TO BE YOUR OWN MUSE

Every project by MuseLAB frontrunners Huzefa Rangwala and Jasem Pirani is a deep dive into research and exploration. For this feature, they probe their past, with an unwavering eye on the future

- HUZEFA RANGWALA, JASEM PIRANI

THE MuseLAB story defies most conventional norms. When we started, we wanted to build a place that encourages creative thinking and pushes the dialogue on design possibilities. Everyone at MuseLAB contributes to the design process, but the final say is ours. We share equal creative duties, a close relationship built on trust, our occasional disagreements, and have never had defined roles.

What keeps us, and our boutique practice, going is our constant hunger to explore newer pastures in product design, interiors and architecture.

We met in Savannah where Jasem was attending Savannah College of Art and Design and Huzefa was visiting a common friend on a weekend break from his Masters at Georgia Tech. In 2008, while we were travelling across Central America, our conversations revolved around launching a space that functioned as a gallery/boutique during the day and transformed into a bistro-bar by dusk. Interestingly, there was no discussion about launching a design practice at all (blame it on the Cenote swims, the Mayan ruins, the Tulum beaches and all that ceviche!).

Cut to the last quarter of 2011, when we both decided to move on from the Indian firms we were working for and dive into the pool of design startups. Design, at the end of the day, is nothing but an exercise in solving problems creatively, sans scale.

And it is this philosophy, combined with our love for travel, food and fashion that formed the genesis of a coalition, and an idea that we could collaborate in some capacity on a creative platform.

As individuals, our dynamics are very different. Huzefa is energetic, pragmatic, constantly looking to connect with as many people as possible, and keeps the studio on their toes and in splits. Jasem keeps everyone glued together, is a stickler for processes, and is constantly reminding everyone to explore the intangible.