Top Notch | Klove Studio's Prateek Jain and Gautam Seth: 'Our pieces are designed to bring you beauty, or peace'

THE “KLOVE” boys are having a momentous year indeed. Last week, the New York Times’ T Magazine did a piece on one of their totem lights, a 10-foot tall piece, from their showcase in the cultural institution, the Park Avenue Armory, last year. Their international rights have just been committed to a major Miami-to-Mayfair gallery, Studio 27. And oh, they welcomed home a baby boy three months ago, beautifully named Neel Ambar.

Prateek Jain and Gautam Seth of the Klove Studio truly embody a life where art meets spirituality. One can barely call them lighting designers, which they simplistically may be, but the bent towards sculpture, architecture and such a deliberate expression of self makes them so much more.

“Klove has been such an organic journey, nothing was calculated,” Jain, 45, tells me. “We met in February 2005 and started dating almost immediately. By September that year Klove Studio was born. We realised we had a strong creative point of view, and in the process of designing for ourselves, we became ‘designers’.” Seth, 44, agrees when he says, “Prateek is a business graduate and I’m a chemical engineer. But we wanted to do something together creatively, that validated ourselves as artists.”

Klove Studio is unlike anything you’ve seen. It concerns itself minimally with lighting up a room, but is an artwork in itself. Using native and contemporary elements, so many of them all at one, it’s like a party on one’s ceiling.

Of course it has found favour from some major tastemakers of the country – industry leaders, art collectors and movie stars (I was introduced to them by Twinkle Khanna who has a giant light sculpture from them at the entrance lobby of her home). But the Prime Minister’s official residence also boasts of one of their lights. As does the main branch of the State Bank of India.

“All of us in India are very privileged. We have such an incredible artisanal base in our country, all we had to do was tap into that resource,” they humbly echo. “Our aim was to do something we could be proud of.” Indian craft is a huge part of their oeuvre. Everything is handmade, even the glass is blown by specialised craftsmen. This is unusual, because very few light studios in India make handmade or native products. “We came across this cluster that made scientific glassware, it was such high precision stuff, near Chandigarh,” Seth explains. “They had been doing this for generations. We realised the glass was truly of a beautiful quality, and thought it would be converted to make something else. We had only three artisans when we started. Today we employ half the industry there,” Jain says.

The two are untrained academically in design. “But without knowing this for long, we design by tapping into our memory. We don’t delve into the academic aspect of design. Our work is an emotional reaction to our experiences. We are drawn to visuals, energies and nature. Most of our designs are nostalgic in their core. Spirituality shows up too, our work gives you comfort and beauty,” Seth avers. Much like the Totem piece that was featured in the New York Times. “It’s reverence to a ritual aspect of daily life, something that harnesses energy, but doesn’t subscribe to any one religion,” Seth says. “All our pieces are designed to make people feel a certain way, to bring you beauty or peace.” Like my favourite Goa Collection, that immediately transports you to the sunshine state with its palm fronds.

The two also have a holiday home here. Jain and Seth are generous hosts and have half of Mumbai and half of Delhi congregating in Goa every few weeks to unwind. “Come for the weekend,” they smile. “There’s a fashion show at HillTop tomorrow.”

Even as it is readying itself for global expansion Klove Studio has also just launched Collekt Klove, a range of collectibles and gifts. “We just launched it at the India Design ID, an annual weekend of design in New Delhi.

Finally, it isn’t so hard for most to be a part of the Klove tribe.

Namrata Zakaria is a seasoned writer and editor, and a chronicler of social and cultural trends. Her first book, on late fashion designer Wendell Rodricks’ Moda Goa museum, is due to be published shortly. Zakaria is especially known for her insider’s take on fashion, luxury and social entrepreneurship in India. Her writing is appreciated for shaping opinions, busting myths, making reputations and sometimes breaking the odd career. Zakaria is also involved in putting together philanthropic efforts in the field of economic and environmental sustainability.

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