Reclaimed Stories
STUDIO PROFILE
Pascal Hien and Nikita Bhate
PUBLISHED IN IMPRINT
Photography by Sameer Belvalkar
When new techniques develop and processes are automated, traditional ways of making things are left behind, and sometimes completely forgotten. It’s all about being faster, all about being more efficient. It is a gradual evolution, and it happens at different tempos around the world. So what happens when an Indian and a German designer decide to meet in the middle?
“In emerging countries like India, the past is often disregarded and trashed, because everyone wants to be part of the new way of life,” Pascal Hien explains. “We wanted to show that these traditional crafts and methods still have a place in a contemporary world without being nostalgic. Being aware of the past and bridging the gap to the future.”
Pascal Hien is a German-born designer who grew up moving cities often and has continued to do so after becoming a professional. This cultural exchange, always adapting to new places, made him open to new experiences and curious, always wanting to learn more. This brought him to his studies in Berlin and Paris, and then to Treviso, Italy and the Fabrica Research Centre.
In Southern Asia, Nikita Bhate was making a similar path for herself. Born and raised in India, she graduated with a degree in Interior Design, but felt herself gravitating towards a fascination and love for designing objects, eventually leading her to Spain, and a Masters degree in Product Design at IED Madrid.
“I got to meet important designers, participate in workshops, and visit all kinds of exhibitions. A world that wasn’t very prominent in India at that time,” Bhate says.
This led her to more opportunities, bringing her to a residency at Vista Alegre in Portugal, before she packed her bags and moved to Treviso, Italy.
Bhate and Hien met when they both had one-year scholarships at the Fabrica Research Centrees. The studio brings in designers from all over the world and has made cultural exchange an important part of their design process.
“This was undoubtedly the best part of the process for me, working as a team, exchanging our thoughts, and making room for projects taking an unprecedented turn,” Bhate says.
When they finished their scholarships, Bhate invited Hien to collaborate on a personal project that she was working on back home in India. That project was Reclaimed Stories.
“We like to describe this project as an ongoing exchange. Our cultures are so different, but often times in our conversations, we find a fruitful common ground,” Hien explains.
Pascal Hien is a German-born designer who grew up moving cities often and has continued to do so after becoming a professional. This cultural exchange, always adapting to new places, made him open to new experiences and curious, always wanting to learn more. This brought him to his studies in Berlin and Paris, and then to Treviso, Italy and the Fabrica Research Centre.
In Southern Asia, Nikita Bhate was making a similar path for herself. Born and raised in India, she graduated with a degree in Interior Design, but felt herself gravitating towards a fascination and love for designing objects, eventually leading her to Spain, and a Masters degree in Product Design at IED Madrid.
“I got to meet important designers, participate in workshops, and visit all kinds of exhibitions. A world that wasn’t very prominent in India at that time,” Bhate says.
This led her to more opportunities, bringing her to a residency at Vista Alegre in Portugal, before she packed her bags and moved to Treviso, Italy.
Bhate and Hien met when they both had one-year scholarships at the Fabrica Research Centrees. The studio brings in designers from all over the world and has made cultural exchange an important part of their design process.
“This was undoubtedly the best part of the process for me, working as a team, exchanging our thoughts, and making room for projects taking an unprecedented turn,” Bhate says.
When they finished their scholarships, Bhate invited Hien to collaborate on a personal project that she was working on back home in India. That project was Reclaimed Stories.
“We like to describe this project as an ongoing exchange. Our cultures are so different, but often times in our conversations, we find a fruitful common ground,” Hien explains.
Reclaimed Stories is a collection of furniture, merging Nikita’s Indian heritage with Pascal’s German way of seeing things. It consists of five pieces, from a lounge sofa to a dining table, all inspired by Indian tradition, but translated into contemporary expressions.
“I notice little habits Nikita would take for granted, as it is so normal or almost banal in her daily life,” Hien says. “On the other hand, she has a lot of stories to share about the old crafts, why they exist, and where they come from. Every time we meet, it feels like we have an endless well of possibilities. India is incredibly rich in inspiration and we hope to tell more reclaimed stories in the future. To us, the collection is inherently made in India for India, it was only on second thought we realised that these types of objects find appreciation outside of India as well.”
