Yash Agarwal’s venture – Jaipur Modern – a store that celebrates modern Indian craftsman and an adjoining café that serves locally sourced produce for classic Italian cuisine – again an amalgamation of east meeting the west in a way that is desired and in demand.
Think about Jaipur and unintentionally your mind pictures palaces and camels, gems and jewelry and artifacts and clothes that define Indian culture and heritage. Jaipur as a city has all the essence of a modern India but yet it retains the old world charm. Elaborating on the context, Agarwal explains, “Modern Jaipur is all about celebrating India and the creations from India giving them a universal appeal. The idea is to sustain and preserve traditional Indian crafts and artisans, to ensure their products have a global reach by helping them innovate and modify traditional techniques with modern and international designs. The goal is to create Indian products, which can be worn globally. Our aim is to give an opportunity and outlets to the otherwise ‘taken for granted’ karigaars’. I strongly believe that these are the guys who hold the rein of keeping the tradition of Indian arts and artifacts alive and it is up to us to help them do so.” Adding on to this with a note on the café, he says, “The café’s presence completes the space, recognizing the terminology of Made in India as a global construct.”
Located in an appropriated 1940’s bungalow, the structure of Jaipur Modern serves as a perfect metaphor for India’s newest retail destination which showcases and sells a variety of lifestyle products like – scarves, pashmina, bags, small leather goods, jewelry, home furnishings, apparels, stationary and incense.
Elegance and serenity greets a customer the moment s/he walks into the store. Minimalist décor enhances the store experience and it almost feels like being at a place which offers private preview of goods on sale. There is a generous use of local marble sourced from Jaipur itself for the flooring and as part of stand alone display gondolas and to add to the feel of ‘tradition’ being an integral part of the store, there is a section of a wall done up in bricks and stones and treating your eyes is also an hand embroidered wall. All these put together successfully extend an extremely royal look to the store. Full length mirrors framed with a rustic look manage to create a surreal feeling at the store without being on the face. The visual merchandising at the store is intelligently done making good use of the vibrant colors of the merchandise and the minimalist setting of the store to create a ‘pleasant surprise’ look and feel at the store.
Spread across 2500 sq.ft. of space, the store and the café together have been designed by architect Rooashad Shroff. He says, “Every single design element has evolved from the building. It is about respecting the old structure and not imposing superfluous design elements.” Elaborating on the interiors of the café, he shares, “Collaborating between the skills of Jaipur Modern’s in-house craftsmen, the café wall is entirely constructed from 400 wooden bricks, each one requiring three hours to intricately hand embroider. The exterior verandah and garden allowed for more distinct graphics; the Louise Bourgeois inspired verandah design was crafted by marble inlay Karigars from Agra. The large garden is covered in a gradient mosaic of Kota stone, interspersed with embedded lighting, marking lines of movement and allowing for intimate standing space or events.”
Sharing a note on the sourcing of the merchandize at the store, Agarwal reveals, “All of Jaipur Modern’s production is done at our in-house units across India, where we have artisans working for us all year round. We believe in going to the source of where the craft is born and practiced since centuries and encouraging artisans to keep practicing their crafts and teaching to the newer generation. Everything is custom made and limited edition. However it is all planned in collection, and due to the high level of craftsmanship involved, we are only able to make a certain number of pieces of each item.” That is what makes each merchandise at the store niche and appealing. Considering the store has just launched itself, Agarwal is gradually working his way to build a loyal set of customer base. By the end of 2014, he aims to start with a customer loyalty program who would also be the patrons for the store. With regards to the activities they undertaken now, Agarwal shares, “For now we send personalised messages to wish clients on birthdays and send them a notification text for any sale made under their name. Our sales team is always available on email and phone in case any customer grievances need to be addressed. We also offer the service of ordering remotely by phone from anywhere in the world, as we understand our customer is global. This is only temporary till our website goes live by end of the year. We extend the facility of allowing our clients to pay by international bank transfer as well, incase they are not able to pay using credit card.”
A niche store as that of Jaipur Modern requires a different set of training for the staff on the floor. Talking about the training, he shares, “We have a detailed training of all sales personnel before they are allowed on the floor. A deep understanding is required for our products as there are multiple artisanal processes involved in their creation. They are briefed by the product designers on processes and peculiarities involved with the creation of any product sold at Jaipur Modern.”
Available at the store is a written guide which mentions the history of all the products (place of creation, process and raw materials used.) Agarwal adds, “We expect and strive for our sales team to be able to educate the customer on all these points as we feel that our customer deserves to be informed of where and how their lifestyle apparel is created.”
Sharing a concluding note on the USP of the store, Agarwal says with a sense of pride, “This is a place where the individual can experience the product from inception to production, and ultimately leave with an awareness of craft’s authenticity, integrity, and social consciousness. The space has been designed to accommodate artist exhibitions, installations in the garden and workshops by local artisans.”
