Craftin’ Around
Here at PureSpaces we are very enthusiastic about doing up spaces; it would have been weird if we weren’t, right? Needless to say we love some change at PSHQ too, every now and then. We’re always on the lookout for all things within the studio that we can restyle.
Here at PureSpaces we are very enthusiastic about doing up spaces; it would have been weird if we weren’t, right? Needless to say we love some change at PSHQ too, every now and then. We’re always on the lookout for all things within the studio that we can restyle.
So in December last year we came across an extra writing board and decided to put it to some use. We pooled in ideas and picked a Pocket Resolution Display to put up on the board. Next, we got a pack of neon coloured craft paper and set to work with our scissors and paper cutters. A couple of hours of cutting, pasting and fun banter is all it took to get our resolutions neatly tucked away in the neon envelopes. And there it was - a vibrant grid of fluorescent pockets, created at practically no cost. This was not just a cheerful addition to the space, but they were relentless reminders of our goals. So now you know our secret to remain sticklers for resolutions!
But that’s not all that came off our little DIY adventure. It was a fun, team-bonding activity and ever since, we've been on a roll! Over the last 3 months, we found a few great DIY ideas to play around with. We started off with some interesting signage for our space. We picked out a bunch of things for less than a grand from Itsy Bitsy, a stationery wonderland we often haunt.
Materials :
Wooden Alphabets
Black Acrylic Paint
Pink Ballet Matte Chalk
Acrylic Paint
Foam Roller Brushes
Permanent Adhesive Minis
The letters got a couple of coats of paint in PureSpaces’ favourite shade and were stuck onto the doors with Permanent Adhesive Minis. And voila!
Having successfully completed 2 DIY Projects we were ready for our third. This one was art-centric as compared to the previous ones that were mostly functional. We can’t emphasise enough on the fact that this activity was absolutely therapeutic.
Materials :
Canvas Boards
White Acrylic Paint
Permanent Black Marker
Wooden Alphabets
Foam Roller Brush
Adhesive
‘I never met a colour I didn’t like’ - Dale Chihuly, is an interesting quote that we stand by as interior designers. Ironically the artwork is a composition of these words painted white on a white canvas, creating an embossed effect. As minimal as this is, the second one has a zillion ideas haphazardly crammed on a smaller canvas.These “works of art” made it to the walls to compliment the existing black and white posters.
Well, we’re definitely big fans of DIY. It’s inexpensive, useful and a whole lot of fun. It’s how we unwind at PSHQ and we totally recommend it!
Prepare for Takeoff
2018 involved a lot of travel. And now with a LOT of practice, we’ve mastered the art of packing our travel essentials in no time! Here’s what we absolutely cannot live without.
Hello there!
We’ve been gone a while now, but the New Year has brought in brand new resolutions and we’re back, with P.S. blog season 2!
We hope to keep up the buzz with all the latest news, just as Kamini did.
2018 involved a lot of travel. And now with a LOT of practice, we’ve mastered the art of packing our travel essentials in no time! Here’s what we absolutely cannot live without -
Longchamp’s Nylon Shopper – Now, here’s a fashionable travel bag you can trust, that magically fits everything. We’ve got it in five colours!
Laptop – We may be out of the office, but we sure have a lot to do.
Scarf – For the cold flights, and to add colour to our lives.
Sunglasses – The future’s so bright. We can’t leave our sunglasses behind. ;)
Sanitiser – Gotta keep them hands clean.
Invisibobble Hair Ring – Doesn’t leave a kink in your hair, for all the times we resort to a top knot.
Sugar Lip Balm – Undoubtedly, the best in the biz.
TOO Faced Melted Matte Lipstick – It’s all in the lips, when we’re going makeup free(ish).
A Design Magazine – Catching up on the latest trends on-the-go.
A Book - ‘Cause you need it while sunbathing.
Earphones – Taking-off into La La land.
Moleskine Planner – No better way to crush goals. (Thank you Kamini!)
Muji Pen – A stationery staple for us designers.
Moroccan Oil – To keep the frizz at bay and stay away from bad hair days.
Perfume – You’re never fully dressed without fragrance.
Sunblock – For when the heat’s on. (You know what we mean.)
Sneakers – Comfort. Period.
Hat – No holiday without a hat! (bee-tee-dubs hats are totally Krishna’s thing!)
Hand Cream – Absolutely crucial after all that sanitising.
Thermos – Hot Water > Cold Water any day, to keep the waist in check.
Bachblüten – To beat the blues.
So, it turns out we do need a lot of things. But a girl needs what she needs. Honestly, we can’t wait for our next getaway!
