Chandan Dubey's Gorgeous Home - Part2

Chandan Dubey's home, a symphony of colours woven skillfully through years of love, patience and across 2 countries. Each piece lovingly cared for and displayed. This is without doubt one of the most gorgeous homes I've had the privilege of seeing. And in this post you will see the photographs that were the result of abandoning my sentences midway to click. You will also get glimpses of what a fantastic hostess Chandan is. The snack were artistically served and beautifully laid. Everything came together gracefully and this was clearly not an effort for Chandan because there are only beautiful things in this home. Bought with reason and love, or inherited and holding memories of loved ones long gone and times that will never come again.

Chandan's gorgeous Chinese red laquered table

Chandan is a collector and I love how she groups and places her loved accessories in little groups around her home. She told me there are no 2 things which 'match' in the house & yet they come together so harmoniously, bright bold colours and muted neutrals, the Indian and the oriental aesthetic, serious art and local handicraft, each with its breathing space and voice intact.

And yes, I do know how lucky I am that I happen to live in Mumbai & was able to meet Chandan in her home & have the privilege to shoot it. I do count my blessings :)

Chandan Dubey's Beautiful Home - Part 1

There are people for whom beauty is a value and even a muse. Such is their commitment to her that in every choice that they make she is apparent. And that is when something magical happens, Beauty decided to grace these spaces and is present as an almost tanglible presence. This can have some strange effects. This is the 1st time that I was meeting Chandan Dubey and many a time when I was having a conversation with her, I would get distracted by the sunlight catching the dull sheen of an antique tray, or see something equally charming, forcing me to pick up my camera mid-sentence. Which without doubt made me a very ill mannered guest. But such is the power of a space lovingly put together, where no corner is ignored and possessions are lovingly collected till they have a voice all of their own. Chandan Dubey is no stranger to all of us, I met her many years ago 1st on flickr and then read her blog, Girl About Home, and once she shifted to Bombay, she came for my exhibition. I have long been a fan of her table scapes and how she puts them together. So we planned and plotted and finally met this month at her place and what a beautiful time we had, speaking of blogging and our lives and circuitous career paths.

Speaking of Chandan's home, it was amazing to see so much colour used so intelligently and in balance. Another delight was seeing how seamlessly Chandan's framed photography, her art and furniture from Hongkong and India came together.

There was no way I could have fitted all of Chandan's stunning home into one post, so stay tuned for the gorgeous part 2.

Thank you & a winner :)

A huge thank you to all of you who responded so wholeheartedly to the 1st ever giveaway contest on this blog. I wanted to document it & also for the winner to be a complete surprise for me as well. So I did it the old fashioned way: cut up 40 chits, hand-wrote each of your names on it, folded them, jumbled it, shut my eyes & picked up one chit.

The Print Lover, do mail your address to me on vineetanair2222(at)gmail(dot)com. And Christine will mail you your gift. And don't forget to mail me which wall art piece you prefer :)

The book Desire to Inspire and a free giveaway!

I'm super excited to be part of Desire to Inspire ~ Using Creative Passion to Transform the World, Christine Mason Miller's book, and it is getting launched on December 15th, in Los Angeles! In Desire to Inspire, readers will be introduced to twenty extraordinary women - writers, artists and entrepreneurs - all of whom share a unique example of how they create a meaningful life and, in turn, make a positive impact on the world. The stories and examples explore the roots of their desire to inspire and how they manage to pursue their passions in the midst of all the twists and turns life has given them. In addition to a beautiful collection of quotes, stories, and anecdotes, readers are given substantive, encouraging exercises aimed at supporting their own journey towards a meaningful, mindful life.
You can read my previous post about it here. As the days pass and I get myself acquainted with my amazing fellow contributor's to the book, I can help but feel awed to be in such inspiring company. Do pop in to Christine's blog to read the 60 second interviews of all the contributors to the book here including mine :)

This post is to announce the 1st give-away on this blog & all you need to do is put in a comment here. Look further down the images to see what you will win! :) :)

The Cover is here!! You can pre-order your copy from Amazon right here.

This is what you win!! A beautiful inspiring piece of wall art by the phenomenal Christine Mason Miller. I received one such and you can see a closer image of it here.

The last date for leaving your comment is 20th November - sunday night India time. So hurry people & claim your inspirational piece today!! :) :)
Also wanted to tell you that this will be shipped to you directly by none other than Christine Mason Miller & the winner will get to choose which wall art he/she wants :) :)

No Nasties

This is a story I have been wanting to say for the longest time. What happens when idealism meets practicality, substance meets smartness, when purpose meets action, a problem meets a solution, when suicide finally meets hope, and when Apu meets Diti? You get No Nasties. I don't mean to sound smart and spin some words together. What I wrote is exactly what I feel about what Diti and Apurva are doing with No Nasties. I wish more causes had drivers like these two people, they are heart and brains in the right place. They are taking one thoughtful smart step at a time & they are moving fast. They have a job to do and all their time, their energy, and being is dedicated to that. No distractions, no wasted time. Seeing Diti and Apurva restores my faith in my generation and in the world. Apurva left a job and a life in the U.S to come back to his country when he knew he had to do something about the farmer suicides. (Yes, outside of a movie script, and in real life) And Diti a graphic designer and photographer, had volunteered in farms in Pondicherry and was teaching workshops on organic farming. The 2 met and from their dreams and determination was born No Nasties.

No Nasties makes tshirts. All you need to do is buy them.

I like the No-Nasties funda because they know what will work. They know that fashion works, people want to look cool & not like some boring gyaan toter. So they are speaking your language and they are making it damn simple by expecting you to do only what you can do easily. Which is to buy. One tshirt at a time.

If this piques your curiosity, read the entire story here. And this is their happening Facebook page which u can 'like' :) if u so wish :)

And they don't work in glorious isolation. Its interesting to see the people they choose to work with. Makes for an interesting read. And gives you more reason to see how solidly this works.

And finally I want to leave you with this message from their website. "Don’t just see what is, but also what will be. Let's say you buy a t-shirt made from organic cotton. That creates more money for organic farmers than usual, which makes more farmers want to convert to organic farming. And more designers to use organic material. And more stores to carry organic clothes. And more people to buy organic, so they can be as organic as you. All because you made a choice to be organic. You can bring about this change. You can start the movement."

This is where you click to start it.