India: Designer – Ranna Gill

When we stumbled upon the Ranna Gill store in the streets of Colaba in Mumbai, we thought that we had uncovered a new talent that the world hadn’t heard about yet. In fact, Ranna has long since been discovered by the world and the likes of Anthropolgie for whom she has designed Clothing and Jewellery ranges. We were not surprised to learn this as she produces items that are so eye-catching they are hard to ignore.

The boutique itself was filled with colour. As soon as you entered you wanted to look at everything at once. We darted around the room as new details from dresses caught our eye, and flashes of saturated colours sent our adrenaline levels soaring. This is a designer for lovers of colour, although she does also have stunning black pieces highlighted with embroidery and beads. As well as long event dresses, in the boutique there were many wearable and fun looks. Short loose fitting shift dresses with Indian style necklines and intricate embellishments were my personal highlight.

If you can’t make it to Mumbai, then it is worth having a look at her pieces in Anthropologie. Unfortunately the Ranna Gill website could be improved as it does not currently do the designer justice, the facebook page however has some good photos of the ranges.

India: COLOUR

India is Colour.

Buildings, clothes, people, animals, flowers….everything adds to the crazy colourful mix. There is inspiration everywhere.

All photos copyright Sian Tomlinson.

India: Bundi

People speak of India and they mention the Taj Mahal, Jaipur’s Pink City, the Red Fort in Delhi….. But my favourite Indian building that we visited is a lesser known sight. I fell in love with Bundi Palace as soon as I set eyes on it. A town of ramshackle old blue buildings, Bundi had the charm that I was looking for in Jaipur but didn’t quite find. I had read something about a fort and palace overlooking the town, but had all but forgotten this detail. That is until we turned a corner in the rickshaw and saw the beautiful structure of the palace looking regally down on us.

It is hard to describe what made the palace so magical to me even before we had gone inside. I think it was the mixture of the strength, but also beauty that it projected. When we walked up to the palace to go inside, it became clear, as we got closer, that it had not been preserved and cared for to the same degree as other, more famous, sights.

This, however, only added to its charm. Lack of publicity also meant less visitors which we were thankful for after the Diwali bloated crowds at the Udaipur City Palace. As I entered the imposing front gate into the first internal courtyard, I felt I was in a movie. The faded glamour of another world gave me goose pimples. Only a small proportion of the palace is open to the public, I think because disrepair (and marauding monkeys) would make further unescorted exploration unsafe. If you were a fan of the Indiana Jones movies as I was, the kid inside you will love running through one of the bat-filled stairwells.

From the palace, the view of the old blue plaster walls of the town are expansive from the raised location. Here you can imagine royalty surveying their kingdom.

There is a room tucked away that you can visit which is entirely covered by beautiful murals. The ceiling is vaulted and so the acoustics are so amazing that it can not be accidental. One thing India is not always great at is providing information at places like this, so I had to speculate into the original use for the space. Try an OM in there with your eyes closed and you might believe that this was a mediation room – you can feel how people may have thought that they had reached a higher plain.

Enter through a separate entrance to the palsce and you will find the women’s garden. Whilst very pretty, the main draw here are the murals in the room towards the back of the garden. Behind some ugly wire fencing (to keep the monkeys out I presume) are the most beautiful and intricate murals depicting life in India. They use mostly turquoise and gold (one of my favourite combinations). One of my favourite sections was a painted stylised map of udaipur, we had already visited the city and I recognised it straight away.

All Photos copyright Sian Tomlinson 2013

Trend: Bright Expressionism

I contributed this post to Write On Trend website. Take a look at their site for even more trend research and inspiration….

Forget about the grey Winter for a few minutes – Colour will explode next Spring and Summer with bold painterly prints.

Inspired by a messy artist’s palette, this trend mixes vibrant colours in carefully clashing combinations. Shapes are abstract, hand drawn and expressively painted. Dripping paint, and layered colours feature, with some colours bleeding into others.

This fun trend is for the more youthful markets, and is applicable to homeware as well as fashion. It is young, energetic and bright!

References: (In rows from left to right)

1.  howtwolive.blogspot.co.uk, 2.  FlickaFish Flickr, 3. Sydney Albertini, 4. Urban Outfitters, 5. Claire Cousins Architects, 6. Kangan Arora, 7. Unknown, 8. Society6, 9. Eloy Morales, 10. Artilier 686 Via Etsy, 11. Ashley Goldberg, 12. Colourbox Online, 13. Emily Green, 14. Karen Kimmel, 15. Lillian Loves Lacquer Tumblr, 16. Peter Saville, 17. Cassidy Tuttle, 18. kuharka.com, 19. Minä Perhonen

India: Textiles

India is well know for having a long and rich textile history. We saw some beautiful historical textiles in various galleries/museums/palaces, however, below I have just put a few photos taken of bright modern Indian fabric in the Jaipur Bazaar. Textiles to inspire.

All photos copyright Sian Tomlinson 2013

Boutique: Bungalow 8, Mumbai

We were not sure what to expect from Mumbai, our final stop after a month of travelling around India. Most people that we met had not liked the city. We were, however, very pleasantly surprised. We were staying in the area of Colaba, just around the corner from India Gate and The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. There were large trees lining the streets, and the faded glory of old Art Deco and Colonial style buildings every way you turned. Combined with the bustle of Indian city life, this area held a special charm.

We had picked up a leaflet listing all the galleries and boutiques in the area, and so on our final night in India, we went for a wander around the pretty and busy streets of Colaba in search of some modern Indian culture and design.