PS Travel Diaries: Tuscany
Italy has so much to offer and there’s only so much you can do at a time, if you’re not OD’ing on gelato then really, have you ever been?
So, while some of us are casually in Russia for the week (wtv Krishna), the rest of us are throwing back to last summer in Italy. It’s been a while, people of the internet, but finally, we are back with our favourite PS Travel Diaries series!
This trip, we covered Tuscany and the Italian Riviera. Starting with Pisa, this town is mostly all about the photo opp. The 18 quid to get up the leaning tower is definitely not worth it but since it’s the arrival destination for most cheap international flights, when in (or close-ish to) Rome right?
Florence is a magical town filled with parks, views and secret midnight bakeries (yes you read that right). The Duomo is an architectural marvel for all the nerds out there and unlike the wonky tower of Pisa, the view is definitely worth all those steps. For all the art lovers out there, Uffizzi is free on the last Sunday of every month. If you’re overwhelmed by all the culture, laze about at Le Cascine Park and for a bit of shopping, check out Florence The Mall, an outlet with ridiculous deals on Prada, Gucci, and other designers.
From there, we headed straight to Villa Le Calvane, an estate that sits in the heart of Tuscany. Only 20K from Florence, the drive through the rolling hills and vineyards is unbelievable. This place has got quite the history, it has been the home of renowned painting, “Madonna and Child” by Benivieni and in 1942, works of Botticelli and Michelangelo were hidden there during the war. German troops even used a circular Ghirlandaio as a dining table when they passed through. History aside, our main reason for visiting was for the Merlot and Cabernet (obvs). When we weren't drinking, we ate at Ristorante Da Delfina and La Cantinetta Di Passignano.
Cinque Terre, the five islands on the Italian Riviera, have to be on your bucket list. We especially recommend Manarola and Monterosso (the later is actually two towns in one). It’s right on the cliffs beside the ocean, so everywhere you go is a workout but if you are into hiking and swimming, then this is the perfect vacation spot for you.
Italy has so much to offer and there’s only so much you can do at a time, if you’re not OD’ing on gelato then really, have you ever been?
Namaste from PureSpaces!
It’s been a tough year and yoga has been our saviour! We thought we would talk about some of the things that gets us through the day and yoga is definitely one of them.
It’s been a tough year and yoga has been our saviour! We thought we would talk about some of the things that gets us through the day and yoga is definitely one of them. Most of you know of this ancient Indian practice - the controlling of the body and mind through meditation and exercise. This stress buster is the key ingredient to our zen work life. If only we could attain moksha!
Mumbai based Zia Yoga was our go to instructor but there are plenty of classes in the city (Akshar Yoga is walking distance from the office). Do a little research an decide what school of yoga works best for you. Krishna’s routine is a more general fitness based approach. She usually starts in the morning and she spends an hour, three times a week doing a variation of surya namaskars and a combination of cardio, breathing and stretches. Remember when it comes to yoga 7-1=0 so you should dedicate at least 5 minutes every single day to it, it’s a way of life after all. As far as accessories go, we recycle our regular gym clothes and equipment (mat, foam roller, elastic resistance bands, headbands and clothes) but we know that Fabindia has a special yoga wear section and if you’re looking for high end, specialised leisure wear, Proyog is another brand to look out for. While yoga has recently been used as a political tool to promote nationalism, we encourage everyone to counter that saffron tinted nonsense and get into the spirit of it regardless of your background.
Namaste from the folks at PS!
All we want for Christmas is… not you #sorrynotsorry
We celebrate Christmas in a big way at PureSpaces. Between the German and Indian variants of us, our celebrations are like no other!
We celebrate Christmas in a big way at PureSpaces. Between the German and Indian variants of us, our celebrations are like no other! December is always a feast fit for kings (three of them to be exact and a cookie for each - Kull-Kull, Rose Cookie and Vanillekipferl) While you may find Kull - Kulls or Rose Cookies at an old school super market (Thoms or Fatimas), you definitely won’t find Vanillekipferl anywhere! We thought we’d share this top-secret-generations-old-easy-peasy-christmas-classicrecipe with you that’s super easy to make and has been passed down for generations in Krishna’s family.
We wish you a the merriest of Christmas’s, filled with bottomless mulled wine and eggnog. See you again in the new year!
Lot’s of Love from the PureSpaces Team.
xx
VANILLEKIPFERL RECIPE:
150 grams soft Butter or 5.3oz or ⅔ cup
70 grams powdered Sugar 2.5oz or ⅓ of a cup
8 grams Vanilla sugar 'homemade or store bought mixed with some regular powdered sugar or 2 Teaspoons
100 grams Almond Flour/Almond mealor 3.5oz or almost ½ cup
200 grams all purpose Flour or 7oz or almost 1 cup
Start by mixing the soft butter, powdered sugar and vanilla sugar smooth.
