Yantra - the Birla Temple of furniture

For a change, the Birlas are not adding a new temple to their tally. This time round they have thrown open a furniture salon housing international brands ,it is called Yantra. The year-old flagship store of Birla Lifestyle boasts of an exclusively handpicked inventory of Italian, Spanish, Philippian, Indonesian and Indian furniture and home accessories. Situated in the heart of old Mumbai, in a heritage building, Yantra reflects the Birla philosophy blending contemporary style with classic values.
Deepa Karmalkar takes stock of the lifestyle salon.

The Ceccotti office desk with additional storage in it’s swinging doors. For a no-clutter person like me – this is godsend.

Well, it is a busy day at Yantra as Avanti and Yash Birla along with Nozer Wadia, renowned architect who sources the merchandise for the store, await the latest cargo of glass furniture from the Italy. The wooden containers arrive, the contents are extricated carefully. Voila! A magnificent one-piece glass sofa set emerges from the case. Glass sheet bent artistically in the shape of two chairs and a side table makes the latest addition to the store. Called Ghost, this glass sofa set is indeed a thing of beauty. Yash Birla and Nozer Wadia gaze at it proudly before turning their attention to other wares on display. Tapping a cherry red Ceccotti office desk, Birla declares, "I’ll take it if it’s not sold as yet." However, Kaajal shrugs helplessly and informs that it is sold out already! The Birlas retire to Coffee Yantra, a cosy café tucked away behind an undulating wall of glass blocks. And it is business as usual at Yantra again.

The store the brainchild of Yash and Avanti Birla, has an eclectic collection of world-renowned brands like B&B, Cappellini, Dema, Driade, Fiam, Foscarini, Fendi, Kartell found in homes of connoisseurs across the world. Says Avanti Birla, "We felt there was a dearth of good life-style stores in India. With our business expertise and personal preferences, we decided to create a store that would fill that void. The result is a furniture salon that will make shopping in India comparable to any store abroad." Regarding the stock on sale, Komal Porecha, the merchandiser informs, "Owing to their worldwide travel and the media, the buyers have become tremendously brand and quality conscious. And we are catering to such an astute clientele at Yantra,"

The interior décor of the store is subtle with classical Corinthian columns in burnished copper tones, ivory situ flooring with open display racks highlighted by natural light spilling in through the tall windows. "The natural architecture of the place more or less dictated the interiors of the premises, and Nozer only stepped in last minute to give it its finishing Touches," elaborates Kaajal.

The store has four special nooks wherein specific brands are displayed.

"The copper room with its Fendi collection was my favourite spot in the store until we changed the display," confides Rukhsana Eisa, the brand ambassadress. While Komal Porecha says, she just loves the corner with stone studded, arched entrance as it showcases Wenge dining set with it classic oak finish and modern lines.

The emphasis is on stocking exclusive furniture lines from the world over. "Our range is best defined as technology in aesthetics. Take for instance this Ceccotti office desk with swinging door at the side with storage space hinged on it. This is form and function together," declares Porecha.

Reiterating the fact their furniture pieces ranging from traditional wooden wardrobes from Thailand to the funky plastic bubble variety of citrus coloured sofas combine the form and function, Kaajal avers, "I do not think that you can consider them mutually exclusive. And that is where the brands we deal in score, because they manage to give you the look without compromising on the utility."

Whether it is Priti Paul’s stainless steel champagne cooler or the step-up ladder that folds into a pole, whether they are fluorescent plastic planters or the hyacinth line of rugs and cushion covers from the far East, clearly here is an exclusive range of international products to pick from.

When the Indian market opened up, the first to enter were the top-of-the-line Italian brands with their great technology and cost-effectiveness.

That explains Yantra’s fascination for the Italian brands, "In addition, Yantra will be displaying furniture by Spanish, French, Swedish and German manufacturers, making this a truly international design destination," adds Kaajal.

From terrace to garden – there is a wide range of furniture items available. The expertise of architect Nozer Wadia, instrumental in sourcing the international furniture is put to best use at Yantra. "Birla Life-style has tied up with the most prestigious international designers in the furniture business, to bring to the discerning Indian customer a selection of modern furniture at Yantra, which is truly exceptional, by way of design, aesthetics and functionality," relates Wadia, who attends international furniture exhibitions, scours the bazaars all over the globe to bring home the best.

As Kaajal admits, "Nozer Wadia sources the merchandise entirely... he has the "eye". I only have the "ear". My role is to give him a feedback!"

Based on contemporary lines, Yantra has on display upholstered seating furniture by Dema, Fiam’s exquisite glass furniture, woven seagrass and cane furniture, unusual plastic and polypropylene ‘fashion furniture’ by Kartell . The store’s top of the line furniture range covers designer furniture from Phillipe Starck, Ross Lonegrone, Enzo Mari, Ron Arad. These include chairs, sofas, chaise lounges, tables, wardrobes, desks, and coffee tables that combine technology, craftsmanship and excellent finishing.

Yantra also introduces lifestyle products for the home like leather waste bins and magazine holders as well as table lamps, wall brackets and hanging lights in materials as diverse as plastic and brushed nickel. Brushed steel accessories by Priti Paul, metal ware accessories by Michael Aram and bed linen by Paraphernalia Home are available and so are objects d’art such as vases, clocks, unusually crafted CD racks, coasters and candle stands.

Unusual designs for tableware like slate, glass, brushed steel and wooden table mats, crockery made of ceramic, porcelain, terracotta and stoneware in stark white, aquamarine, colours of tea & grass as well as leather accessories such as waste bins, magazine holders and mirrors.

