interiors
patriot
20 NEW DELHI | THURSDAY|19-25 OCTOBER|2017
CIRCUS OF ADVENTURE
INSPIRED BY CHILDHOOD NOSTALGIA AND DRIVEN BY A LUCRATIVE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, AVNEET
MANN AND VIVITA RELAN CO-FOUNDED THE WISHING CHAIR, A LIFESTYLE RETAIL BRAND, TO BRIDGE THE
MARKET GAP BY CURATING AFFORDABLE HOME DÉCOR WITH A FEMININE AND WHIMSICAL AESTHETIC
OFFBEAT: Coloured in pretty pastels and dainty florals, The Wishing Chair makes affordable decor pieces. It is inspired by Enid Blyton’s series that goes by the same name 
Karishma Sehgal
BOOKER PRIZE winner, Julian
Barnes once said, “Memories of
childhood were the dreams that
stayed with you after you woke.”
Five years ago, these dreams were
perhaps the reason Avneet Mann
and Vivita Relan rethought their
career paths and came together to
give meaning to their shared pas-
sions.
Launched in the year 2012, life-
style retail brand, The Wishing
Chair, was born out of sheer love
for all things feminine (seen in the
brand’s use of pastel colours, floral
motifs, etc.) and fanciful, encom-
passing a sense of “happy nostal-
gia”. “We realised that there is a gap
in the market for affordable home
decor that we, through our vision
and aesthetic sensibility, wanted to
Hotel of the week
ARIA HOTEL, BUDAPEST
The hotel is inspired by famous mu-
sicians and contains rooms named
after ach to Billie Holliday, Handel
and Whitney Houston. The Classical
and Opera rooms are decorated
in Baroque style. There are also
Jazz rooms and the Contemporary
rooms are based on themes like
Pop Art.
EVENT: u MY FEATHERED FRIENDS - SOLO PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION SHOWCASING THE BIRDS OF THE CITY BY PRERNA JAIN AT IHC: October 1-31
cater to,” said Avneet.
A childhood fixture for many of
us, Enid Blyton’s popular series of
kid’s novels is what inspired the
brand name. “Reading was an
essential part of our lives, growing
up in the ‘80s. While coming up
with the idea for our brand name,
Vivita and I recalled Enid Blyton’s
whimsy story about this magical
chair that transported the charac-
ters, Mollie and Peter, to places that
are not real. The name ‘The Wishing
Chair’ resonated well with what
we’d envisioned for our brand,”
shared Avneet.
A team of six capable designers
under the creative direction of
Avneet and Vivita curate 80% of the
brand’s products; the remainder
20% are sourced. The brand offers
products in the home decor and
gifting space within the range of
WARHOL’S COMEBACK
ANDY WARHOL MADE A UNISEX PERFUME IN 1967, NAMED
‘YOU’RE IN’. IT CAUSED A SCANDAL BECAUSE WARHOL
PACKAGED IT IN COCA-COLA BOTTLES. THE PACKAGING IS NOW
BACK FOR JUICE BOTTLES, THANKS TO COMME DES GARÇONS
PHOTOS: THE WISHING CHAIR
C100-C10,000 and, currently, oper-
ates from three physical stores
located in Delhi, Gurgaon, and
Bangalore as well as its web store
(www.wishingchair.in). Most of the
products used are ceramic, paper
and textiles.
All the three whimsically themed
stores have a visual narrative
attached to them. The owners,
Avneet and Vivita, also offer to walk
their customers through the stores,
telling them stories about how cer-
tain products were designed,
sourced, giving them tips on how
the products that they choose can
be styled. Avneet Mann and Vivita Relan are the co-founders of The Wishing Chair
Each of the stores also house a
vegetarian café called The Mad involve about 15-20 people who are is another theme that the brand
Teapot Café (named after another taught a new craft skill by The takes its cues from. “If we were to
Enid Blyton book). “A slow shop- Wishing Chair team. “Making prof- think of who the ideal customer for
ping experience that allows the its is not the motive behind this The Wishing Chair would be,
visitor to absorb and enjoy the initiative at all. We only look at Amelie is the first name that’d come
ambience”, is what Avneet says the recovering our stationary cost,” to our minds,” says Avneet.
café aims to provide. The Mad
Teapot Café offers pastas, sand-
reveals Avneet. “Through these
workshops, we aim at building craft
When asked about her favourite
brands in the home décor space
wiches, salads, shakes, and desserts as a community. People who have (apart from The Wishing Chair, of
that promise to be as healthy and
wholesome as they are appetising.
attended our Crafternoon work-
shops in the past continue to stay
course), Avneet confessed her love
for the American apparel and décor
Much in line with the playful aes- in touch with us and each other,” brand, Anthropologie. “Amongst
thetic of the rest of the store, the she adds. Details of these work- the Indian names, I really like the
café’s decor and menu (‘The shops are shared on the brand’s work that Good Earth does,” she
Enchanted Forest Salad’, ‘Tiny website and Instagram page. added.
Toadstool Melt’ and ‘Mr. Grim Although much of the brand’s In the near future, the brand
Green Pasta’ are names given to sensibility is inspired by stories plans on expanding its width in
some of the dishes served here.) from the past, Avneet points out terms of product offerings, espe-
also keep up with the quirkiness. that pop culture is also an impor- cially in travel and furniture. “We
Once a quarter, the brand orga- tant reference point. The 2001 are also looking at opening a store
nises ‘Crafternoon workshops’ that French romantic comedy, Amélie in Bombay,” informed Avneet. n