Then add sieved white flour and almond flour to the mixture and incorporate the ingredients with your hands to a smooth pastry.
Keep it to rest minimum 1 h in the fridge or in a cool place.
Once ready to be used, form the dough into a sausage shape with a 2 cm thickness. Cut thick slices so, that each should be around 20 grams heavy.
Preheat the oven to 200 Celsius or 392 Fahrenheit! Roll each "sausage" pastry slice into a smaller sausage with pointed ends and shape it into a half moon/crescent form.
Place them onto a baking tray, each with enough space around to rise a bit, and bake them for 10 minutes a 200 Celsius to a light yellow shade.While the cookies are baking, prepare a plate with the home made Vanilla sugar.
Add the cookies to the homemade Vanilla sugar in the plate, once they are finished baked and they have cooled down for at least 1-2 minutes and roll them and coat them well with that sugar.
Best stored in a metal Cookie boxed with baking paper (butter paper) and apple slices on top. Note that the Vanillakipferl cookies are very fragile and might break when coming out of the oven, that is why you should give them 1-2 minutes to rest. During that time they harden when they take contact with air. It's important to roll them into the homemade Vanilla sugar when they are still hot, so that the sugar sticks on the cookies.
Passive-Aggressive
It’s cold and shiny and we wanted to introduce you to a material (more like technique) that we cant get enough off.
We haven’t done a material palette post since copper and it’s December!!! It’s cold and shiny and we wanted to introduce you to a material (more like technique) that we cant get enough off. We are currently using it in a big way on a project that we’ve been working on for the past year. This is just the thing we want to talk about to add to our festive cheer.
Who knew physical chemistry could be so sexy? We are aggressively enthusiastic about Passivation. This process involves a micro coating of a shield material that causes a chemical reaction to the original material which makes the whole thing passive to corrosion. Okay that sounded complicated. Not as complicated as “circuit resistance”, “polarity reversal” “rejection of fouling layer” and propriety systems”. So, you know, we tried.
It’s the most common of practices, everything from your most basic nut and bolt, even your key chain has this amazing coating that has a trippy psychedelic rainbow effect. After learning about it from the folk at A&J Design Work, we thought it would be perfect to use for a rooftop bar - functional and glamorous!
Check out the images below to see the different ways it’s been used.
Dubai Finds: A Design Directory
95% of our job is not glamorous - long desk hours, endless traffic, grimy site visits, casual sexism - but once in a blue moon we get to be the ritzy glitzy people you think we are.
95% of our job is not glamorous - long desk hours, endless traffic, grimy site visits, casual sexism - but once in a blue moon we get to be the ritzy glitzy people you think we are. Last week we got flown to Dubai (yes, you read that right) to buy accessories for a client.
Ask us why this was the perfect opportunity..
(a) Love Dubai
(b) Love Shopping
(c) All of the above
Here is a list of all the stores we visited and our favourite products from them.
The One
Very cool accessories and home decor (pictured above)
I Light You
Shout out to Marie & Afsal for being amazing! Over 300 designer brands for lighting with great customer service and experience as a bonus!
Crate & Barrel
Basic home furnishings.
West Elm
"Just love me some west elm" - Obvs, Krishna. (Pictured above).
Super Studio
This cool warehouse is filled with designer furniture, lighting and accessories - Tom Dixon, Lee Broom, Moooi, Bocci and more! They will move to Dubai Design District soon.
Indigo Living
Furniture, soft furnishings & accessories. They have Kelly Hoppen products !!
Marina Home
Great for accessories but also have quirky pieces of furniture and lighting (pictured above).
Ethan Allen
Classy AF.
Shtorm Group
Outdoor furniture galore.
Flamant
LOVE this store, all neutral colour scheme, very contemporary and just so pure (pictured above).
Bloomingdales Home
Bernhardt, Pantone and all the cool stuff Fornasetti has to offer.
The Den
Bits & Pieces
Designers Home
All of the above in a really nice area called City Walk - casual and design oriented products.
Andrew Martin
Blanc D'lvoire
D. Tales
Ikonhouse
The Bowery Company
The Odd Piece
The White Company
Zen Interiors
These are the stores exhibiting at Downtown Design during the Dubai Design Week in November:
Designed by Hind
Apical Reform
Ayka Design
Canvas Carpets Cushions
MISK
SACD
Studio A
Roudha Al Shamsi
Chattels & More
Sriracha: A hot & spicy evolution!
