Storytelling is at the heart of Safomasi, an award-winning design studio and brand set up by Sarah Fotheringham and Maninder Singh
Sarah, what drew you, an illustration graduate, to textiles?
SF: I’ve always loved making things. Even though my BA degree was in illustration, I studied at the University of Brighton (UK) where the illustration course is very conceptual and open. In my final year, I explored set design and film making and made a lot of costumes. My grandmother was a very keen textile artist - she would make tapestries and embroideries. However, it was when I moved to India (to work as an art director with Wieden + Kennedy, Delhi) that my interest was really piqued. Being exposed to beautiful Indian textiles and crafts made me really want to know more and explore working in this space.
Maninder, what have you learned from your industry experience?
MS: After graduating from the University of Delhi, I moved to Australia to study and work. In 2010 I moved back to India to work with the Fashion Design Council of India, where I made friends with many designers. Learning through their experiences really helped at the beginning of Safomasi – I knew where to go to get our production started and it all grew from there.
Tell us about Safomasi. How did it come about?
SF: Safomasi began as a way for us to work and travel together. Prior to working at Wieden + Kennedy, I had spent four months traveling around India. I had a sketchbook full of drawings and ideas for prints and would work on them in the evenings and weekends outside of my day job. When I met Maninder, we started working on them together and experimenting with screen printing them onto fabric. We really liked the process and how it came out and encouraged by our friends decided to take it further and develop them into a range of travel-inspired home textiles. In December 2012, we launched Safomasi with a small range of quilts and cushions.
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A Legacy Continues
Leveraging the success of his family's export business, Naman Jain is focusing on creating a retail presence in India
Creating KAIRA
Long fascinated by Indian fabric, Nikita Gupta has launched an attractive line of contemporary apparel in traditional block prints
Stories faces tell
Aditya Narula dabbled in various vocations before he realized portraiture was the best way to express the fascinating complexities of the people he encountered along the way
time tested DESIGN
Surrounded by art and architecture as a child, Sarah Sham went on to take the family antiques business in a new direction through her interior design venture
DANGEROUSLY DELICATE
Kavya Potluri's attention to minute detail is what sets her intricate and unconventional jewelry apart
music as muse
A multidisplinary visual artist, Aaron Pinto, also known as Kidsquidy, has had an interesting journey that started with MTV and has him now working on everything from music videos to stage design
DEVELOPING A DISCOURSE
Documentary photographer Taha Ahmad believes his work has a greater purpose than merely being admired by a select audience for its esthetic value. It's when people are able to see the underside of society and understand the prevailing social injustice that the work tries to reveal that it is truly worthwhile.
Tiny little Stories
Creating miniature worlds allows Ruchika Nambiar to continue to play childlike games of make-believe
The Richness Of Handmade
Amit Vijaya and Richard Pandav are committed to bringing together many hands and hearts through their clothing label ‘amrich’
The perfect balance
Aniruddh Mehta is as much graphic designer as visual artist, and he tries to do justice to both through his work at Studio Bigfat