Upcycled pieces of teak stacked like a house of cards to form a lamp base. A wall cabinet in a three-dimensional inlay fashioned by artisans from Mysuru. A mid-century lounge chair upholstered in fabric made from mulberry silk waste. These are some of the latest creations by Dutch design duo, Xander Vervoort and Leon van Boxtel, in collaboration with Phantom Hands, a craft-driven furniture-maker based in Bengaluru. Vervoort and Boxtel are just two of the acclaimed designers that the brand works with. Other big names include INODA+SVEJE, x+l, Derek Welsh, Klemens Grund, BIG-GAME and Nityan Unnikrishnan.
Rooted in Indian modernism, all of the brand’s collections are re-editions of historically important mid-century designs, created using the ideas of experts and executed by skilled artisans from traditional craft communities of India such as carpenters from Rajasthan, cane weavers from Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu and wood inlay artisans from Mysuru. “The brand’s name is a tribute to generations of craftsmen whose skills manifest in our furniture,” says entrepreneur Deepak Srinath, who co-founded the company with designer Aparna Rao, who is an alumnus of NID (Ahmedabad) and Interaction Design Institute (Ivrea, Italy), and part of the artistic duo Pors & Rao. Their multi-disciplinary work has been exhibited in galleries and museums all over the world.
Phantom Hands started as an online marketplace for vintage furniture and collectibles around a decade ago. The founders then began making their own furniture in 2015, something that brought them great success not just locally, but globally as well. They now supply to retailers in over 25 countries, and some of the best luxury brands in the world—Dior, Burberry, Tiffany & Co and Louis Vuitton—use their products, both furniture and interior decor, in their stores.
“When we started making furniture, we couldn’t have imagined that some of the best designers in the world would want to work with us, or that we would exhibit at Milan Design Week, or win a Monocle Design Award,” recalls a proud Srinath, whose interest in design history and mid-century modern furniture––notwithstanding a background in technology and finance––led to the founding of the brand.
Making international inroads wasn’t easy though. “India is not well-known for high-quality furniture. So we had to deal with that perception at the beginning, but all doubts disappeared once customers and retailers saw the quality of our products,” he says, adding, “We are thankful to our first few retailers—RR Interieur in Belgium and Gallery Casa De in Japan––for taking that leap of faith and displaying our products in their showrooms. We also got ‘discovered’ by a few well-known interior designers who used our furniture in high-profile projects in New York and Paris. After that, it has all been word of mouth; we’ve never advertised or run any marketing campaigns.”
From the beginning, the brand has emphasised on the revival and sustenance of traditional crafts through research, documentation and practice.
“We apply craft to contemporary design and introduce technological interventions where required,” he says, adding, “We help designers explore the possibilities of creating something that would not be possible anywhere else. We’re not prescriptive; we want every designer to stay true to their own creative language.”
Another thing Phantom Hands has been successful at is the restoration of some old crafts. In 2018, for instance, due to a shortage of skilled cane weavers in Tamil Nadu, the brand took in a few young apprentices from the local community and put them under the mentorship of its senior weavers.
“Our expectation was that they would learn a few basic skills and assist the experienced artisans. Much to our surprise, the apprentices not only learnt the preliminary process of peeling and preparing the cane, but also picked up more complex weaving techniques. The unexpected success prompted us to expand the apprenticeship programme to carpentry and polishing as well,” he adds. Clearly, a great example of act local, think global.