18 Wednesday Feb 2015
Posted in Uncategorized
From an arrest warrant out for the groundhog that predicted a late spring, to a yeti roaming the blizzard ravaged streets of Boston, this year we’ve seen it all. Below is the A-Z of Bean town winter 2015. I foresee a baby boom 9 months from now and a mass exodus to the west coast. In the meantime, here’s counting down to Spring!:)
24 Saturday May 2014
Its finally summer !:)
Posted by The Madras Designery | Filed under Uncategorized
18 Saturday Jan 2014
Posted in Interiors, Uncategorized
Tags
blue, brown, collection, dining, fabric, green, orange, paper, placemat, print, table, textile, texture, While, woven
Unexpectedly stumbling upon old forgotten projects is somewhat similar to finding money in an old coat consigned to oblivion. No doubt equally gratifying! That was precisely what I felt when I chanced upon these place mats designed nearly five years ago. It began as an experiment dabbling with a variety of textural weaves, prints, laminated paper and reeds. Tinkering around with all that I could find in my earlier studio, it was a lot of fun to create this playful and harmonious collection of dining mats intended to protect any surface. I hope you guys like them as much I enjoyed walking down memory lane through these images.
26 Thursday Dec 2013
Posted in Illustrations, Inspiration, Interiors
Day 15. A very workable Christmas!
Day 16. A very warm Christmas!
Day 17. A very jenga-filled Christmas
Day 18. A musical Christmas
Day 19. A spoonful of Christmas cheer!
Day 20. An exacto X-mas.
Day 21. Spectacular Christmas wishes!
Day 22. A very colorful Christmas!:)
Day 23. A very memorable Christmas
Day 24. A very marimekko Christmas
and lastly, Day 25! Soft wishes and good cheer:)
Merry Christmas & Happy holidays to all!
24 Tuesday Dec 2013
Posted in Illustrations, Inspiration
Tags
cooks and cleans, handdrawn illustrations, husband, Ideal, India, Indian school chart, plays with wife, school poster, The Ideal Husband, works and socializes
As children of the 70’s and 80’s growing up in India, my husband and I fondly reminisce over instructional school charts that expound good and bad habits such as “Do not talk while sharpening your pencils”, “No playing with electricity”, “Do not throw garbage on strangers” and my personal favorite “Do not fall off the balcony while flying a kite”!
On the occasion of my husband’s birthday, inspired by these charming portraits of our past, I set out to recreate a poster that would take us down memory lane. Below are the results. Enjoy!
(Images are subject to copyright)
15 Sunday Dec 2013
Posted in Illustrations, Inspiration, Interiors
“By perseverance the snail reached the ark.” Charles Spurgeon
This last week my husband and I saw Christmas trees everywhere! From the fog-filled bathroom mirror to morning coffee spills and in the potato and onion peels as we fixed dinner. We crossed the mid-way mark of our self challenge this week which was definitely a highlight. There were days when we were super tired or relatively uninspired but part of why it’s called a challenge is to plod on especially on days like that, right? In this short time, I’ve learned that it’s not always about doing something phenomenal. Sometimes its just about persevering and to keep on keeping on.
06 Friday Dec 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
Christmas tree, Christmas trees, coasters, sauce, soy, stirrers, straws
These last few days have been filled with Chinese takeout meals, caffeine overload and general craziness. These Christmas trees below made out of soy sauce, stirrers, straws and coasters speak volumes about our hectic week:)
03 Tuesday Dec 2013
Posted in Inspiration
Tags
A game of scrabble last night ended in our second Christmas tree. We really are seeing festivity everywhere!:)
01 Sunday Dec 2013
Posted in Inspiration, Interiors
Tags
25 days of christmas, christmas, Christmas tree, found objects., mini project, pantone, postcards, Trees
My husband and I have embarked on a mini project together of creating a new Christmas tree every day for the next 25 days with objects found around our home. We began our journey this evening with a tree made from Pantone postcards.
Excited to see what the next 24 days bring!:)
28 Thursday Nov 2013
Posted in Illustrations
Tags
celebration, day, family time, feast, festive, food, thanksgiving, turkey, turkey day
“It is not happy people who are thankful, it is thankful people who are happy.”
Here’s wishing all of you a wonderful day filled with family, food and fun!:)
24 Sunday Nov 2013
Posted in Illustrations, Inspiration
Tags
cards, celebration, christmas, festive, freebie, happy, holiday, save and print, season, template, thanksgiving
It’s here! and one can definitely feel it in the air and in the first flakes of snow earlier today and glitter everywhere. To celebrate the holiday spirit, here are some freebies! Below are holiday cards I designed by just using different decorative fonts on Photoshop. It was a lot of fun to create this and I hope you guys will be able to put them to use. The images attached are in high-resolution and all you have to do is right-click to save and print. Enjoy!:)
17 Sunday Nov 2013
Posted in Illustrations, Inspiration
Tags
album cover, Chinese, Chinese artist, melancholic, Music, nature, whimsical
Shakespeare famously said “If music be the food of love, play on.”