With so much on offer, what really grabs the buyer’s fancy, which is the fastest moving item in the store? "Sofas and lighting certainly. However, Nozer has been very good in his product selection, so eventually most of the pieces find someone to take them home," says Kaajal.

As for the price, there is no compromise on authenticity and quality. And you better pay up for that!

Brands at Yantra

B&B: Top of the line furniture that combines technology with excellent craftsmanship and finishing. The range covers sofas, armchairs, and chairs, dining tables, wardrobes, desks, and coffee tables.

B&B Italia: Designed on a carefully proportioned combination of widths and alternating straight and curved lines, Tulip is a 360° swivel chair, marked by great flexibility in use. The support disc, made in bright-brushed aluminum, reflects a portion of the body, thus emphasizing its round shape. Two slits in the backrest and a soft cushion for the seating make it comfortable and welcoming.

Ceccotti: Since the end of ’50s Ceccotti, the company, works in the furniture field, and distinguishes itself for the high-level handicraft production, is the reason why the name "CECCOTTI" suggests high quality Italian Furniture. In the 40s, in Cascina, furniture was made for Montecitorio (House of Parliament), the Roman aristocracy and Milan upper middle class houses. Great care that is necessary in the construction of hand made pieces combined with a logistic perfection, required by the industrial technology of a standard production, are applied to all types of articles. Storica by Ceccotti, Designer Roberto Lazzeroni, "In the era of electronic technology, only those items "well built and close to the human body, eyes and hands can still be beautiful."

Edra: is an exemplary company of the second industrial generation. Its anticonventional debut in 1987 was based around the "I Nuovissimi" collection. The items in the collection were conceived by young designers and were their first works to be put into production. The company grew rapidly, even on international markets, thanks to the innovative qualities and to functional and formal aspects of its products. Flap, created by Francesco Binfaré, has become the symbol of a new conception of comfort. The: tubular steel Structure with a chromium-plated base, the special mechanism of the mobile parts offers 6 different inclinations. Flap winds as flexuously as a ribbon, proposing, after a profusion of perpendicularity, the appeal of a slender, dynamic line. Thanks to a series of backs, armrests, headrests and movable front supports, Flap offers a wide variety of seating positions, thereby creating a different system of interpersonal relations. Rather than as a new sofa, Flap is better defined as an invention that prefigures hitherto unknown comfort opportunities

Giorgetti: Since the time when the original carpenter’s workshop was founded in 1898, unparalleled quality, superior manufacturing and a relentless pursuit of both aesthetic and functional innovation have been the hallmarks of Giorgetti. These traits are evident in the current collection, acclaimed as highly original and exclusive since it boldly ventured into new uncharted territory. Standing out for being "one-of-a-kind" items, Giorgetti’s furniture is manufactured with technological equipment, but still shows the imprint of ancient cabinet-making skills and a consolidated craftsmanship, both in its manufacture and its care for details. The collection is covers all furniture types, from armchairs, sofas, tables and coffee tables to chairs, writing desks, beds and bookshelves. Mainly designed for elegant homes, these pieces are effective in the furnishing corporate just as offices, hotels and residences, as they are in all those environments where the care for details is of the utmost concern.

Flos: Superarchimoon, Cicatrices de luxe by Flos, world renowned for its lighting innovations. FLOS was founded in 1962. The very same year the company began producing a number of lamps that were to become classics in Italian industrial design. These first lamps were Arco, Relemme, Toio and Taccia — all designed by Achille and Piergiacomo Castiglioni. As a tangible proof of their timeless design and technical excellence, these lamps continue to be produced today.

 DEMA: Dema is internationally known for their upholstered seating furniture. Sensitive to the needs of a contemporary home in an urban environment

DRIADE: Driade consists of furniture collections from Phillipe Starck, Ross Lovegrove, Enzo Mari, Ron Arad, etc. The range consists of the entire gamut of home furniture from chairs, sofas, chaise lounges, tables, and lights to accessories and tableware.

FIAM: Fiam's bent glass furniture needs no introduction. Glass furniture, which is not limited within the parameters of traditional design. A visual feast of design and technology.

FOSCARINI: Fashion lights. The range includes table lamps, floor lamps, up lighters and hanging pendant lights and wall brackets. Some of their designs are currently displayed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

KARTELL: Founded in 1949, Kartell is one of the most famous Italian companies at an international level in the design and furnishing fields. The distinctive feature of Kartell production is plastic, a material for which the company has an incomparable know-how, thanks to a constant experimentation of new technologies, research in the materials fields, and constant collaboration with top international designers (Ron Arad, Antonio Citterio, Ferruccio, Laviani, Piero Lissoni, Alberto Meda, Vico Magistretti, Paolo Rizzatto and Philippe Starck). With over 4,000 points of sale globally, Kartell offers a wide and diversified range of furnishings.

ABRAHAM & THAKORE: Abraham & Thakore is an international designer label in accessories and home textiles established by David Abraham and Rakesh Thakore. The home collection consists of soft furnishing products ranging from throws, duvet covers and pillow shams to cushions, curtain panels and table linen.

MICHAEL ARAM: Michael Aram is best known for his metal ware and accessories.

PRITI PAUL: Sculpted brushed steel accessories ranging from vases, incense holders, candle stands, pen holders etc.

PARAPHERNALIA HOME: A collection consisting of bed linen, cushion covers, soft furnishings and towels in contemporary colours and textures.