Gathering around food is an age old tradition. It is a staple of family life, it can be a celebration, a necessity, a way to meet friends, and a way to connect. From the brass door handles of the dining table Dasta, where the handles create a flexible platform for serving food, to the extended armrests of Barzä, which are perfect for an evening meal on the sofa, food is a recurring theme of Bhate and Hien’s designs. Their little touches and quirks are unique and inventive, and ultimately focused on creating shared moments.
“Eating is a huge part of Indian culture,” Bhate explains. “You’ll experience this if you ever visit India, the host will feed you, not until you are full, but rather until they are satisfied! Imagine a country of 29 states where each one has distinct cultures and geographical conditions, but still, they are connected by their shared common habits. We wanted to explore these habits—making them more comfortable. Sometimes the quirks and details are a result of absolute functionality, while some of them act as a subtle humorous wink to our behaviours.”
“It all starts with looking at how people behave in their everyday life,” Hien elaborates. “In India, they like to sit cross-legged together on large sofa-like structures. These are often placed outside and are often the place where they eat as well. Because of this, we made Barzä a little taller and deeper than normal lounges and designed a large balcony-like wing that serves as a place to place the numerous trays of food or drink.”
The name Reclaimed Stories stems from the duo’s goal of looking at tradition and the old crafts in a new way. Long before they started designing the collection, there were several moments when they chatted about an odd Indian habit or admired Indian crafts.
“But all these stories seem to have been completely neglected by the Indian people,” Bhate says. “Habits are taken for granted and old crafts seem to only be used in their typical applications. We really missed innovation, or building on these stories in order to create something new. That’s what Reclaimed Stories really means—reclaiming old stories to write a completely new one!”
“We make the old new, and the new old. Which then becomes the new new,” Hien laughs.
The exchange of influences between the two has led to designs that merge the best of both worlds, where they both get to bring their unique perspectives to their design.
“Nikita has this incredible optimism and energy to start things from scratch,” Hien says when describing what Bhate brings to their collaboration. “Where in Europe, we are often skeptical about new beginnings, in India, people just do it. I admire that.”
“Because I am always excited to do new things, I am always calmed down Pascal’s Germanic habit of being organised. He says ‘Yes, let’s do it—step by step!’,” Bhate answers.
“In India, everything is overly decorated and rich, while in Germany we tend to overdo our simplicity and function,” Hien elaborates. “I think if one looks at the pieces, you’ll see we tried to find a good balance between those two extremes. We are huge fans of the intricate woodblock carvings from Pethapur. These kinds of decorations are often overlooked in my world. Eventually, we found a way to include it in the seat of our Block dining chair, without compromising comfort, and in that way, we provided a new direction for this traditional craft.”
The pieces of Reclaimed Stories utilise a lot of solid, heavier materials, with granite, marble, and teakwood playing important roles in many of the pieces. Still, Bhate and Hien have been able to balance these choices, keeping the furniture looking clean and light.
“The choice of materials comes from the entire range of possibilities we’ve had available to us, the craftsmen, and the stories we’ve wanted to tell,” Hien says. “The wood we use is exclusively reclaimed wood, a typical product that can be purchased at the local markets. This wood is often hundreds of years old, formerly used in old palaces and other places that have been destroyed. Our stone is sourced locally, as it’s every bit as beautiful as Carrara marble from Italy. The legs of Tankan were supposed to be bent metal tubes. During the process, we realised the local craftsman did not possess the proper machinery or skill to achieve the quality results that were expected. This meant we had to adapt and the legs are now hammered into shape from an iron rod, showing every individual stroke it took to make this delicate curve. We like it even better this way. Sometimes, you have to be flexible enough—a very Indian quality by the way—and go a different way. Sometimes you have to celebrate the imperfect.”