The day has finally come! We are very excited to launch Sriracha to the world. It was a fun but gruelling adventure that involved crashing tons of food tastings that we definitely did not need to attend (such a hard life!).
The day has finally come! We are very excited to launch Sriracha to the world. It was a fun but gruelling adventure that involved crashing tons of food tastings that we definitely did not need to attend (such a hard life!). We thought we’d break it down for you, show you our process, our inspiration and before/after shots!
You guys might recognise Sriracha- formerly Singkong - a local favourite. The space already had an asian vibe but we wanted to give it an upgrade with minimal intervention ie. keep structure, flooring and ceiling as is.
We didn’t want to go the traditional route when designing Sriracha, we’ve worked closely with the branding team (our design bff and neighbour A&J Design Works to make sure the design is unique and cohesive. The rest of the team included our long term collaborator Woodlabs who turned technical nightmares into sweet sweet realities and last but not least Krackn who are just badass and awesome and we love them. Together, inspired by contemporary asian design, we’ve used traditional materials and colours in a unique way that is minimal yet fun, perfect for a night out!
You can see some of our initial ideas in the mood board below which evolved over time thanks to a nudge on our clients end to make the design more “urban”. If there was ever a project to show off our street cred, this would be it.
We initially wanted to do an installation on the ceiling and after maybe going through over 10 different ideas we decided to drop it in favour of our much beloved mural.
The whole project was about logistics, the client didn't want to close the restaurant down so we had to have each element designed in such a way that it would be made outside and assembled within a week on site. Since we were on a time crunch, we built the wall cladding over the existing cladding (so much easier than ripping it off) and had the wood cut into different sized panels (so the joints wouldn't be obvious).
Krackn to carry the heavy mismatched panels three at a time to their studio and paint the expansive mural panel by panel jigsaw style before putting it together on site. Troopers right? A second layer of wood in the form of long slats were added to bring out texture and warmth that would break away to reveal the mural.
The eight countries that Sriracha represents in its branding are subtly used in the interiors to differentiate itself from Sanchez. The mural is heavily inspired by this, besides our badass heroine, crazy tentacles and flying fish we we challenge you to find all representations from all 8!
The service table were made from scratch and the dining tables were made using ash wood that was then charred using a blow torch. The chairs were carefully selected and shipped from Indonesia. Cermaics came from Pondicherry (best work trip!) custom made to fit in with the asian style and colour palette of the restaurant. Traditional earthenware accessories coloured in a deep red hue from the logo brings a pop of colour into our contemporary asian pine wood shelves.
Diwali Gift Guide
We at PureSpaces celebrate the victory of light over darkness all day erryday. It’s our job to. Infact, we’ve even written about lights before. 'Tis the season to be jolly for £akshmi wa$ bo₹n and generally good trumps(lol) evil.
We at PureSpaces celebrate the victory of light over darkness all day erryday. It’s our job to. Infact, we’ve even written about lights before. 'Tis the season to be jolly for £akshmi wa$ bo₹n and generally good trumps(lol) evil. Rama-Sita-Lakshman-Hanuman are all good and so we celebrate with lights and mithai. This lovely festival has two traditions: Noise/Air pollution which we don’t recommend (we have dogs and morals #sorrynotsorry) and extremely late spring cleaning which we do recommend. We hope you’ve spent this week cleaning, renovating and decorating for a new you. Below you will find our Diwali gift guide for last minute shoppers that is sure to make any home lit!
Banana Leaf Platter - Koy
Niloufer Box - Urban Ladder
Cow Bell Door Hanging - The Purple Turtles
X-Stand - Deniable Studio
Brass Diyas - Jaypore
Metallic Candle Ring - Moonriver
Trays - Pinklay
Lotus Tea Light Holder - The Lohasmith
Hanging Diya - Good Earth
Ceramic Bowls - Fennel
Other stores check out!
Adddress Home
Artizen
Aion
Klove Studio
Curo Carte
Adarsh Gill
Inspiration Checklist Part 2
A few weeks ago we listed out our favourite books, blogs and magazines. As promised, we have added to our list so you can be eternally inspired. You’re welcome.
A few weeks ago we listed out our favourite books, blogs and magazines. As promised, we have added to our list so you can be eternally inspired. You’re welcome.
PODCASTS
99% Invisible - The ultimate design podcast! We are properly addicted to Roman Mars’ voice. He makes the most mundane of topics interesting and there’s always a design twist. One of many amazing podcasts that are a part of Radiotopia.
The Urbanist - This is part of Monocle radio and has a slightly more serious take on design. This British Podcast talks about design, trends and the urban landscape in Europe and covers different topics over different segments within each episode.
