Wall mounted grottos from Mumbai

When a chunk of furnishings tells a narrative, you hear. Chacko’s Mehfil, a wall-mounted grotto-style ornamental cupboard, renders three endangered species from the Indian subcontinent: the sarus crane, the lion-tailed macaque and the golden mahseer. The creatures, crafted in intricate marquetry and brass inlay in pure wooden, could seem uncommon on a cupboard. However that’s exactly what Chacko seeks to do with its furnishings —inform a narrative, provoke thought and add that means to an area.

Vipin Joe, the founding father of the Mumbai-based design studio Chacko, desires to create purposeful items which might be stuffed with character. As a designer, he’s open to influences, Joe says. And the making of every piece is commonly collaborative — a dialogue with artists, illustrators and fellow designers who share his sensibilities.

Vipin Joe

Hand-painted arts

In Mehfil, as an example, the animals are illustrated by Italian artist Gaia Eloe Cairo, who specialises in hand-painted ornamental arts to create consciousness about nature and science. The marquetry is executed by Sampigé & Co, a marquetry studio in Mysuru.

Joe continually explores materials and temper to determine what his craft-led furnishings model Chacko might be.

The Native Console was born thus. A collaboration along with his good friend, designer, illustrator and projection artist Nikunj Patel of Studio Moebius, the Chettinad-inspired console was conceived as a chunk to be positioned behind the couch, however it went a lot past its scope. “I used to be having tea with Nikunj; we had been sharing ideas and we had been each taken by the thought of a chunk that will be a mix of commercial and conventional craft,” says Joe.

The Native Console, he provides, is his favorite. “It has a little bit of the whole lot: mid-century Tanjore and Madras in etched brass, teak and stone. An iteration of the console seems within the assortment, formed as a mid-century stereo field, named ‘Yashodha’s Dream’, which depicts playful scenes of Lord Krishna’s Vrindavan. Made in teak, rosewood and aged etched brass, this richly detailed piece is available in each 8-foot and 6-foot variations.

The setting of the studio, in an industrial property in Kandivali, is a bonus, says Joe. “Our studio is surrounded by folks working equipment. The brass etching for these items was carried out by somebody who makes badges. It’s beautiful being in an industrial property. ”

Intentional designs

Joe’s impressed items inhabit the fragile area between artwork and performance. An ornate Artwork Deco-style triptych mirror is an instance. The need to make a chunk that displays opulence resulted within the ‘King of Spades’. Completed in collaboration with industrial designer Ashwin Mallya, the hand-crafted design carries detailed line work and exact machine work. The ornate doorways open to disclose naked mirrors that replicate the viewer.

Chacko was just lately on the Kolkata version of Uncooked Collaborative, a design exhibition and inventive platform that brings collectively designers, artists, architects, and craft practitioners to show their work.

After incomes his diploma in industrial design at Symbiosis Institute of Design, Joe interned with sculptor Subodh Kerkar (founding father of Museum of Goa), from the place he absorbed the nuances of how an artist’s studio features. Subsequently, he interned at Auroville, Puducherry, which deepened his engagement with artwork. Later, he additionally interned at designer Anjaly Mody’s Josmo Studio in Goa, earlier than beginning his personal apply. “I used to be at some extent the place I used to be doing the whole lot — making and designing furnishings, carving, prototyping, the works. However I wished an area, a studio, the place I may experiment and all of my concepts may unfold,” says Joe. He procured a spot, discovered a carpenter, and Chacko, the model, was formally launched in 2017-18.

The studio is intentional and aware of the fabric it really works with.

It makes use of reclaimed wooden, sourced from distributors in Mumbai. “There’s a sure magnificence in previous progress wooden. It’s naturally seasoned and tight-grained. Every log is totally different and the wooden lends its personal character to the piece,” says Joe. Teak, with its orange-brown color, fits his work the perfect, which veers largely in direction of the mid-century aesthetic. “Working with reclaimed wooden is aesthetically, technically and economically viable.”

Presently, Chacko is a small workforce, “however our focus is on turning into a robust model with emphasis on our making practices, and our R&D,” says Joe. Typically, it’s a tiny element, reminiscent of a knob, that might make all of the distinction, or personalisation — reminiscent of little teak wooden extrudes on a desk, custom-made for a birder.

Chacko’s clientele consists of architects and common folks “who at the moment are very concerned in curated items with a story or design that aligns with their Indian identification”, he shares. Joe has additionally exported some items to purchasers who love the designs and see it as part of the gathering they’re constructing.

Worth test

Mehfil: ₹4.5 lakh

Native Console (6 ft.): ₹4.8 lakh

Yashodha’s Dream: ₹9.6 lakh

Revealed – March 06, 2026 03:36 pm IST