4 minute read
In Conversation with Dhruvkant Amin - Dhruvkant Amin, Founder and Designer of Techtona Grandis Furniture speaks about how an opportunity back in 2014 led to the birth of Tectona Grandis Furniture
Dhruvkant Amin, Founder and Designer of Techtona Grandis Furniture speaks about how an opportunity back in 2014 led to the birth of Tectona Grandis Furniture.
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Dhruvkant Amin, Founder and Designer of Techtona Grandis Furniture
Who is/are your design idol(s)?
Without any second thought, it is Gajanan Upadhyay also well known as GU, have been widely appreciated for its simplicity, finesse and ‘construction aesthetics. He worked with numerous architects like Ray and Charles Eames, Louis Kahn, George Nakashima, Poul Kjærholm, Nils Fagerholt, Bo Bonfils, Jens Moeller Jensen, Hans Gugelot and many others
What is your idea of good design?
An idea of good design is “ Make it simple but significant.”
Who do you look up to for design inspiration?
The inspiration of design comes from nature, event, an ideology or design to resolve the need of a client. Thus I cannot associate inspiration to a particular thing, but in various different mood or time, various things inspire me in different ways.
Which was one of your earliest products which garnered a lot of attention?
The Ripple Coffee Table is one of the products designed by me which garnered a lot of attention, followed by Nordic Sofa & Mastaba Console. The first one will always remain close to my heart, as I had the opportunity to design furniture for the Karma Café, of the Navjivan Press, founded by Mahatma Gandhi in Ahmedabad. The learning of his life and incorporating it in my creations was inspiring. The stackable chairs which were even named in my collection after the café called the “Karma Chair” is a memorable product. The other product which is close to my heart is the latest
addition of a centre table to our catalogue called the OREKA coffee table. OREKA has been designed not only to solve its purpose as a table but as an art piece to adorn a space.
What’s the secret of your steady relationship with timber?
My love for timber especially Teak, may have been there, but when I explored various other materials like steel, aluminium or any other man-made materials, it made me realise how nature and natural materials drew me closer to them. The varied grains, textures warmth and the variety of timber lures me to enhance its beauty in various functional forms. My love for nature reflects in my work too. We make all our furniture from reclaimed wood. Moreover, trying we try to conserve the nature at the same time, as exploring it.
What led to the inception of Tectona Grandis Furniture?
The brand Tectona Grandis Furniture was awaiting its arrival since long, but the market or buyers, weren’t ready to understand the segment of furniture designer. There was a degree of designing in Furniture at NID, but the designers were merely consumed as a part of a giant design house, and not stand alone ones. In 2014 when the opportunity of designing furniture for Navjivan Press came across me, Tectona Grandis Furniture was formed to design and manufacture the furniture for the Karma Café. This helped the ball roll and since then there has been no looking back.
Do you offer customised products? How much time is required to design a customised marvel?
At Tectona Grandis Furniture, we design and manufacture a wide range of designs. We customise the same products in various sizes as per the requirement of the client. A complete new product can also be customised at a project level. Besides answering how much time is required to design a customise marvel, I would say, “GOOD THINGS TAKE TIME”
What are your thoughts on the global design sense is the language of design universal or is it defined by cultural affinities?
The language of design is in my opinion is global cause design is not just good or bad, a design is a good design as long as it serves the purpose, besides its well said by Albert Einstein “ Creativity is contagious, pass it on” This itself describes that the language of design is Global and at the same time unique due its cultural affinity. When Language of Design is global, how can it be restricted to a region. Tectona Grandis Furniture caters to the entire world, step by step delivering various regions globally.
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