Overclay by Marca Corona

It has been a while ........it is ironic that the name of this company has the word "Corona" in it, the most dreaded word of 2020! Believe me this was not intentional! Now put your mind at ease there is nothing to dread here, I bring only positive vibes!

Marca Corona was founded in 1741, it is the oldest Italian porcelain tile manufacturer company in the Sassuolo district. It is so old that it has its own Museum showcasing its long history! They have an extensive collection which is quite exquisite. Everything from wood, concrete, chalk  and every color in the rainbow and then some, I will be listing some of my favourites however do check out their entire collection. 

OVERCLAY is inspired by the colors of the desert and charm of the Middle Eastern kasbahs. The earth tones and textures are so calming. The blush and clay color tones are right on trend!

The CHALK collection imitates the unplastered look of walls .....aren't these colors delicious?

And the TONE collection adds a subtle glossiness to your space!

In the current climate companies such as Marca Corona must be facing an incredibly challenging time, as we are all. It is important we support each other in these times of crisis. We like to think we are different from each other, our problems are separate from the next person but these times have taught us differently. We all depend on each other for our existence on this planet and we must come together intelligently after all it is our intelligence that makes us different from every other species on this planet. I say come together while staying apart .... keeping a safe distance will be the only way for sometime. This too shall pass...till then Stay Positive ...Stay Funky

BEND

I found BEND this year at the Boutique Design New York (BDNY,2018) show. The BDNY show showcases some of the best interior design products. They are always current and on trend! 

BEND is a company based in L.A. founded by sculptor/designer Gaurav Nanda. They design and manufacture Interior and Exterior products and furniture. They are handcrafted from recyclable iron.

The material used is industrial but the forms they have created coupled with a vibrant dose of color makes their designs very edgy! Including BEND furniture pieces will add a dose of playful energy to any interior space. I think a bit of BEND to any kind of space can amp up it’s design value immensely. They are well-crafted, uniquely shaped and coated pieces. I think it is a versatile product because their designs are strong enough to be used as inspiration and statement pieces alone as well as compliment and blend beautifully with other pieces and styles. 

 

 You can thank me later :p! Till next time... Stay Innovative.. Stay Funky!

Custom Star Maps- A unique gift for your loved one!

In a time where mass-produced items are flooding the markets I may not be alone in my quest to find a unique personalized gift. The true value of a gift lies more in the amount of time you have spent on the thought behind it than the money you spend purchasing it. If a gift is reminiscent of a special moment, even better! You can be assured the gift will be treasured for many years! 

Growing up in an Indian household it is engrained in us to believe in Astrology. Astrology is the study of movements of celestial objects and a way of predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. All major events in the Hindu calendar are planned by looking at these charts and consulting with a family Astrologer. Even the fate of our marriages lies in how well our respective stars align! If they have, it would be a match made in heaven! According to me it was ludicrous!! But unknowingly it gets embedded so deep within you that it is hard to shake off the belief that things do fall into place when the stars align!

After that brief divulge into my past you can now understand why I was more than excited about finding this perfect gift. Well, in this case it was an artwork for my daughters room. It is a modern interpretation of the age old beliefs, the “Star Maps”. Modern map Art helps you track and print how the stars were aligned on the exact date and time when you experienced your very special moment. For me it was the birth of my daughter. I even named her ‘Ishana’ which means ‘The Universal Power’ so this made perfect sense! There is nothing more magical than a starry night sky, it always makes you wonder about the unknown and the powers beyond, hence, I think this is one of the most magical gifts! 

 
This is what my Star Map looks like! Find out what your special moment looks like... click on the picture!Would love to hear about your finds for that unique gift! Till then stay Magical… stay Funky! 

Surfaces by Moz!

As designers so much of our time is spent thinking of ingenious ways to treat surfaces. Surfaces such as walls, ceiling, flooring and even surfaces of our furniture. After all these years of practicing interior design I do have the confidence to question the fundamentals such as why are windows always rectangular and not round or oval? Why are walls always straight and not at an angle? Why are surfaces always straight and not undulated? I hope I can experiment with surfaces someday but first I will need to find a client who is willing to be adventurous!!! 

I am always excited to learn about a new material to dress up a surface and if they are environmentally conscious even better! I discovered this company called Moz during my trip to New York. 

Moz was founded in 1989 by two brothers who designed and built modern metal furniture in a San Francisco bay area garage and has now evolved in many ways over the past two and a half decades. Today we are talking about their designer Metal laminates and products such as Column Covers, Wall panels and others. The raw materials used for manufacturing of Moz products are domestically sourced metals. They have an extremely long lasting installed lifespan and can be recycled once their useful life in the applied environment has come to an end. Moz Aluminium products contributes to Leed Credits for recycled content.  

In 2012 Moz installed an impressive on-site Solar System to power their offices and manufacturing facilities and now boasts sufficient electrical power generation to supply their own power as well as contributing power back to the utilities grid. All Moz products are proudly made in the U.S.A. from start to finish. 

Below are some of my favorite applications:

 

 

I encourage you to visit their website and learn more about all their different products. The sheets come in many different textures , colors and can be customized as well!

                                    Till next time Be Adventurous and Stay Funky!

Colours of Arabia

I was recently invited to attend a very special event hosted by Berger paints at Noire, Fairmont Dubai. We were to view some webisodes that told the story of a young blind girl and her Grandfather who embark on a journey together around the U.A.E. to experience color in a special way. Her grandfather explains color through experiences the girl has had growing up. The webisodes are beautifully shot against the landscape of the U.A.E and captures the message effortlessly.

We as bloggers got to witness first hand how it felt to have our sense of sight taken away for a few hours as we were invited to dine in the dark at Noire. We were escorted in pitch darkness to our tables and yes some of us stumbled! We laughed nervously as there was an anxious energy that surrounded us. We have all become so accustomed to being bombarded by information and visuals every second of the day that it is very abnormal for us to stay still. “Staying connected” has a very different meaning to us these days, while we seem to stay connected with the rest of the world we are slowly disconnecting ourselves from reality. And with our phones being taken away through the dinner made this more evident. As the waiters served us one course after the other I noticed my other senses worked that much harder to compensate for sense of sight.

It was a humbling experience to say the least. Being in a profession that is so visual I definitely felt incapacitated as i sat in pitch darkness through my dinner. It made me question if indeed we could experience life and all it’s glory in more ways than just one. This way of thinking is imperative when designing public spaces, it is so ignorant to design spaces for regular people without thinking of the special needs others may have. 

This opened my eyes to a world of possibilities of how we can experience color, space, light and many more if we could just open up our minds. I must commend Berger paints for this unique initiative to educate people of these possibilities and raise the question of how we can mould our thinking to make this world a better place for everyone who inhabits it.  

Berger paints was established in the 1760 and today is a global force with a strong presence in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean Islands, the South Pacific, and the Middle East. They have a very informative and well laid out website with lots of tips and inspiration to choose your perfect color from their 1800 original hues. It also is equipped with tools such as the paint calculator! You can download their Color scheme Pro app from google play or the App store to create custom combinations easily. You can even select a color by uploading a photograph and picking the closest shades from it. If you have found the color you like? Get hundreds of monochromatic, complementary, and analogous color combinations and view them in a 3D room setting. This is such an exciting tool for me and i cannot wait to use it, I hope you will too.

 

                                  …Until next time Stay Aware …Stay Funky!