“I notice little habits Nikita would take for granted, as it is so normal or almost banal in her daily life,” Hien says. “On the other hand, she has a lot of stories to share about the old crafts, why they exist, and where they come from. Every time we meet, it feels like we have an endless well of possibilities. India is incredibly rich in inspiration and we hope to tell more reclaimed stories in the future. To us, the collection is inherently made in India for India, it was only on second thought we realised that these types of objects find appreciation outside of India as well.”
Gathering around food is an age old tradition. It is a staple of family life, it can be a celebration, a necessity, a way to meet friends, and a way to connect. From the brass door handles of the dining table Dasta, where the handles create a flexible platform for serving food, to the extended armrests of Barzä, which are perfect for an evening meal on the sofa, food is a recurring theme of Bhate and Hien’s designs. Their little touches and quirks are unique and inventive, and ultimately focused on creating shared moments.
“Eating is a huge part of Indian culture,” Bhate explains. “You’ll experience this if you ever visit India, the host will feed you, not until you are full, but rather until they are satisfied! Imagine a country of 29 states where each one has distinct cultures and geographical conditions, but still, they are connected by their shared common habits. We wanted to explore these habits—making them more comfortable. Sometimes the quirks and details are a result of absolute functionality, while some of them act as a subtle humorous wink to our behaviours.”
“It all starts with looking at how people behave in their everyday life,” Hien elaborates. “In India, they like to sit cross-legged together on large sofa-like structures. These are often placed outside and are often the place where they eat as well. Because of this, we made Barzä a little taller and deeper than normal lounges and designed a large balcony-like wing that serves as a place to place the numerous trays of food or drink.”
The name Reclaimed Stories stems from the duo’s goal of looking at tradition and the old crafts in a new way. Long before they started designing the collection, there were several moments when they chatted about an odd Indian habit or admired Indian crafts.
“But all these stories seem to have been completely neglected by the Indian people,” Bhate says. “Habits are taken for granted and old crafts seem to only be used in their typical applications. We really missed innovation, or building on these stories in order to create something new. That’s what Reclaimed Stories really means—reclaiming old stories to write a completely new one!”
“We make the old new, and the new old. Which then becomes the new new,” Hien laughs.
The exchange of influences between the two has led to designs that merge the best of both worlds, where they both get to bring their unique perspectives to their design.
“Nikita has this incredible optimism and energy to start things from scratch,” Hien says when describing what Bhate brings to their collaboration. “Where in Europe, we are often skeptical about new beginnings, in India, people just do it. I admire that.”
“Because I am always excited to do new things, I am always calmed down Pascal’s Germanic habit of being organised. He says ‘Yes, let’s do it—step by step!’,” Bhate answers.
“In India, everything is overly decorated and rich, while in Germany we tend to overdo our simplicity and function,” Hien elaborates. “I think if one looks at the pieces, you’ll see we tried to find a good balance between those two extremes. We are huge fans of the intricate woodblock carvings from Pethapur. These kinds of decorations are often overlooked in my world. Eventually, we found a way to include it in the seat of our Block dining chair, without compromising comfort, and in that way, we provided a new direction for this traditional craft.”
The pieces of Reclaimed Stories utilise a lot of solid, heavier materials, with granite, marble, and teakwood playing important roles in many of the pieces. Still, Bhate and Hien have been able to balance these choices, keeping the furniture looking clean and light.
“The choice of materials comes from the entire range of possibilities we’ve had available to us, the craftsmen, and the stories we’ve wanted to tell,” Hien says. “The wood we use is exclusively reclaimed wood, a typical product that can be purchased at the local markets. This wood is often hundreds of years old, formerly used in old palaces and other places that have been destroyed. Our stone is sourced locally, as it’s every bit as beautiful as Carrara marble from Italy. The legs of Tankan were supposed to be bent metal tubes. During the process, we realised the local craftsman did not possess the proper machinery or skill to achieve the quality results that were expected. This meant we had to adapt and the legs are now hammered into shape from an iron rod, showing every individual stroke it took to make this delicate curve. We like it even better this way. Sometimes, you have to be flexible enough—a very Indian quality by the way—and go a different way. Sometimes you have to celebrate the imperfect.”