This project was undertaken with Gaurika Singhal, as part of a two month internship for La, mountain-based boutique brand.
<aside> 📅 - 2016
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<aside> ⌛ - 2 months
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<aside> 🔖 - Product Design
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<aside> 📍 A product design internship that looked at creating meaningful products that considered the artisan and their local context at the centre of the design process.
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La is a brand based in Sikkim, India that aims at representing innovation, design and aspirations of the people from the mountainous regions of the Indian Himalayas. It works with local artisans and craftsmen to ensure that their craft remains relevant, while maintaining the tradition. Echostream is the parent company, also based in Sikkim, which is a mountain based design studio, that brings about meaningful, empathetic change.
We worked and co-created with the local artisans from Sikkim who specialised in the bamboo weave. After understanding the context of the material, artisans and local culture, we began making products that fit each part. The additional constraint was to ensure that the products we designed could be easily scaled up within local craft clusters, which would ensure profitability for the artisans.
Product sketches.
Given the tight deadlines around the project, we focused the products around a kitchen space.