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Furniture with Polish - Madheke
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Furniture with Polish - Madheke

An insight to our company journey and the people that have made it possible.

by Madheke
Published on : Mar 23, 2018

FURNITURE WITH POLISH

Madheke

MADHEKE Founder Parminder Pal Singh knows a thing or two about interior design. Having worked with product design development teams for some of the world’s most established luxury brands, he is perfectly placed to bring an Indian luxury furniture and accessories company to the global table. 

Parminder is also Director of Madheke’s parent company Loco Design, which set up Madheke as one of three related brands which celebrate fine craftsmanship. Madheke is driven by a passion to create the finest high-end furniture: its sister subsidiary line Pintark offers crafted surfaces (tiling, weaves and tapestries), and another Loco subsidiary, Taamaa, creates cosmopolitan design pieces aimed at “apartment living”, such as decor, cushions, desk accessories and board games.

The birth of Madheke as a lifestyle vision began 20 years ago, when Parminder started to become concerned with the direction in which Indian craft and heritage expertise was taking.

Madheke’s furniture stands out with what Parminder calls its “craftcentric” vision. Pieces are rooted in tradition but have a modern feel due to subtle changes to form, or fine contemporary materials added to the finish. “Our customers have an evolved taste,” says Parminder. “They celebrate craftsmanship and are discerning enough to recognise that high-quality materials and finishes lend themselves to a distinguished product.” 

The world’s strongest woven material, carbon fibre – developed for the automotive world and used as a key element in Formula One cars – is regularly on the brand’s hot list. You’ll even find a carbon-fibre coathanger in the brand’s signature Rialto Valet wardrobe, while its Norton dressing chair is made from carbon fibre, here used solely for aesthetic impact.

Madheke draws from the expertise of more than 550 craftspeople, based in a factory in Gurugram, just outside Delhi. These artisans have specialisms in leather, metal and woodwork.

“We work with traditional techniques such as trapunto, stitching, lacing, weaving, foiling, embossing, debossing, casting, engraving, embroidery, marquetry, bonework and hammered metals,” says Parminder.  “There’s a polishing department, for instance, where we have people who work with bone and exotic materials. Technical material innovations and material R&D are routed through our sampling division.”

The same craftsmanship is also evident in one of Loco Design’s other product lines, Pintark, which provides crafted surfaces and wallcoverings for interior designers and architects. “Pintark is very much a material-led solutions brand, which involves working with crafted surfaces for architects and interior designers,” says Parminder. “These are handmade surface solutions that are made from a number of different materials – carbon fibres, leathers, veneers and so on. We might be asked to make a luxury headboard for a bed, or some textured materials for the wall of a hotel lobby, or the bar in a restaurant. It’s not a pick-up product, it’s something we make in association with the client. It’s about making spaces special, creating features and specialisms of distinction.”

Launched in 2012, Madheke and Pintark have already developed a global, in-the-know following but both look set to make a bigger impact in the coming years. London’s architecture aficionados are already au fait with the brands after a Pintark material installation for the architectural practice Foster & Partners. High-end hospitality chains, yachts and private residences in Beijing, London and the Middle East are being decked out in Madheke. India’s business and entertainment A-list are all fans, and it is only a matter of time before the rest of the world wants a seat at the very same table.

 

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