Song Exploder - Part of Radiotopia, this is no ordinary music podcast. Here Hrishikesh Hirway breaks a single track down with the artists themselves and explains the concept as well as the technique of every single note. He’s very diverse and explore all genre’s from Carly Rae Jepsen to Norah Jones.
Design Matters - If you’re listening to it on Soundcloud, check out the actual website anyway because it’s v v cool (spoiler: It changes colours!). Debbie Millman, the host is an award winning designer herself but started the podcast to interview her idols and share it with the world. Design Matters is the first and oldest running design podcast to exist.
Adventures In Design - This is really an entertaining podcast full of design gossip and who doesn’t love gossip?
DOCUMENTARIES/SHOWS
Grand Designs - A BAFTA award winning British Classic. Kevin McCloud has been at it since 1999. We’ve literally grown up on this show (does that make us nerds?).
Abstract The Art Of Design - This Netflix original aired earlier this year. We particularly liked the episodes on Es Devlin and Ilse Crawford. Each episode has it’s own style and is well produced.
Chefs Table - You would think that David Gelb would’ve peaked after Jiro Dreams of Sushi but every single episode of Chef’s table does justice to his reputation. The amazing cinematography truly makes you wonder about the art form of cooking.
Design Trilogy - Gary Hurwist’s documentaries ‘Helvetica’, ‘Objectified’ and ‘Urbanised’ are the three commandments for every 1st year design student.
YOUTUBE
Karen Kavette - This OG vlogger is super nerdy but super fun. She started her YouTube career in RISD giving advice to all incoming art students and has worked her way up the ranks and is now a very prominent personality on the HGTV page.
Song of Style - Interior designer and fashion icon Aimee Song is so rock ’n’ roll. She documents her jet setting lifestyle on Youtube (and insta stories) and the glamour is addictive.
HGTV handmade - DIY goodness. Home, design, decorating and remodelling ideas. Arts and crafts galore!
House & Home - More DIY, makeover and home tours in case you aren’t sick of it already!
We just wanted to add that we use YouTube mainly for software tutorials. All those times you forget commands in AutoCAD, this becomes a life saver resource. We also love Youtube’s direct competition Vimeo for it’s quality videos.
Design is the best medicine.
Today, we’re writing about something near and dear to us, something we get emotional about - design for good…design that saves the world.
Some of you may know the amount of time we have spent in the hospital this crazy year. For those of you who don’t know, don’t worry! We’re fine! All of us have been there, helpless in the hospital waiting room, hoping for a get well soon miracle. So today, we’re writing about something near and dear to us, something we get emotional about - design for good…design that saves the world.
Hospitals are crummy places, especially in India. Although we have made a lot of progress, the newer hospitals tend to have a corporate feel that doesn’t psychologically benefit the patients or their families. We trudged through the internet to find you examples of great design. Hospitals that have the perfect balance of function and beauty but most importantly have a meticulously designed interior that mentally soothes and encourages a sense of well-being.
We delved into it a bit further and identified characteristics of an ideal place of healing. Material and atmosphere are the key words here. Using wood and natural light to complement each other is one way to bring warmth and cosy-ness to a space. Colour is used to lift the mood, instantaneously cheering up a room. Scenery and greenery are vital - no one likes to be hauled up in a claustrophobic space when breathing room is essential to recovery. That leaves the best and most obvious for last - clean and quiet! Need we specify the reason? Check out the images below to see hospitals who walk the talk.
Special Mention: Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital in Singapore is hands down our favourite hospital. From the interiors and facilities to the customer experience, service and lest we forget, the world class doctors. Believe us, it's an outstanding place to be ill or not (preferably not).
Stay healthy, stay safe!
From the PureSpaces Team!
BBM: Our Inspiration Checklist
If you’re thinking ‘wtf are they writing about blackberry messenger for’ then stfu, we’re not. Today we’re talking about where we get our design inspiration: Blogs, Books and Magazines.
If you’re thinking ‘wtf are they writing about blackberry messenger for’ then stfu, we’re not. Today we’re talking about where we get our design inspiration: Blogs, Books and Magazines.
We don’t want to state the obvious like Pinterest and Instagram and there are ton’s of media that we haven’t really mentioned (YouTube channels, Documentaries, Podcasts) that we will definitely explore in the next edition.
BLOGS / WEBSITES
Style by Emily Henderson - Em Henderson is our go-to blogger for all things interiors. She has so much knowledge and blogs like an absolute pro. In fact, we get lots of ideas for our blog from her. She knows how to mix funny or personal stories with serious work related stuff leaving you with a beautiful curated experience.
