests of drawers with my hands under my chin looking pensive, and I stood holding up ancient artefacts whilst trying to look glamorous. As you can see from the clipping below, I wasn't entirely successful! (Note, this is the first time my picture has appeared anywhere in connection with my blog. Ta Da... Big Reveal!).

No this is not BombayJules....but I think I was more successful at getting the photographer to pose
than he was getting me to pose!

Many thanks to the Raj Company for putting up with me for so long that day...and to the Mumbai Mirror for our little bit of fun.

Typical opium bed back left.

A room full of card tables!

Campaign desk - commissioned by Soho House

This is not the typical furniture you will find at Raj Company but you will be able to find bone inlay furniture such as this in one of the rooms. Very popular in the UK right now.

A badly photographed repro campaign chest - around Rs 79,000. This model of chest is also very sought after.

Original door sourced from Rajasthan which can be converted into huge coffee tables - very popular with expats!

Beautiful colonial chairs.....

....and the most popular of planter chairs, the Bombay Fornicator!

Selection of furniture being commissioned by Soho House

I love this chair!!!

The 'chair room' with a selection of models that you can reproduce to your own taste/upholstery

More of bedroom heaven - rosewood four poster and cabinet in the foreground

Love the carved twisty posts on this bed.

Gorgeous arched canopy on this solid teakwood example.

Fab art deco headboard but the feet don't really go.

Bed in bleached wood - popular for French styled homes and beach houses in the Hamptons!

Another shot of 'my' bed.

Huge bleached wood dining table

Me photographing you photographing me.

On the ground floor - a rummager's paradise

Art Deco sofa suite, just waiting for you to customise it!

They chose a photo of me with a cheesy smile....

....but I get to share column space with Salman Rushdie!

For the online article, follow this link

The Raj Company

1-C, K, Khadye Marg

Opposite Race Course

Mahalaxmi

Mumbai 400 034

Tel +91 (22) 2354 2626

Email rohaan@therajcompany.com

www.therajcompany.com

For bespoke instructions, speak to Rohaan Lamba

SOLLI CONCEPTS - Handmade Contemporary Furniture in Mumbai

I recently had the pleasure of meeting a very friendly duo - Lynden and Sohel - who are launching a new furniture brand called Solli Concepts.  In fact they have been working together for a while now, creating contemporary designs and building up a collection of high quality pieces made out of solid wood.   When I told them that I like to write about furniture and local craftsmanship, they allowed me special access to their workshop so that I could see where the magic is created. You know how much I like a bit of solid wood furniture!

Sohel is the design genius behind the brand (I am calling him that - he is quite self-deprecating in person). He actually has an engineering background and this is very evident in his work. Sohel's formal training has been subtly translated into structured pieces that have a Scandinavian style and simplicity. For example the teak dining table with its large piece of shaped glass atop a 'structural' pedestal.  And the precision engineered rocking chair which would look good in any traditional or contemporary setting.

Sohel with his gorgeous writing table design.

The level of workmanship and attention to detail is quite unlike that of traditional Indian carpentry that you might see at Chor Bazaar and Jogeshwari workshops.  Japanese and western joinery methods are widely used (for example joints will be dovetailed instead of being nailed together) and there is the combining of woods such as rosewood with teak.  And thought has actually gone into ergonomic and space-saving design. Take the specially commissioned teak bar cabinet for example.  To the naked eye, it appears to be a shelving unit - but open up cupboards concealed in the frame surrounding it - and you will see that it is actually a drinks cabinet! I also love the 'Ott'ee' table that is detailed on the Solli website - on one side it is an ottoman...but turn over the leather clad top and it then becomes a coffee table! 

All of the items are tested for comfort and durability and all pieces are varnished with several layers to prevent wear and tear.  Quality is key. Sohel and Lynden also go to great pains to make sure that all woods that are used are environmentally sustainable - such as the reclaimed teak widely used in their work.

A modern take on the traditional Indian rocking chair - used on verandahs everywhere.  This one is currently being tested for design ergonomics and finish.  Such an eye for detail!

Lynden is the business brains of the partnership - having worked abroad he also has an understanding of western aesthetics and brings direction to Sohel's work - work that definitely needs to be lauded and 'put out there'.  Lynden explained to me that they want their products to appeal to a clientele that has an appreciation of global design - moving away from the gold plated and wood veneered tastes of modern Indian society. Tastes that have no lasting impact and are easily peeled away.  Solli's products - whilst being mostly contemporary - still have a timeless, heirloom quality. For anyone wanting to work with them as a design team (and that includes clients around the globe), it is also possible to commission one off bespoke pieces that fit the scale and style of your home.

A bespoke sideboard made for a client in Italy - with a modern, slightly Ercol feel to the design
(photo provided by Solli)

When I visited the workshop, they were also working on a few smaller items - such as the chopping board chequered with contrasting teak and rosewood - and a really cute Scandinavian style dolls house. On the website, you will also find an elegant art deco influenced cigar case and a beautiful jewellery box (hint hint Mr Jules!).  These items would all make wonderful gifts.

 This dollshouse is simplicity itself

I have to tell you - after writing for the last year about colonial or art deco antiques (my particular passion), I found Solli's style completely refreshing.  I have not seen anything else like it in Mumbai. What's more the prices are very reasonable when you take into account the level of design and workmanship. The partners quoted in the region of 10,000-12,000 Rs for a teak side table that doubles as a lamp topped with handmade Goan tiles (dependent on size and finish of course).  Lynden and Sohel tell me that they intend to be more transparent by dealing from a fixed price list for their non-bespoke designs (great - then us expats will know we're not being ripped off!)

