Tara*, the former editor of BBC Good Home, wrote to me last week introducing Heaven & Home and asked if I would feature them on “dress your home”. I’m honestly overwhelmed by the number of e-commerce home decor/furnishings sites that have sprung up this past year like Shopo, afday and Rajee Sood Home. And then, there are all those new enterprising creators of all those wonderful things sold on these sites.

Bhavna of An Indian Summer already did a fabulous job of introducing Heaven & Home to the design/home decor blogger community and reaching out to a much bigger audience. So, I’m going to keep it brief by focusing on what I like about Heaven & Home.

1. The landing page requires you to register. Hidden message: the founders are serious about what they are offering/selling. It’s not a hobby; not a business a bunch of people started together on a whim. Product presentation matters and H&H has clinched it.

2. Short-lived deals: In a weird way, the moment I landed on the home page, Crazeal (the Indian spinoff of Groupon) flashed in my mind. For no good reason.  I think the human mind is wired to glow instantly when it sees the word “sale” (at least mine is); it doesn’t matter if it is sale all year round at all the stores across the city.  The trick I think is in the words used to make believe you are really getting a good deal (when in reality you may pay what it’s worth, or sometimes more). The job gets easier for Heaven & Home because pictures do the talking. I mean who can resist a colorful cushion like this one, for instance?

3. Distinguishing products: Table runners, cushions, and other soft furnishings are easy to come by.  With so many creative people around us, it’s not tough to find what you like within your budget. But products like decals I’m not sure I’ve seen elsehwere.

What I would like to see more of:

Not the same deals being repeated after a day or two. More product listings which I think will grow with H&H.

In all, a professionally curated site that has been executed with precision.

Sidenote: I know I’ve turned down quite a few feature requests since October. Just got back to blogging but the frequency will continue to be low. If you have a great product you’d like to be featured, please drop me a note.

Image courtesy: Heaven & Home

We’d been to Trichy for the Pongal weekend. Pongal marks a new beginning and end of margazhi - a month I fondly remember for the huge colorful kolams adorning the streets. There was a time when I used to leave for school on my cycle a few minutes early, a few minutes to revel in new color combos and twists to age-old rangolis.

The dexterity with which the ladies draw kolams never ceases to amaze me; it seems so easy but you realise the intricacies only when you soil your hands with colors. The perfect intersection of lines and the angled curves comes with years of practice. It’s not just about colorful kolams - a wide array of colors complement each other beautifully - be it huge bunches of orange turmeric, white mango ginger, stacks and stacks of black sugar canes, or the greenish white bouquets of teeny tiny neem flowers. They all come together.

Over to pictures…

Read the rest of this entry…