Design Love Fest - Technically a graphic designer, Bri Emery of DesignLoveFest will make you love colour like never before. Filled with posts of the most whimsical and lovely things on her blog is a dream. She works with very cool designers to come up with fun DIY’s from crafts to interiors to food. Her “Weekend At Home” category is full of amazing inspiration.
Apartment Therapy - “Saving the world one room at a time”. Need we say more?
ThisIsColossal - Just a good blog to get away from it all. Insane work from the most dedicated of artists. This blog is curated to blow your mind. A real punch packed with inspiration.
ArchDaily - Immerse yourself in architecture from around the world. Keep up to date on the current trends on everything from design to technology.
BOOKS
Kelly Hoppen aka God - Everything that PureSpaces wants to be. We treat her books like the Bible. Kelly has been working in the industry since she was 16 and with no formal education. She has a distinct style that is completely in line with what we want to do at PS.
The Big Book of Chic - Miles Redd’s website reads “quirky brand of cozy glamour”. This book is a classic, a bit cray but definitely a classic.
The Scandinavian Home - Because who doesn't love minimalism?
The Selby Is In Your Place - Todd Selby has made his living stalking some pretty cool creative people and oh boy, do we wish we were him! This photographer has made his mark in the industry by showing the world the behind the scenes on some of the coolest, most prolific personalities we know.
Tom Ford - This book is solely here for it’s aesthetic value. Note sure what it contains but we’ve seen it uplift many a photoshoot as a must have coffee table accessory.
MAGAZINES
AD - “The international design authority”. Dreamy architecture from around the world and from India. Beautifully curated sneak peak into the best contemporary interiors and exteriors the world has to offer.
Elle Decor - All about them trendy details. Elle has a keen eye for decor, we love to flip through to find out about quirky accessories and interesting artefacts. Through in some fashion and a little bit of page 3 and you’re hooked!
Better Homes/Home & Garden/House & Garden - Similar but great for their overall themes. Each issue will shows us genres in Interior Design from country to contemporary and is filled to the brim with pleasing photos and tips and tricks for the perfect home.
Designing Details: Lippam (Independence Day Special)
It’s been a while since we’ve done a “Designing Details” post, so this one is dedicated to Krishna’s Indian heritage. We decided to focus of the very gujju craft of Lippam and celebrate it’s beauty, history and most importantly it’s purity from the evil greedy fingers of colonialism.
Hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend and reflected on how great it is to be free. It’s been a while since we’ve done a “Designing Details” post, so this one is dedicated to Krishna’s Indian heritage. We decided to focus of the very gujju craft of Lippam and celebrate it’s beauty, history and most importantly it’s purity from the evil greedy fingers of colonialism.
Dominated by the women of Kutch, this traditional work uses camel dung, mirrors and clay to decorate their circular mud huts in rural Gujarat. Their designs are passed down from generation to generation and are never quite the same. This tradition has been kept alive and is practised by women from different communities to keep their homes insulated and cool during the hot summer months. White and shimmery, Lippam Kaam definitely fits into our PS aesthetic, scroll down to see why.
PS Travel Diaries: Singapore
Some of you may know that PureSpaces was working overseas for a substantial amount of time this year. While PS HQ was still churning out work as usual, Krishna’s desk moved across the ocean and as promised here we share her top tips to conquering Singapore with you!
Some of you may know that PureSpaces was working overseas for a substantial amount of time this year. While PS HQ was still churning out work as usual, Krishna’s desk moved across the ocean and as promised here we share her top tips to conquering Singapore with you!
Ascott Orchard, home away from home is an amazing serviced apartment that we highly recommend if you’re doing a longer stay. It’s connected to Paragon - woohoo shopping! Paragon has all the high end brands if you feel like splurging but also a parlour and a grocery store so you can stock up at the apartment. Another mall worth visiting is ION Orchard where we found a gem of a stationery store called Kikki-K. You already know stationery is our Kryptonite (new desk posts soon to follow)!
Mostly a vegetarian office, we sometimes slip and the food in Singapore was so good, it was hard not to! We recommend Din Tai Fung and Min Jiang at Goodwood Hotel for some amazing Asian food and Brotzeit for German food “cuz yum”. Crossroads Cafe - all day breakfast FTW (the walkway from here leads straight to Kikki-K ) and Angelina to curb your sweet tooth.
Other Artsy things to visit would be the Arts Science Museum, Gardens by the Bay, Cloud Forest, Flower Dome and Marina Bay Sands. All pictures attached.
All in all, Singapore is a city we could live in and we can’t wait to go back. I hope you enjoy this post and make use of our to do list one day!
