A spectacular duo unlike any other, interior designers Disha Bhavsar and Shivani Ajmera ideated the start of their enviable journey together while working at a popular publishing house early in their careers. While most people would hesitate to start a business so young, these two built their collaboration on the fact that they shared a unique work camaraderie and matched each other’s temperaments as colleagues. This is the start of Quirk Studio’s fascinating story that reaches us today, accompanied by an awe-inspiring list of projects manifested by the practice.
When did you decide to start Quirk Studio?
“While working together at the publication, both of us happened to collaborate on several events. On one such busy day in Delhi, we were sitting across from each other, and we happened to have an ambitious conversation about starting something together. It was quite an instinctive, in-the-moment discussion where we discussed our goals, ambition, and the likes. In hindsight, both of us are interior designers looking to explore different things. We agreed that there was a lot of untapped potentials we could explore and got on board.” shared Disha.
While many of us have these conversations on a casual day at work, these two actually took that dream forward and formulated a business plan that has grown to be very successful.
“The good thing is that we actually followed through, and this was not just a conversation we had after a long day of work. Both of us are people who believe in our gut, in fact, many of our decisions are intuitive and I genuinely feel, we have been guided by this inner voice through our journey.” shared Shivani.
Was it ever intimidating to start off on your own?
“We were blessed because we started off before the social media boom so we didn’t have much exposure to who the big players of the industry were and who we were competing with. We were young girls with a dream, and we put blinders on to focus on our work and fly. That is what we went for. We never had to worry about what others were doing or collaborating with,” says Disha.
As you said, you started your journey before the social media boom. Do you think this boom has restricted creative vision, because of the sheer volume of work that is present on the internet?
“Absolutely, we are glad we started before that time because if you were to start a studio today, there is so much competition that you are exposed to and aware of that it is difficult to collate a company vision that is unique to oneself,” shared Shivani.
With clients, both of them agree that social media is a boon and a bane. “We ask our clients to share their reference images from the internet when we are on board. This helps us know what they aspire to have and that gives us direction and becomes our starting point. We are very firm about not replicating anything. We believe in designing spaces that are a true reflection of the inhabitants, whether a young couple or an older person, we believe in striking the right balance with our designs,” added Disha.
Do you think the pandemic has changed the way homeowners view their homes?
“There is an evident shift in the mindsets of people. Today, the home has evolved from a status symbol to a more personal space where functionality is of utmost importance. From being a space to entertain, staying at home has engraved a deeper connection of people to their spaces, making it an epicenter of their lives,” said Shivani.
The duo personally resonates with this shift and believes that it has nourished creative processes and made design and spaces more personal and individualistic than before.
What has been the impact of the pandemic on your own personal style?
“As designers, we’ve been the observers of the same situation as all the people in lockdown, lived the lockdown as all our clients did. But we have always been sensitive to the experiential qualities of a space and reflecting individuality. In fact, many of our old clients reached out to thank us because they felt what our work did for them in the testing times. It was quite gratifying,” said Disha.
Both of them feel that people are more conscious of their own styles and aware of their choices today. “It’s great to see how involved clients are. In a city like Mumbai, people go to work early and come back late. They barely had much time to experience living in their spaces. That changed with the pandemic which gave them a chance to explore what they liked, be it gardening, cooking, working out, or working from home. The change in perspective is reflected in their design choices and requirements today,” shared Shivani.
Clients are now more particular about the decor of their spaces, they feel. Earlier, people cared little about art or decor items and left it to the last minute. Now, they ensure that the home is complete, with every detail during the handover. This includes indoor plants, cushions, and even tableware, which is a refreshing change.
Having spent so much time being restricted, do you think people are more comfortable making personalized choices now than popular ones?
“Oh yes, the entire concept of replicating the trends and what is in vogue, or copying what others have is dated. Individuality is finally in the spotlight. Also, in Mumbai where spaces are compact, people have learned to optimize spaces on their balconies instead of closing them and extending their bedrooms. The whole transition of outdoors coming indoors is happening, which is great,” said Shivani
Do you think it’s important to design calming interiors to reduce the daily stress of our lives? If yes, what would you define your personal design style as?
“I wish we could take you to a couple of our projects to answer this question! Both Shivani and I believe in mellow and zen spaces. When one experiences a space designed by us, there is an evident feeling of calmness. We believe in very clutter-free spaces. For a recent residential project, we fitted the balcony with retractable glass windows to open up living spaces for sunny and windy days,” said Disha
“We are encouraging our clients to actually change their lifestyle through our designs. If the client has a beautiful open kitchen and a stunning dining space, they do love hosting and entertaining guests. In that way, our role has become more consultative wherein if a client suggests that they’ve done something in a certain way for years, we subtly upgrade their lifestyles for the better,” shared Shivani.
Since both of you are a core team, how easy was it for your to work virtually with each other and the clients?
“At the start of the pandemic, we took one day at a time although we did miss working together from our office, the site visits as they are an essential part of the onsite work, which no amount of zoom calls can do justice to. Having said that, we did successfully execute projects through zoom, which was a learning experience. We love meeting in person and brainstorming together, but during the pandemic, we realized that we are equipped to manifest quality work virtually as well,” said Disha.
You’ve worked on some amazing projects over the past couple of years, which one of them has been the most memorable and why?
“A recent project we did, office space on the outskirts of Coimbatore was really memorable. We executed the whole project during the lockdown, without visiting the site. In fact, we saw it for the first time 6 months into it. Secondly, there was a language barrier as this site was based on the outskirts of Erode, which has a dense local population so couldn’t source someone locally and had to send our teams from Mumbai. Despite all of these challenges, it turned out to be a great project because the client was open to new ideas, very receptive and hence we were able to push a lot of creative boundaries creatively,” shared Disha.
We are sure you are going to design many spectacular projects in the future, but do you have a dream project that you would like to work on?
“Both of us would love to work on a larger than life, authentic, sustainable project in a remote location, preferably in India, where we can collaborate with local artisans. A project where we can push the boundaries in terms of the materials and bring the whole local angle as the highlight” shared Shivani.
With many spectacular projects under their name, we wish that this dynamic duo at Quirk Studio get to execute this creative idea and continue to inspire young designers with their incredible portfolio of work.