Recently I had the fun opportunity to design an album cover for a popular Chinese artist (also the proud owner of a rather dignified french bulldog) which will release in a few months time. She requested that the cover speak of nature and the melancholic and yet whimsical essence of her art.
Below is a tiny glimpse into some of the selected artworks and the process. Enjoy.
14 Thursday Nov 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
“The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce”: Oliver Holmes, “Over the teacups” 1981.
Despite having done an earlier post about coffee, caffeine plays such an integral role in my life that I cannot help but dedicate a whole new illustration detailing it (probably more than I should:)) 
13 Wednesday Nov 2013
Posted in Illustrations
Tags
Business cards, design, ideas, insights, playing cards, research, strategy, visual
“It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?” Henry David Thoreau
Yes- I have nothing to blame but having been “busy” for not uploading a blog entry earlier. To make amends, I shall in today’s post show you what this lil ant has been upto.
Earlier this week I got thinking about business cards and the fact that mine was in desperate need of being updated. After a lot of random doodling, pinterest searches and scouring the web with no particular aim, I had my eureka moment when my husband and I suddenly decided to pep up our rather dull day with a game of playing cards. Soon after, I got to work and below are some images of my journey.
I wanted my card to be fun and reflect the dual aspect of the work I do which often combines visual and creative elements with research and strategic insights to generate new ideas.
17 Wednesday Jul 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
There’s nothing quite like my sister’s inspiring home surrounded by the loveliest woods to get my creative juices flowing again. Below are onesies (incidentally the greatest garments ever designed) created for my baby niece with some snapshots of the process detailed below. 
As her name starts with M, one of the onesies has silhouettes of some fun animals that begin with the same letter namely Mongoose, Meerkat, Moose, Mackerel, Mouse, Magpie, Manatee and Monkey. Can you spot them all?
10 Friday May 2013
Posted in Interiors
Tags
Barry McGee, book covers, ceiling assortment, composition, Mural, painters tape, pengiun, Pixel postcards, postcards, Postcards from Penguin, random
My husband, a writer, returned from a recent trip with this beautiful collection of book cover postcards. Fresh from the experience of an exhibit by Barry McGee at a museum nearby, I decided to try my hand at decorating our bedroom and workspace with these beautifully illustrated covers rich with storytelling. 
The postcards have been stuck with removable painters tape in a random assortment extending from the ceiling to the vertical wall. Painter’s tape was a cost-effective (and easier) alternative to frames for putting up so many different images and the pop of blue color that holds it all together does provide some edginess. The imperfect pixel postcard composition with colorful covers instantly converted our routine space into something dynamic and fun!
“It’s pure chaos, claiming a territory that doesn’t belong to you to state your own identity. It’s like saying, ‘I’ve got no other way to say I exist.” Barry McGee
Below are images clicked from the extremely memorable and inspirational Barry McGee Exhibit at ICA in Boston a few weeks ago. Enjoy!:)
09 Thursday May 2013
Posted in Illustrations, Inspiration
The series below are tessellations that play with basic optical grids and were created as I was reminiscing about my childhood obsession with Kaleidoscopes. There is something so absolutely riveting about the transient nature of the bursts of color and the fleeting forms encased within the hollow of a kaleidoscope akin to life itself!:)
04 Saturday May 2013
Posted in Illustrations
“Selfless Portraits is a collaborative art project aiming to bridge the gap between technology and humanity by encouraging small, creative gestures between strangers across the globe”
Below is my humble attempt to participate by illustrating a random facebook profile picture assigned to me of a boy who lives in Singapore. Do check out the link for yourself & enjoy variety of individual drawing efforts. www.selflessportraits.com 
21 Sunday Apr 2013
Posted in Inspiration, Interiors
Tags
cloud, color, conversation, fun, guitar picks, happy space. re-use, marimekko, marimekko newsletter, rain, raindrops, re-cycle, re-purpose, space mural
As a student in Sweden, one brand that really left an indelible impact on me was the Finnish brand Marimekko which stood out in startling happy hues against the severe winter backdrop. The mural detailed below with pictures of the process has been created by re-purposing a Marimekko newsletter filled with their characteristic vibrant patterns & palette. These repositionable cut-out patterns have been commissioned by a client to be hung above a baby’s crib. I can’t wait to see what they look like in their final home!
18 Thursday Apr 2013
Posted in Illustrations, Inspiration
Tags
color, contrast, guitar pick, inspiration, marimekko, mosaic, Mural, project, space, start
As I begin a new project with a rather vague idea and a plan to go with the flow, I’m reminded of this quote by Nancy Willard ““I dont have a clue how my story will end, but that’s all right. When you set out on a journey and night covers the road, that’s when you discover the stars.”
Stay tuned to see how this story unfolds.
The Madras Designery 