SPOILER ALERT: We’ve added a few pictures of Yayoi Kusama’s retrospective (not too many so you can see it for yourselves). The exhibition recently opened and has hordes of people queueing for the good stuff, so be patient and it will all be worth it! The Cirque du Soleil is also in town with a new show ‘Kooza’ that will leave you in awe even if you’ve seen the Cirque before in another part of the world. A short walk from the performance venue you can have dinner at Spago or Bread Street Kitchen which has amazing interiors that you may recognise from our Instagram. Dinner and drinks overlooking the marina to end the perfect day.
A Girls Guide to Looking Profreshional
The stereotypical architect has a pretty distinct style (black turtle necks aren't so fun in Bangalore) and as Interior Designers, we get a little bit of creative leeway.
Last time, we spoke about our fly style and ermm.. this week we continue to do so. The stereotypical architect has a pretty distinct style (black turtle necks aren't so fun in Bangalore) and as Interior Designers, we get a little bit of creative leeway. We have to be prepared to do many things in the span of a day and be dressed appropriately for every occasion - construction site, client meeting, shopping, work drinks - you never know! We like to stay neutral (duh), wear comfortable shoes and carry a lipstick with us to help with the transition. Some of us are better dressed than others - Saad always wears crisp tailored shirts and picks out the fabric himself, Krishna always looks breezy and fresh in her neutral colour palette and well, then there's me, infamous for being pyjama clad at work on most days. We share an office with Crosscreek who makes and exports clothes to Germany and once in a while we get to pick out something nice from the sample rack in our conference room. The rest goes to charity so if you’re between wardrobes, get in touch with us and we can help you send them to the right people. Below is a collage of a typical #ootd PureSpaces approved wardrobe just so you know exactly what we’re talking about!
Moody Presentations
Every company has their own style, our’s is pretty fly (if I may say so myself). We thought we’d break it down for you and show you how we do things at PureSpaces.
Every company has their own style, our’s is pretty fly (if I may say so myself). We thought we’d break it down for you and show you how we do things at PureSpaces.
Mood boards are the first step in our design process. We come up with our own design conclusions and solutions after we get a brief from the client and check out the space. Most of the time, we have to show our client what we have in mind and that’s where our presentations come into play. We score through our magazines, Pinterest and design websites for reference images that best describe our vision. Sometimes we design things from scratch and use material or colour palettes along side it. We usually have a thick folder at the end of the process that then gets curated carefully into our famous mood boards.
I’ve attached a few examples from various projects for you that best describe our process in depth.
PS - Although we have standard templates that we work on, it’s definitely not set in stone. We like to change things up from time to time.
PPS - Our PureSpaces font of choice is Bodoni. For all the design nerds out there - It's a serif font whose typefaces come under the Didone genre, a modern typeface from late 18th Century. Another fun fact, it's the font used on Nirvana's logo.
Ladies Who Lunch
Before we made a concentrated effort to bring packed lunches to work, we 'ladies of leisure' ate out more often than we needed to. Foodies at heart, we made an effort to explore new menus or indulge in old favourites between client meetings and site visits and of course Entrée when we are feeling lazy.
Before we made a concentrated effort to bring packed lunches to work, we 'ladies of leisure' ate out more often than we needed to. Foodies at heart, we made an effort to explore new menus or indulge in old favourites between client meetings and site visits and of course Entrée when we are feeling lazy. Here are our top 10 favourite places to eat out during the work week - healthy, quick and perfect for when you're in a rush.
PS Travel Diaries: Jaipur
Summer is upon us and we just cant help but throw back to Rajasthan. Krishna and I both went there during the cooler months last year and can’t help but overwhelm our Instagram feed with all the architecture and art we saw there.
Summer is upon us and we just cant help but throw back to Rajasthan. Krishna and I both went there during the cooler months last year and can’t help but overwhelm our Instagram feed with all the architecture and art we saw there. It’s been a while since we wrote a travel post - don't worry, a Singapore one will soon follow - so heres to the second addition of the PureSpaces Travel Diaries dedicated entirely to our favourite Royal city of Rajasthan: Jaipur!
Palace hopping is a thing - between Hawa Mahal, City Palace and Ajmer Fort, you’ve got you're main tourist bases covered. Once you’re done, do a Palladio hop, believe us, it’s worth it! The interiors at Cafe Palladio are cute and quirky, making it the perfect lunch spot while sultry Bar Palladio across the road is a great way to end the day with a drink. We also recommend Spice Court for Lal Maas and Kheema Bhati, Anokhi Cafe and Zorrow for some mind blowing vegetarian food (yes, you read that right, oxymoron we know)! Jaipur is an art, craft and textile capital! Make sure you do a bit of street shopping and check out Ayush Kasliwal’s store, The Blue Potter Store and Arihand Arts. All these places were recommended by Tanushree our office coworker and Jaipur native. This fantastic place is a huge source of inspiration for us and we’d love to go again and again but for now, you can always stalk our wistful #tbt’s on Instagram.
