Vaishali Sinha, the creator of VLiving defines the company as ‘a design-focused’ label offering innovative yet practical home furnishings and decor. Upon conversing with her, one discovers that Vaishali acquired a knowledge and appreciation of other cultures from a young age since she grew up in a family that valued and enjoyed diverse forms of art and music. VLiving’s collections, which are often inspired by Indian as well as international arts and crafts, reflect this deep awareness.
Tracing Back Our Roots
Vaishali’s journey to becoming a successful designer began with her enrolment in the prestigious National Institute of Design (NID), a move that was encouraged by open minded parents. Her specialization in textile design paved the way for her career in home decor and furnishings. After working for a few years in the industry, in 1997 she established her own design studio, which serviced some of the biggest names in the market, like SKumars and Jo-ann(USA) amongst others. She developed a strong team of professionals and over the years the studio powered many clients’ launches behind the scenes.
From Vaishali Design Studio To VLiving
Despite being successful and producing quality work so far, Vaishali observed that clients frequently chose not to share the studio with their network in order to preserve exclusivity. Even though the company saw a lot of success, it also saw some rejections when it came to ideas that were ‘too modern’ or ‘untraditional’ for the market. Not willing to remain in the background any longer, Vaishali created VLiving in 2012, which would go on to reflect her own vision and creativity. In order to further promote the brand in its early days, Vaishali also used her network of international clients and experience with client servicing. This allowed VLiving to create custom designs for interior designers with offices in the UK and the USA for their respective clients.
Although friends and her vast industry network started to pay attention to the label, she believes that VLiving’s decision to further open store on Etsy.com in 2013 truly changed the game.The platform allowed them to connect with new consumer groups in the UK, USA, Europe and Japan among other places, enabling her to visualize more ideas and possibilities on the brand’s horizon. By 2018, the brand had officially taken off and by 2020, VLiving was among the top 1% of Etsy sellers as per international rankings. Today, VLiving is sold on Amazon.com, Amazon.in, Jypore, World Art Community, Discovered.us, Etsy.com, and VLiving.com in well over 30 countries.
Making The Thought Process Count
According to Vaishali, VLiving is distinguished by its unique approach to design. She uses her intuition and expertise to develop collections that are culturally relevant and convey a story, as opposed to many other creative enterprises that are motivated by social media trends. She often draws inspiration from timeless international arts and crafts but clarifies that the brand’s goal is not to compete with artists or the original art form. Instead, art is used as motivation to modernize, modify, and produce something original. There is utmost emphasis on research, development, creating themes and color palettes that contribute towards making the products functional and one of their kind.
Cultural Influences Meet Artistic Techniques
The collections also offer a fantastic opportunity for customers to learn about numerous international cultures and art forms. For instance, VLiving’s Zulu line combines tufting techniques to make rare home furnishing items that depict a rich cultural history while drawing influence from the shield designs of the African tribe. Another example is the brand’s Dominoterie collection which is also influenced by the French craft of creating block-printed wall coverings. The collection stands out because it features European designs as opposed to the customary Indian block designs, while employing the same block printing technique.
VLiving serves as an inspiration and reminder of the influence that design has on the globe as we observe International Design Day. The brand’s success fuelled by Vaishali’s passion to create familiar and fresh products, is proof that there is an ever growing desirability for distinctive, cutting-edge, and high-quality designs.