The beauty behind a sketch

She intends to change the way your life is at home right now — starting from lamps to linen, Amrita Nambiar’s new label Olie brings to life the wide motifs from nature as well as abstract thoughts recreated through illustrations. Having worked in Pondicherry with a leading luxury brand for a few years, Nambiar learnt everything she could about design, which eventually inspired her to turn into an entrepreneur.

Why Olie?
Olie which means ‘light’ in Tamil, came to me in Pondicherry one evening, while I was sitting by the sea with a pencil in my hand. The simple lifestyle, the magic in the mundane, the art of dreaming brought me into a world very different from the hustle-bustle of city life. The unique signature of Olie is to bring together a textile-design element along with craftmanship resulting in something unique. We reach out to a mindset that is eco-friendly and style conscious with an international aesthetic look to make a deeper statement.

What kind of materials are you using for your creations?
Made with banana and bamboo fibre, drill cotton, my designs are crafted with care by the artisans of rural Karnataka.

Do you plan on expanding your range?
Currently my product range consists of cushions, table linen and lighting and its available in four sub-labels — Windsong, Impermanence, Heartlight and Roots And Wings. I would absolutely love to design rugs and curtains but at this stage, I’d like to see how people respond to my products and then cater to their needs to the best of my ability.

Your designs have an element of poetry in them; what inspired you to come up with them?
I wanted people to know the inspiration and feel behind every design and interpret what they’re feeling. What’s a better way to express than poetry? I want my customers to feel what I’m feeling and share with them the journey behind my every idea. I want them to exclaim ‘that’s beautiful!’, which they have been doing.

Would you rather be a people’s designer with your designs affordable to most or be exclusive?
A bit of both — I want to be exclusive and yet showcase my designs for everyone to feel, understand and enjoy.