All things vintage

The big fat Indian wedding is far from being an inspiration, yet is significant. Why you may ask? While Indian weddings have turned less gaudy, and slowly shifted to being subtle-classy in its look and feel, the fact remains that its a massive affair nonetheless. A 2014, Business Today report states that the Indian wedding market is worth $38-billion and only continues to grow.

Joining the brigade of helping hands who make weddings a reality is concept designer duo Sabah Sheikh and Janki Desai. Their company The Artisan Atelier, is one that designs weddings combining luxe and vintage. We spoke to Sabah, Creative Head, and Janki who handles Brand Management and Business for The Artisan Atelier, on the company's launch. Excerpts from an interview:

dna: Give us an overview of what The Artisan Atelier is about.
Sabah: Old things are often thought to have lost their functionality.  Hardly does anyone get the fact that these objects are prudent. The Artisan Atelier is a luxury vintage wedding company, and we believe that converting the old (objects wise or theme wise or both) in a new stylish manner makes for a flavour that dances on the décor tongue and celebrates everything with subtleness and value. We design weddings, parties, events, backdrops—any space and convert it into a story worth sharing. 

dna: Tell us about how did the two of you join hands to make The Artisan Atelier a reality. Also, when did you decide to launch; take us through the journey.
Janki: I've known Sabah since forever. She had designed her elder sister’s wedding, and with that, won all hearts and praises. One day I happened to call her and she spoke to me about her future plans...about starting The Artisan Atelier, and from then on I was all ears. We worked in tandem to create the first-of-its-kind vintage wedding company, and showcased our first event in April.

dna: Explain to us, step-by-step, how you conceptualise a wedding.
Janki: Sabah and I follow a set protocol. We go through a three-meet process. In the first meet, Sabah and I look into the likes and dislikes of the couple and settle on a design/theme that is classy. The second meeting with the pair focuses on analysing décor elements that will help bring the story to life. The final meet locks on the budget followed by finalising the designing processes.

dna: Give us a detailed account of some of the weddings you're conceptualising.
Sabah: We've conceptualised some fun and different weddings that we will be executing soon!
Some of the themes we are working with are rustic, vintage hollywood glam, an all-white romantic luxe wedding. Some of the work we have already done includes pastel-toned colours as well as a twist to The Great Gatsby also known as the 'Roaring 20s'.

dna: Indian weddings are no longer the 'big, fat' ceremony. According to you, how has this changed over the years?
Janki: Indian weddings have come a long way...from being loud, jarring weddings to subtle soft ones. Now, couples desire minimalistic décor and not your typical décor. They don’t believe in just filling long wedding days with unnecessary wants and prompts from other guests but want to create their own version of a fairytale.

dna: You plan to launch a store in August, 2015. Tell us more about it.
Sabah: We are coming up with a creative work studio, which will be launched in August. Being staunch believers of ‘God is in the detail’, our studio will be minimal yet vintage.

dna: We'd like to know some of the trends and inspirations for the wedding season 2015-16.
Janki: We like creating bespoke theme’s according to the likes of our clients, but the basic trend we’ve noticed at Indian weddings, which we believe will be seen more in the coming year, is that most couples wish to break away from the traditional décor and style. Couples want their wedding to be different, unlike any other wedding; one with a personal touch to it.

dna: What's in the pipeline for The Artisan Atelier.
Janki: We’re working on a variety from exhibitions to café décor, weddings, anniversaries and hotel launches. We’re already working on three destination weddings.