Easter Chocolate Wish List
PureSpaces wishes everyone a Happy Easter! Not everyone in the office celebrates Easter and we may be divided in beliefs but we sure as hell are united in our Chocoholism.
PureSpaces wishes everyone a Happy Easter! Not everyone in the office celebrates Easter and we may be divided in beliefs but we sure as hell are united in our Chocoholism. Apart from the art of making chocolate itself, there is also a lot of design involved in the cocoa industry. From the packaging to interiors of chocolate shops around the world and famous sets captured in time like ‘Chocolate’ and ‘Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory’. Here is a list of heavenly spaces and treats that we give thanks for but before we get into that, let’s have a moment of silence for Johnny for making us more addicted (to chocolate, not him.. well, him too) than we already are.
Mast Brother's Milk Chocolate
DIY Unicorn Easter Eggs
Marble Punch Chocolate Set
Bottega Louie White Chocolate
Compartes Dark Chocolate
Cyril Lignac Chocolaterie
Mon Choco Artisanal Chocolate
Utopick Chocolates
William Sonoma Sweet Sauce Set
Angelina, Paris.
Laudree, Paris.
'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' Set.
Mast Brothers, Brooklyn.
'Chocolate' Set.
Bro.Kat, Poland.
Peggy Porschen, London.
App Mania
In this era of technology, we rather die than live without our phones. It’s sad to say it, but it’s true. Not the biggest technophiles, we have decided to make more of an effort with technology and really take advantage of it. No stigma attached, let’s embrace this period before we get too old to understand the latest update or the next generation condescendingly shows us how to teleport to meetings and most likely before robots destroy us.
In this era of technology, we rather die than live without our phones. It’s sad to say it, but it’s true. Not the biggest technophiles, we have decided to make more of an effort with technology and really take advantage of it. No stigma attached, let’s embrace this period before we get too old to understand the latest update or the next generation condescendingly shows us how to teleport to meetings and most likely before robots destroy us. Scroll down to find a list of apps we use or would like to start using on the job at PureSpaces.
SOCIAL
We’re possibly guilty of over sharing. Not only do we have our work accounts, we share a lot of work related content on our personal accounts as well. PureSpaces takes a majority of our time so excuse us if we get over excited and you see the same image on three accounts.
Instagram - A mix between curated, styled photos and on-the-go visual diary of everything we are up to on our stories section.
Pinterest - Where all inspiration is collected. Each project of ours has it’s own secret board and the general ones become a library of sorts.
Facebook - A platform to repost insta images but also blogs like this one from our website. We do need to start using this more.
Twitter - Kamini is the only one to use twitter but she repeatedly tweets about her #bossbae
Snapchat - Krishna has a private account, we were considering getting one for the office. What do you think?
Whatsapp - Possibly the most important communication tool we have but you know that already.
PERSONAL
A few apps we recommend in general.
Entrée - We treat ourselves to a fancy lunch more often than we should from this amazing delivery app.
My Fitness Pal - For when we put on too much weight from the above delivery app.
Ola - If you haven’t boycotted Uber already, use Ola. It’s safe and has an SOS button.
Soundcloud - We listen to design podcasts on the reg, all our Monocle24 and Radiotopia playlists are ready for us 24/7.
sleepyti.me - Set’s an alarm for you based on your REM cycle. Can’t do without it.
NDTV - Endless alerts about O PANNEER but at least we stay updated about the news.
WORK
Apps we can’t live without and a few that we’ve haven’t used yet but are willing to give it a shot.
Instasize - Crop or play with your images as much as you want.
My Measures - Take a picture and directly put the measurements on the image.
Expense Manager/Splitwise - Since we haven’t fully converted to a cashless economy, this is just to keep track of our expenses. Sometimes you’re juggling personal cash, company money and client money all at the same time. Just an organised way to keep track of all those ₹₹₹’s.
Unit Conversion /Calculator - Feet and inches to Meters and centimetres - A godsend for dyslexia!
Morpholio Trace - We haven’t tried it yet but definitely looks like a fun and convenient way of going paperless.
Autodesk 360 - For quick changes on the iPad while you’re on the move.
Sketchbook - Because we need to sketch more.
Milanote - Recommended by our PureSpaces BFF Avantika, an Evernote meets Pinterest meets everything good on this planet.