Dezeen Magazine

Bijoy Jain / Studio Mumbai for Maniera

Studio Mumbai's handmade furniture references traditional craftsmanship

Indian architecture firm Studio Mumbai will exhibit 14 furniture and homeware items crafted from a mix of "universal" and more unusual materials, at Maniera gallery in Brussels.

Bijoy Jain / Studio Mumbai for Maniera

Described as the "result of an ongoing process of refinement and study in material, form and function", the new collection of handmade furniture and homeware features a daybed, a lamp, a console table, a bench, a folding screen and a selection of chairs.

Made from "universal" materials such as stone, textiles, glass and brick, the pieces take inspiration from traditional craftsmanship found across the world.

Bijoy Jain / Studio Mumbai for Maniera

The studio has also used unusual materials like Japanese washi paper, cow dung and lime in the collection.

"The materials are very much a part of our immediate landscape," Bijoy Jain, founder of Studio Mumbai, told Dezeen.

"These objects are universal in their relation to water, air and light – they are free from origin or place," he explained.

Bijoy Jain / Studio Mumbai for Maniera

In keeping with the idea of traditional crafts, the pieces in the collection do not require expensive power tools or adhesives to be built.

"The pieces emerge from a directness of approach between material and man, enabled by simple tools and manipulated with gestures of the hand," said Jain.

Bijoy Jain / Studio Mumbai for Maniera

One piece in the series, a console, has a plywood structure with Japanese washi paper panelling, while a chair is made from recycled teak wood and tied together using silk rope.

Elsewhere, an armchair is hand-carved from a single block of sandstone and features a rounded form with slanting armrests.

Bijoy Jain / Studio Mumbai for Maniera

There are also two benches that feature dyed bamboo-stick structures and silk rope seats that have been tied together.

According to Jain, the pieces seek to recall the "mythical qualities found in artefacts from another time", while still retaining a "highly contemporary" edge.

Bijoy Jain / Studio Mumbai for Maniera

Jain's collection will be on show at Maniera Gallery in Brussels between 18 May and 24 August 2019.

Founded in 2005 by Bijoy Jain, Studio Mumbai is an architectural practice that combines Indian and western craftsmanship.

In 2016, the studio was chosen to design the MPavilion in Melbourne. It featured a square structure built from bamboo and wood.