Good Earth celebrates 25 years of championing a design philosophy that presents a vision of Indian luxury, which is crafted by hand, inspired by nature, and enchanted by history.
New Delhi, January 27, 2021: India’s leading design house, Good Earth ushers in the New Year celebrating a 25-year-long legacy of narrating unique design stories that have bridged the gap between craft and luxury. The brand has been instrumental in establishing the aesthetic for modern Indian homes through its one-of-a-kind approach of interpreting age-old crafts through a contemporary lens.
Good Earth stemmed from deep passion within Founder & Creative Director, Anita Lal to introspect, explore and celebrate the rich history and heritage of India while bridging the gap between India’s artisans and urban consumers. What this means is an on-going journey of encouraging quality craftsmanship and the revival of lost Indian traditions through a design lens, which has not only set the standard for luxury retail in Asia but also one that celebrates the ideology of East in the West.
When Anita Lal, a passionate studio potter, opened the doors to her first store in Mumbai’s Kemps Corner in 1996, she embarked on a journey to create something useful and beautiful with age-old artisanal techniques through careful and sensitive design intervention, unique retail experiences and storytelling. This year, the brand steps into its Silver Jubilee recreating the nostalgia of a glorious past. The first half of the year will be a literal flashback of their origin & design legacy that has brought much joy and love to the brand as well as its consumers.
Come February, Good Earth will launch a retrospective of their most timeless & most loved designs over 25 across textiles, tableware, cushions and décor. An ode to the brand’s 4 key design influences, the campaign will take one on a journey of their signature design stories that continue to resonate today. (All these designs will be launched between Jan-July, as limited editions available only in 2021)
1. Modern Mughal – Good Earth launches the Flashback series in February with iconic designs inspired by the Mughal aesthetic, a pivotal design influence. The brand has always been fascinated by the Mughal legacy of paradise gardens, their sense of color and refinement, ornamental designs and crafts, and popular culture of poetry and fragrance. For this edit, the brand curates a series of archival designs featuring classic Mughal motifs such as cypress trees and florals from Mughal gardens - rose bushes, Persian lilacs, lotus buds, narcissus, and irises on their signature range of fine bone china and block-print linens. A 20-year vintage design, the Iris Garden, will be revived with a fresh colour palette on block print textiles and dinnerware.
2. Tropical India –With the onset of summer, the brand will revisit its first-ever design, Chilies, created in 1996, celebrating the quintessential Indian red and green chilies on hand-painted china in indigo with accents of saffron, red and turquoise. Tropical India will also feature a curated range of products from their iconic coastal inspired collections, Indus & Periyar, available in fine bone china and as summer linens.
3. Van Vaibhav - To revel in the joys of the Monsoon season, the brand will launch designs inspired by Van Vaibhav, splendor of the forest, which is at the heart of the Good Earth design vocabulary. This edit is a celebration of nature and brings to life luscious forests, once home to the majestic wildlife that roamed Indian grasslands.
4. Silk Route - The Silk Route is known for its confluence of cultures, magnificent traditions and dramatic textiles will be a key inspiration for Good Earth’s festive collections. Imbibing Persian, Greek, Central Asian and Buddhist influences, the brand will be bringing some of its iconic designs such as Suzani embroideries, Antolia patterned stoneware back to life and launch its much awaited Annual Design Collection, “Bosphorus” in September, inspired by the melding of design influences of both eastern and western civilizations, in a jeweled color palette of deep crimsons and emeralds for the season of festivities.
In the last 25 years, the brand has been truly energized by its ideology of creating a business with purpose with long-term artisanal commitments that sustain age-old traditions and livelihoods. This ideology is reflected in the brand’s craft footprint, spanning the length and breadth of the country, that continues to revive the handmade - weaves, prints, natural dyes and embroideries such as Brocades from Benaras, Handblock prints from Jaipur, Chikankari from Lucknow, Naqashi Papier Mache from Kashmir and Kansa from Orissa to name a few.
This long-term outlook is also reflected in its unique organisation culture. A 150-crore company, it is a women-led business with 90% of women employees leading essential business and creative departments. Good Earth functions like a family in a beautiful garden studio where everyone has the creative freedom to pursue ideas, and work passionately and collaboratively towards the company’s creative & business vision.
Speaking on Good Earth turning 25, Anita Lal, Founder and Creative Director, Good Earth says “The idea was to create objects that made one proud of not only our rich history but also sparked joy for years to come. We wanted each product to be universal but from India’s prism, with a design aesthetic relevant for modern homes. It has been an amazing journey with so many learning’s and above all the warmth of relationships with our collaborators in artisanal communities, customers and suppliers. This year will be about giving back to our patrons who have been part of the brand’s journey”.
As part of 25 year celebrations, the brand will be also unveiling a storytelling series on its social media handles titled, Nostalgia, showcasing for the very first time some of their loyalists and ambassadors, capturing the legacy of their designs within generations of their families.
The second half of this milestone year will be all about expanding horizons to the West, marked with a new concept space in Delhi, a design collaboration with a renowned international artist, expansion of the brand’s design footprint with new partnerships in spaces of art, coupled with international growth via the web business and retail pop ups.
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