Minimalism through a Pastel Prism
At 400 THINGS we surprise our customers with a new experience every month. That drives everything we do and is the core of our being. In our words an experience is the perfect marriage of content, curation and commerce helping customers discover things they want in the most inspiring and meaningful way possible.
Our debut collection is inspired from Marshmallows, that happy feeling when you are about to indulge in a toasted marshmallow and a cup of hot chocolate, we want our customers to experience that excitement when they visit our store.
To bring this to life, we curated handcrafted design through a pastel and minimalist lens but also a marshmallow lens to lend a ‘400 THINGS’ experience.
When you think minimalism, you don’t think of Indian design, do you?
That’s exactly the challenge we dared to explore. We absolutely loved curating products from makers in India, who are bringing a new-age perspective to traditional Indian craftsmanship.
Minimalist design has always been associated with the thinker — the blank space in a sentence left to fill with the imagination, a clean aesthetic sans embellishment. A chiefly American movement originating in New York City in the late 1960s and characterized by extreme simplicity of form and a literal, objective view. The less is more approach can be liberating and reduce noise allowing the mind to focus on the basics.
400 Marshmallows looks for ‘things” that evoke simplicity in form but embody a deep story of craftsmanship and heritage in the background. Making India the focus of this collection, we set out to discover makers and products that could be part of this pastel minimalist lens and the marshmallow story.
It is fascinating and promising to see the growth of craftsmanship in India that embraces modern lifestyles and appeals to a global audience. While India has always been a place for rich colours, heavy embroideries and fine craftsmanship, there is a new age voice in the design community that is embracing “less is more” in the Indian context. We are very proud of the makers we are able to feature in our first story, who belong to this new-age voice. Our makers in this collection come from Jaipur, Delhi, Mumbai and other cities in India that are increasingly exposed to global trends yet are focused on creating their own identity keeping in mind a global customer and making traditional Indian craft the core differentiation. Most of our makers still work with fourth or fifth generation artisans, giving us hope that this community and it’s heritage, that is so rich and diverse, will continue to thrive.
Each product is handcrafted and shares one of the following characteristics — safeguards wood craftsmanship, is sustainably made, revives an ancient craft or reuses industrial waste.
The Dean Backpack from Nappa Dori, is a unique accessory that exudes vintage vibes. A blend of design, ergonomic structure, and pastel colours, the backpack brings back the nostalgia of British heritage in India. We love Nappa Dori’s unique interpretation of the backpack and use of leather hand craftsmanship to create one-of-a-kind design. Gautam Sinha the creative mind behind Nappa Dori is at the brink of a new age design revolution in India.
Our Rothko Mustard on Green Silk Scarf from Tuni is inspired from renowned painter, Mark Rothko’s “Colour Field Painting’. Vivid yet subtle, the abstract expressionist style is a perfect conduit for vibrant summer pastels of the handmade silk scarf. Tuni is run by a Bangalore based professor of Swat a local design school, Swati. Swati sources the silk from vendors who have been trading silk for generations in her neighbourhood. She then weaves them in her workshop on traditional handlooms using zero electricity.
Focused on colour play and cultural landscapes, the Into Blue Skies Knitted Throw from Safomasi is designed to create a happy nook in any home. Inspired by the hot air balloons soaring over a sun-lit Cappadocian landscape at dawn, the throw takes one on a magical journey, dipped in warm yellows and playful pinks. Safomasi has won several awards including the ELLE Deco International Design Award 2016, and the Good Homes Awards India 2015.
Many of our customers are surprised that our curated things are “Made in India”, precisely a reaction we were looking for! What we found through our research and discussions with makers is that modern sensibilities and minimalism can be in great harmony with traditional craft. This new-age view and effort is refreshing, exciting and a great window of opportunity.
We hope our customers enjoy these products as much as we loved curating and telling their unique stories.
We leave you with a few words capturing the essence of our inspiration.
Sickly sweet, Sticky fingers,
Happy mouths, Starry-eyes,
Pillow forts, Candy dispensers,
Wiggling toes, Blush tones,
Pretty pastels, Soft rugs,
Melting treats, Marshmallow dreams.
Browse our collection on 400-things.com and tell us what you think!
