When a chunk of furnishings tells a narrative, you pay attention. Chacko’s Mehfil, a wall-mounted grotto-style ornamental cupboard, renders three endangered species from the Indian subcontinent: the sarus crane, the lion-tailed macaque and the golden mahseer. The creatures, crafted in intricate marquetry and brass inlay in pure wooden, could seem uncommon on a cupboard. However that’s exactly what Chacko seeks to do with its furnishings —inform a narrative, provoke thought and add that means to an area.
Vipin Joe, the founding father of the Mumbai-based design studio Chacko, desires to create purposeful items which might be filled with character. As a designer, he’s open to influences, Joe says. And the making of every piece is usually collaborative — a dialogue with artists, illustrators and fellow designers who share his sensibilities.
Vipin Joe
Hand-painted arts
In Mehfil, for example, the animals are illustrated by Italian artist Gaia Eloe Cairo, who specialises in hand-painted ornamental arts to create consciousness about nature and science. The marquetry is executed by Sampigé & Co, a marquetry studio in Mysuru.
Joe always explores materials and temper to determine what his craft-led furnishings model Chacko could possibly be.
The Native Console was born thus. A collaboration along with his buddy, designer, illustrator and projection artist Nikunj Patel of Studio Moebius, the Chettinad-inspired console was conceived as a chunk to be positioned behind the couch, nevertheless it went a lot past its scope. “I used to be having tea with Nikunj; we had been sharing ideas and we had been each taken by the concept of a chunk that will be a mix of commercial and conventional craft,” says Joe.
The Native Console, he provides, is his favorite. “It has a little bit of all the things: mid-century Tanjore and Madras in etched brass, teak and stone. An iteration of the console seems within the assortment, formed as a mid-century stereo field, named ‘Yashodha’s Dream’, which depicts playful scenes of Lord Krishna’s Vrindavan. Made in teak, rosewood and aged etched brass, this richly detailed piece is available in each 8-foot and 6-foot variations.
The setting of the studio, in an industrial property in Kandivali, is a bonus, says Joe. “Our studio is surrounded by individuals working equipment. The brass etching for these items was accomplished by somebody who makes badges. It’s pretty being in an industrial property. ”
Intentional designs
Joe’s impressed items inhabit the fragile area between artwork and performance. An ornate Artwork Deco-style triptych mirror is an instance. The need to make a chunk that displays opulence resulted within the ‘King of Spades’. Performed in collaboration with industrial designer Ashwin Mallya, the hand-crafted design carries detailed line work and exact machine work. The ornate doorways open to disclose naked mirrors that replicate the viewer.
Chacko was lately on the Kolkata version of Uncooked Collaborative, a design exhibition and inventive platform that brings collectively designers, artists, architects, and craft practitioners to show their work.
After incomes his diploma in industrial design at Symbiosis Institute of Design, Joe interned with sculptor Subodh Kerkar (founding father of Museum of Goa), from the place he absorbed the nuances of how an artist’s studio capabilities. Subsequently, he interned at Auroville, Puducherry, which deepened his engagement with artwork. Later, he additionally interned at designer Anjaly Mody’s Josmo Studio in Goa, earlier than beginning his personal follow. “I used to be at a degree the place I used to be doing all the things — making and designing furnishings, carving, prototyping, the works. However I needed an area, a studio, the place I might experiment and all of my concepts might unfold,” says Joe. He procured a spot, discovered a carpenter, and Chacko, the model, was formally launched in 2017-18.
The studio is intentional and acutely aware of the fabric it really works with.
It makes use of reclaimed wooden, sourced from distributors in Mumbai. “There’s a sure magnificence in outdated development wooden. It’s naturally seasoned and tight-grained. Every log is completely different and the wooden lends its personal character to the piece,” says Joe. Teak, with its orange-brown color, fits his work the very best, which veers principally in direction of the mid-century aesthetic. “Working with reclaimed wooden is aesthetically, technically and economically viable.”
At the moment, Chacko is a small crew, “however our focus is on changing into a robust model with emphasis on our making practices, and our R&D,” says Joe. Typically, it’s a tiny element, comparable to a knob, that would make all of the distinction, or personalisation — comparable to little teak wooden extrudes on a desk, custom-made for a birder.
Chacko’s clientele contains architects and common individuals “who are actually very concerned in curated items with a story or design that aligns with their Indian identification”, he shares. Joe has additionally exported some items to shoppers who love the designs and see it as part of the gathering they’re constructing.
Value examine
Mehfil: ₹4.5 lakh
Native Console (6 ft.): ₹4.8 lakh
Yashodha’s Dream: ₹9.6 lakh
Revealed – March 06, 2026 03:36 pm IST