Solli also has a furniture restoration arm which helps to fund their R&D - when I visited the workshop, there were men busy restoring old pieces as well as making the new stuff.  Like me, they also have a passion for the Art Deco era (which is reflected in some of their designs).

Furniture restoration of more traditional colonial pieces

Please do get in touch with the guys to discuss your furniture and restoration requirements - details are at the bottom of this page.  Sohel and Lynden are bright, enthusiastic, innovative and flexible - I am 100% sure that you won't be disappointed by them! 

Some photos of their designs and the workshop:

Very cool bar stools.  Making me think that we really need a bar in our living room!
(Photo: Solli)

Even cooler bar stools...such a simple and efficient design (Photo: Solli)

I found this trainee carpenter at the workshop :)

I love the innovative floor lamps that double as side tables - topped with handcrafted tiles from Goa

This was made with a characterful piece of wood that was actually going to be disregarded - by a Japanese carpenter in Pondicherry that Sohel has been working with.  But Sohel cleverly turned it into a unique side table with tripod legs. Love it! 

This is a real head-turner - a solid teak washbasin.  I could see this in the washroom of many a trendy restaurant or boutique hotel.  Combining solid Indian woods with contemporary design is what these guys do best,

It it wasn't for the fact I have just bought a desk, I would have snapped this up!  I love it!
(Photo: Solli)

SOLLi CONCEPTS

+91 9870473073 

info@solliconcepts.com

Desk Hunting at Oshiwara Antiques Market

It has been ages since I have had to go in search of a new piece of furniture!

But as I've been spending so long at my desk (Nobel Peace Prize work, that type of thing), I decided that I could no longer make do with the tiny, laminate-encrusted-crime-against-style that sits in our study (otherwise known as 'that bloody awful desk').  Not that I usually really need much of an excuse to go antiques shopping - but this was a genuine need on my part.

I had already been all over the place looking for something suitable, at a reasonable price.  I've kind of wised up to prices (and the 'white man's tax') and will walk out of a place if I think I'm being ripped off. I've been to Moorthy's - where I was offered a huge desk for over 1 lakh (about £1,200/$1,800); I've been to Camelot - which always seems to be so low on stock these days (gosh, hopefully not due to my blog on that shop!); and I've searched all the way along Mutton Street in Chor Bazaar.  I didn't find a good supply of writing tables in Chor Bazaar and what was available, was generally pretty crusty.

The antiques street at Oshiwara - if you're looking for Mr Khan...you're in trouble!

As a last ditch attempt (although I was never going to stop trying!), I took myself off to Oshiwara Antiques Market in Jogeshwari yesterday to see if I could do better.  I have been to Oshiwara a few times before (although I have not specifically blogged about it) and have usually found the shop keepers to be grumpy and unresponsive to bartering. But this time I got lucky.  At only the second stall I entered, I found exactly what I was looking for!  Out of a selection of around six desks on offer, I decided upon an Art Deco 5 x 3 ft solid teak partner desk (mirrored on both sides) with drawers and a cupboard. And the vendor offered me such a good price to begin with that I did not need to haggle (well I tried, but I didn't get very far).  

So I am pleased to report that I am now typing from the top of said new desk, it having been delivered absolutely on the dot of 5pm today (as promised by the shopkeeper), and all nicely polished up for me.  I would therefore like to highly recommend Abdul Kadir Khan (further details at the bottom).  At today's rather good exchange rate (i.e. in favour of the UK), my desk came in at £165/$260 (16,000 Rs).  Most quotes I have received before have been at the 25,000 Rs mark upwards.  Woohoo!

All I need to do now, is to find some nice Art Deco accessories to go on my lovely new piece of furniture...perhaps one of those 1930s model aeroplanes and a sophisticated chrome lamp? And surely, I need one of those padded leather antique swivel chairs and a globe drinks cabinet? (shhh, don't tell Mr Jules!).

Some pictures from my outing for all you antique lovers:

I was quite tempted by this writing table to begin with as it has beautiful turned legs in rosewood.  But I knew it might be deemed a bit too 'feminine' by Mr Jules.  After all, I might let him use the desk some day.
(Taj Furniture, Shop No 10, Opposite Oshiwara Petrol Pump)

Lots of miscellaneous bits and bobs to be had at Oshiwara.

The place where I bought my desk (actually in the bottom left hand corner of this picture.  The one pictured here is not a partner desk so is slightly cheaper at 14,000 Rs.  The one to the upper left is smaller and he quoted only 10,000 Rs

All this antiques shopping is exhausting!

Muslim shopkeepers lined up waiting for business

Surely the oldest furniture seller in the land?

Lots of wooden plaques, jali work and friezes 

At the backs of lots of the shops, you will find workers restoring and repairing furniture

You could trawl through this lot for days.  Great treasure hunting to be had!

I saw plenty of housewives antique hunting at Oshiwara

You will always find some slightly bizarre objets outside in the street

He wanted his photo taken...so I obliged.

My (sorry, 'our') rather chunky, colonial desk as it looked just after its prompt delivery...
...watch this space to see my study all tarted up at a later date!

Desk bought from:

Abdul Kadir Khan
Haji Abdul Sattar & Sons
Ramjanak Singh Compound
SV Road
Oshiwara
Jogeshwari.

I have just noticed that Abdul Kadir Khan has not put a shop number on his card or receipt - and as virtually all the dealers are called Khan - you might have a problem finding him.  So try his phone number : 9820201578 (his English isn't very good either!)


Read here for my (almost) complete guide to antique furniture shopping Mumbai.