My favourite find from the night was the store Bungalow 8. Through an unassuming doorway, and up a flight of old wooden stairs you reached the first of three floors. Each floor had a vast warehouse style open plan space through  a large industrial door. These amazing spaces were then filled with beautiful Indian designed and made fashion and interiors products.

My favourite element of the store was actually the building, the spaces and the interior design. The floors were polished concrete, some had simple graphic rug  designs painted onto them. There were imposing structural pillars which had been stripped back, and exposed beams along the ceilings. Everything was carefully curated but had a relaxed and effortlessness feel. This worked beautifully with the intricate, colourful and handmade products stocked. The visual merchandising was also inspiring and made you feel more like that you were in your dream house than in a commercial space.

If you visit Mumbai, be sure to stop here for a look at some of the best that Indian design has to offer.

All Photos copyright Bungalow 8

India: Post Diwali

Diwali is over, but the now-dried floral garlands that hang in businesses and houses still look beautiful.

Trend: Tile Print

I contributed this post to Write On Trend website. Take a look at their site for even more trend research and inspiration….

Every season Ethnic prints are always prevalent, and this A/W season it is the tile print. This is an update from the tribal ethnic print which has been very influential for the last year or two.

Inspiration for this trend comes from traditional painted tiles in exotic cities such as Granada in Spain, and Morocco in Africa. These gorgeous tile patterns can be translated onto fabric for fashion and homeware. Small-scale tile prints have already started to show up on the UK high st in fashion, and this will develop into larger scale tile prints, and also move into the home on cushions and kitchenware.

Mix and match scales and border prints, in a similar way to the scarf prints of previous seasons.

Colours are primarily inspired by blue and white pottery, but other earthy colours such as burnt orange and teal are also important as highlights.

copyright sian tomlinson 2013

References: (In rows from left to right)

1. Jatana Interiors, 2. Photo: Sian Tomlinson, 3. sandrajuto (Instagram), 4. Pinterest (unknown), 5. Photo: Sian Tomlinson, 6. Pinterest (unknown), 7. Pinterest (unknown), 8. Pinterest (unknown), 9. Photo: Sian Tomlinson, 10. Patricia Urquiola, 11. Pinterest (unknown), 12. Whipped Bakeshop Flickr, 13. Recuperando, 14. John Squire, 15. Photo: Sian Tomlinson, 16. Art et Manufacture, 17. casatalia.it

India: Udaipur

Udaipur…You appeared like a mirage after 40 hours of travelling. I thought I was dreaming. After the craziness of making our way all the way from London non-stop, Udaipur was like a tall cold glass of G + T (though ironically the first place where we tried to order a Gin and Tonic didn’t have Gin. “No Gin?!?” I cried).

I had selected the guesthouse primarily because of the sentence – ‘one of the best roof terraces in Udaipur with views of the lake’. The rooftop of Dream Heaven Guesthouse did not disappoint, and even over delivered with cushion filled lounging areas with lake view and pretty details.

We arrived in India on the first day of Diwali, the festival of lights celebrating new beginnings. I see it as a sign that the trip was meant to be. Fireworks and festivities greeted us like a welcome mat, and a celebratory spirit was in the air. Fireworks and bangers were exploding constantly. In the centre of the old town near the City Palace the streets were closed to traffic (well,  except motorbikes and scooters that squeezed through) and were covered in a canopy of fairy lights and metallic tassels and fringing. There was even the odd illuminated plastic palm tree thrown in for good measure. The street was a tunnel of light, noise and music.  Everyone was out to celebrate together.

Walking back to the guesthouse we saw a sign ‘Lake View Highest Rooftop Restaurant’ so we decided to have a look. We thought at first that we had gone the wrong way as we found ourselves climbing unfinished stairs in a half built building. It reminded me of the ruin bars in Budapest. But we finally reached the top and there was indeed a little restaurant there. For our climb we were rewarded with beautiful views of the illuminated Palace on one side and an illuminated temple on the other. We sat at what felt like a private table in an empty part of the restaurant beside open sided walls and watched as fireworks exploded in the skies around us. Magical. The food just so happened to also be outstanding and we all but licked the dishes clean. All this and we hadn’t even been in Udaipur for 24 hours. The ‘Most Romantic City in India’ had already seduced me.

Trend: Moody Grey

I contributed this post to Write On Trend website. Take a look at their site for even more trend research and inspiration….

Grey is becoming more prevalent in Interiors and Homeware this winter, and this trend will continue into coming seasons.  For the current A/W 13/14 season we are seeing grey brought into homes in a very textural and comforting way. In terms of textiles, think chunky knits, crumpled linens and tactile weaves.  These relaxed and rustic greys are also coming through in distressed wall finishes which add warmth and character to personal spaces.

Colours range from warm oatmeal-tinged light grey to intense matt charcoal.

The mood is stormy, yet relaxed and comforting – we will keep indoors and wrap ourselves in cosy textiles, away from the on-coming winter weather.

Trend AW14 Tactile Grey.
copyright sian tomlinson 2013

References: (In rows from left to right) 1. Linda Mashallah and Linda Kostowski, 2. Convoy Tumblr, 3. Gus Modern, 4. Lut Laleman, 5. Loopy Mango, 6. Adrian Madrid, 7. Gan, 8. Anthropologie, 9. Vipp, 10. Twig Hutchison, 11. Etsy, 12. Rebecca Atwood, 13. Skonahem (blog), 14. The New Victorian Ruralist, 15. Gan, 16. Ale Besso Blog