Khaadi Home: Colour your life

Brand presents a new furnishings collection that is a visual treat.

KARACHI:

Pablo Picasso said that colours follow the change of emotions, but one might beg to differ. Colours and emotions share a symbiotic relationship — just as emotions can dictate our colour preferences, colours can steer our emotional responses. We were pleasantly reminded of the power of colour at the launch of Khaadi Home at Dolmen Mall, Karachi on December 1.

Khaadi Home is signature Khaadi, with a twist. While the “orient” (east) and “occident” (west) are often portrayed to be at loggerheads, Khaadi Home fuses eastern patterns with western designs in a tasteful, thoughtfully created collection.

Khaadi Home offers a range of bedroom and tableware products. Muhammad Imran Khan, the creative director of Khaadi, tells The Express Tribune, “Initially, there was no furniture, no bed linen... Now, we have diversified our product range.”



Although appealing, its furniture collection is not one that everyone will be able to get their hands on. Presently, Khaadi Home has sofas, benches and ottomans for sale in limited quantity. This could work both in favour of and against the store, for while some customers might opt for unique, uncommon products, others may be irked if the item of their choice runs out of stock. Khan feels that it is Khaadi Home’s individuality that sets it apart from other textile designers. “Because the numbers are quite less, they’ll keep changing. So, you can build on your collection,” he explains.

The store comprises of products that showcase a multitude of techniques, such as handloom weaving, block printing, embroidery and screen printing. The collection, according to CEO Khaadi Shamoon Sultan, is “practical, colourful and affordable.” While the products flaunt vibrant colours and quirky designs, some are priced higher as compared to those in other leading textile stores.

Most products at Khaadi Home are worth the price, both in terms of quality and appearance. Cushions range from Rs500 to Rs5,000, and furniture from Rs10,000 to Rs25,000. The notebooks with ethnic designs (Rs600) and bamboo elephants (Rs500) are a great addition to the collection.

While eccentric designs and vivid hues of colours may catch the eye of some, they could just as easily repel others. Although Khaadi Home offers a broad colour palette, its forte is its conspicuous motifs and bold colours. A customer said that she wouldn’t opt for the bed covers since she prefers “plain and not-so-busy bed cover prints.” Khan acknowledges that the collection is not something that everyone can understand. The store caters to a niche market and thus, isn’t in direct competition with other mainstream textile stores.  A salesperson shares which Khaadi Home items are the most popular: “Table runners, placemats, cushion covers and bed sheets.”

The weavers and salespersons, whose efforts often go unnoticed, must be appreciated for breathing life into Khaadi Home’s designs and the store itself. The new line is maintaining Khaadi’s legacy of upholding the ancient craft of handloom, and creating products that are reminiscent of the rich and diverse flavours of the subcontinent. “Khaadi is synonymous with Pakistan,” says CEO Labels Zahir Rahimtoola. He explains that Khaadi has put Pakistan on the textile map. “Traditionally, khaddar was a strong suit of the Indians but I think Shamoon and his team have given the craft a robust push in Pakistan,” he states.

With products that are both designed and made in Pakistan, Khaadi Home reminds one of the talent that our country has to offer. In the midst of disillusionment and monotony, it is a ray of colourful hope in our living spaces. “We Pakistanis need colour in our life,” remarks a customer. “And it’s not all phool, pata and gobi ke phool!” she adds colloquially.

Khaadi Home has the ability to attract through its dynamic products and the power to compel through its fifteen-year-long brand image. Although the collection is more diverse than the previous ones, it doesn’t score full points in terms of novelty value. But to those who admire Pakistan for its myriad colours, Khaadi Home gives reassurance that the future for Pakistani living spaces is bright.

Here are prices of a few popular products at Khaadi Home in comparison with other leading home textile stores in Pakistan:

Prices in PKRs	Khaadi	Ideas by Gul Ahmed	Nishat Linen	Habitt
Bed sheet set (double)	2,400	3,100	1,290	1,250
Quilt cover (double)	5,000	8,440	4,000 to 5,000	2,000+
Bed cover (double)	5,000	2,500 to 4,000	4,500	4,450
Table runners	1,500 to 2,000	975	450	900+
Placemats (pair)	400	600	400	450 to 500

*Prices stated above are not definitive and may vary according to quality, size and print.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2013.

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