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A. Shree Tej
leads studio samayam’s design and creative projects with a bold and experimental approach. passionate about blending traditional craftsmanship with diverse aesthetics, he pushes the boundaries of form, color, and materials that merges art, nature, and design.
Poorvi Garag drives studio samayam’s strategy and business development, strengthening its growth and presence. her expertise in fostering partnerships and positioning the studio within the creative industry helps sustain and amplify its impact as a dynamic, forward-thinking space.
philosophy
storytelling product design
+ product design with storytelling
+ design storytelling
+ storytelling design
it’s time for stories
it’s time for history
it’s time to provoke thought
it’s time for deeper connections
it’s time for a deeper sense of connection to everyday objects
it’s time to disrupt ways of making and consuming
studio samayam goes beyond an object in the traditional sense, we create not for the sake of production but for the sake of stories. we research our products deeply before creating and we are always working towards greater social, economical and environmental consciousness. it's time to disrupt the conventional and reclaim the narrative. through storytelling and thought-provoking designs, we create a deeper sense of connection with everyday objects. our mission is to decentralize creativity, challenging the colonization of design norms and fostering innovation that inspires and empowers. we live with objects, these objects tell stories, but we need to begin listening to them.
how do we do?
we decentralize production capacities
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we create space for new (old) knowledge to reach people
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we collaborate with artisans and craftsmen in our network in India to chordate these objects
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we want to establish a deeper sense of connection between the user and his object. We want to empathize the viewer while he also has something interesting to experience it in a daily basis
why do we do?
disrupting the value systems of product design/ objects to create value beyond cost
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inculcate a habit of listening and experiencing
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it’s time, we are doing it every day
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many crafts are depleting because of various problems in the society, it’s time to speak and spread knowledge about the untold stories , and right now, before they vanish
who do we work with?
spending time with locals like tribes, artisans like weavers craftsmen etc. to understand their culture and handicraft
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we spend time with them at their home to understand the value system
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we work with generationally skilled humans who have nailed their craft and creative expression
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we work with humans who know it best about what they do
+collaborate with other designers in the Netherlands who work with Dutch craft and abroad as well
who do we cater to?
socially conscious consumers
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we cater to the curious minds we cater to craft, culture and traditions enthusiasts who understand the value and importance of this craft
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we cater to the ones who want to empathize with the origin of story and the continuation of it
manifesto
to be decolonial is complex, because it was not only the land that was colonised but our minds,
way of life and even our art, creativity and design. the first industry that colonial oppressors
fractured in india were the craft and industrial production industries. the swadeshi movement
(1905 - present) - also described as the soul of swaraj (self-rule) - witnessed large scale boycott
of foreign produced goods, largely clothing and textile during british colonial rule. during the swadeshi movement through the reinvestment by rich indians into khadi and gramodyog societies, cloth production started in every household at the community scale. not only were the foreign goods boycotted, but also the violence with which the goods were forced into indian houseolds - the violence that colonised our land. creation, self-sufficiency and beauty resurfaced in indian households and the creative industries once again realised their position at the crux of economic power, social status and agency in what makes india “indian”.
today, design is still colonised and is always in dichotomies of competition vs collaboration, industrial production vs slow craft, full and perfect forms vs handmade forms, clean lines vs broken lines; the list goes on. with the recognition that creation, art, craft and design continue to sit at the crux of economic power, social status and agency, we believe it’s time. it’s time for decolonising design, one product, object, process, system at a time. indian design has been and should be craft born, without craft there would be no design and without the right kind of design there will be no more craft. it’s time to unlearn the colonial design practices that we studied, that we worshipped and copied because we need more indian-ness in our homes, in our objects, clothes and in ourselves.
we don’t know if this is the only way to decolonise design, but we know that every object we design and project we undertake is changing the practice of indian design. we know that every sale we make changes an artisans life, giving not only them but also us hope about the future of truly indian design. we know that we want to take indian design beyond india and disrupt, decolonise and drastically change the narrative of what it means to practice true, proud and beautiful indian design globally.