May 2014 marked my birth as a parent and the arrival of my first child, S. Lots of anxiety, lots of joy, some convictions and lots of apprehensions- the first time as a parent can be as daunting as it can be exhilarating!
A few months into being a mother, the dormant (only semi dormant! As I had never really stopped working or designing!) architect in the mother me started rising from its slumber! As much as I was appreciated for creating a wonder room for my daughter, I was also approached for ideas, suggestions and the encouragement to create this for other little children! My passion, my experiences as a new mother and my drive to create yet another something new took me along my well trodden roads in Italy! Italy, where just a year back I had had the wonderful opportunity to visit the historic brand factories like Poltroon Frau, Cassian and the like! My month and a half long stay in Florence interacting with masters in the field during my furniture design course there as also my interaction with peers from all over the world, had left me enriched and convinced that for design – Italy was the hub!
When I decided to build a specialized store for children’s furniture, I began my journey with a trip to Italy. Here I met with representatives of all the best Italian furniture brands which designed furniture for children. Me-too, under the mother brand MAGIS caught my eye and tugged at my heart strings with its cute, thoughtful, fun and attractive designs! Each product in the METOO collection was designed by well known masters in the architecture and design field – from Philippe Stack to Eero Aarnio and Enzo Mari!
As I decided to take up the sole distributorship for the METOO brand in India, I was excited to see how it would be responded to in India!
Designs of chairs, tables, beds flew out of my imagination as we meticulously worked on ergonomic dimensions, safe details and attractive and easy-to-maintain finishes!
As I explored the market for child friendly finishes and mommy’s cleaning friendly fabrics, my expert team started breathing life into the wooden logs and plywood sheets! My dreams were coming alive! One by one, the products of my imagination were standing in front of me! We worked over 12 months to create the store of my dreams! On 12th December 2015, 1.5 years after the birth of my first child- my second baby- My FUNiture Story was born!
Over the 3.5 years of its running, we’ve been blessed with immense appreciation, some happy loyal patrons, lots of experiences, lots of learnings and lots of confidence! My stay in a city away from home has opened up my horizon to encompass a greater understanding of children, moms and the world at large!
Before the third birthday of MFS, we were blessed with our second daughter ( and third child!)
As she turns six months, this time the totally active architect inside me didn’t become semi dormant! It ensured that I use every ounce of my available energy to push myself to new heights! The last year, as a mentee in the Cherie Blair International program for women in business, I got the wonderful opportunity to connect with some brilliant minds of which I must mention my wonderful mentor Soma Ramasamy! He has been so kind and encouraging, always taking out time from his intense schedule and always with words of encouragement to make me strive further towards excellence ! Various other intellectual interactions at the Indian School of Business with the professors like Rishtee Batra and at various design conventions in Hyderabad have all added immensely to my exposure and humility. This last year has helped me prepare our launch pad for our big leap! The big leap of faith, of passion, of determination and of the conviction that we will be better than ever before!
The coming months will be witness to our years of learning, dreaming, planning and creating!
As we expand to new shores, with our dreams refreshed, holding on to our old ties, we pray for a satisfying innings ahead!
It took 18 months after my first daughter’s birth for writing the pages of My FUNiture Story. In 8 short months after my second daughter’s birth, we are ready to rebirth My FUNiture story very very soon!
