Scooter teapots anyone? Bent Chair just opened in Chennai and we are going gaga over these awesome choices!

Affordable luxury with eclectic style. The newly-launched Bent Chair store on Chamiers Road has us bent out of shape with options!
Scooter Teapots - Bent Chair Store
Scooter Teapots - Bent Chair Store

Scooter teapots to Shahjahan chairs. Bent Chair which recently opened shop on Chamiers Road has an eclectic mix of regal and quirky. The e-tailer home décor store which offers a repertoire of furniture, decor, dining and wall art went was founded three years ago. But in that short time has already managed to set up physical stores in 10 Indian cities so far, as well as operations in China. And this isn't counting a separate vertical in hospitality, with the richly-furnished lounge bar Plum by Bent Chair in Mumbai
We caught up with their firecracker of a co-founder, 30-year-old Natasha Jain. The Stanford graduate started the venture along with her industrialist father, Neeraj Jain, with a vision to create access to affordable luxury in the decor space. Apart from being roped in for the interiors of high-end brands like Lord of the Drinks (all outlets), the company also collaborated with designer Rocky S for a collection last year. 
 

Are there new collections in the pipeline for 2019?

We’re always innovating ourselves and bringing out newer collections, so 2019 will be no exception. Currently, we’re working on Make In India and Lion series, corals and return of the classics, a renaissance collection, and a fusion of furniture and fashion. All these collections are in entirely different directions, and I’m excited to put them together and bring it out for our customers. We’re working on adding cabinets as a product category this year. I’m hoping we’ll be able to launch them soon.

<em>Co-founder Natasha Jain</em>
Co-founder Natasha Jain

We're curious about how the name Bent Chair came about. Is there a story behind it?

We wanted the name to reflect the brand, and so, put a lot of thought behind this quirky, yet simple, name. Essentially, a bent chair refers to a regular chair that has been altered from its original form to a rather unusual figure, reflecting panache and unending creativity, which is what our brand is all about.

Read More Lifestyle Trends.
 

We love your moped-inspired teapots! Tell us about your quirky aesthetic...

At Bent Chair, we’re always trying to do something out-of-the-box. We keep up with the times, the fashion, the colours, and the themes and we use them as a base for all our quirky designs. We aim to create designs that are relevant to the times, but at the same time, be distinctive and unique.

<em>A glimpse of the newly-launched Bent Chair store at Teynampet</em>
A glimpse of the newly-launched Bent Chair store at Teynampet

Do you have a specific target audience in mind?  

Well, the brand is open to everyone, but we do keep in mind the tastes and preferences of people aged between 25 and 45 when brainstorming and designing. The quirky designs that Bent Chair stands for are better loved and appreciated by the millennials since they are a much bolder and “out there” generation. Gen Y is too young to be looking into furniture and decor, so, Gen X is an automatic choice.

Last year, you collaborated with Rocky S on a collection. Which celeb name are you working with this year?

Well, that’s a secret best-kept silent. You’ll just have to wait to see who we’re teaming up with next!

<em>Leaf Coffee Table</em>
Leaf Coffee Table

What are some of your favourite creations or ones that have become hot sellers over the years?

The Leaf coffee table, the Scooter teapot, the Famous Five sculpture, and of course, the Shahjahan chair. As for our hottest sellers, there’s the Luke chair, the eclipse table, the Kenneth sofa, the Scooter teapot, and the Cirque console table.

Take us behind the scenes - how big is the design team and where does the magic happen?

We’ve kept our design team pretty small so that we can all work on ideas, designs, and collections together. Currently, my design team has 10 members, who work as one to make Bent Chair bigger and better. The ‘magic’, so to speak l, happens across five manufacturing facilities in Ambala that house the latest woodworking machinery, as well as a huge space for assembly, storage, and testing of the finished products. In addition to the primary manufacturing units, four facilities have been set up for polishing, carving, weaving and painting of Bent Chair products, which use technology that no other furniture manufacturing unit is currently using in India, like Plasma Vapor Deposition.

You have a restaurant in Mumbai that has received rave reviews, both for it food and aesthetic. Will Plum By Bent Chair be coming to Chennai as well?

Plum By Bent Chair, as a concept as well as the brand, is still fairly new and we’re still learning what works best for it. So, for now, our focus is on the outlets that already exist in Mumbai and Delhi; to better develop them take them to greater heights. But, who knows what the future holds?

<em>Quirky <g class=
Quirky
lamp stands" />

Are there other verticals like hospitality that you wanted to step into in 2019?

I will try not to! Plum By Bent Chair is a vertical that is so out of my comfort zone, and keeping up with it takes up most of my time. I want to focus on it and give it my best, instead of stepping into too many verticals too fast. If I pile on too much on my plate, I won’t be able to do justice to any.

You're in 10 cities in India, as well as China. Tell us about your expansion plans.

Our expansion journey has been overwhelming, to be honest. It’s definitely been faster than I expected, and I still can’t believe that we made it to 10 cities and China! We started from Hyderabad, moved on to various Tier 2 cities, have now opened in Chennai and will coming soon to Bengaluru. It really has been a great learning curve. By the end of 2019, I hope to have 15 stores across India, and my 2020 vision is to turn that number to 30.

Take us back to the beginning - how did Bent Chair get started, and were you looking for a chair that you couldn't find? 

Well, it wasn’t exactly about a chair that I couldn’t find. Having lived in the US for years and witnessing the design around me, in furniture, I got inspired to bring something to India. It made sense, as there is a deficiency of brands with high design, affordable price and catering to people between the age group of 25-45 years. This is when the vision for Bent Chair struck, to create a go-to home decor and furnishing brand, manufactured in India, with a global presence.  So, it was less about a chair I couldn’t find, but more about a chair that I was sure many Indians couldn’t find in India!

On Chamiers Road, Teynampet and available online. Rs 1,500 to Rs 15,000.

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