This Chennai-based bespoke furniture company evokes some truly winsome paradoxes. It evinces a sense of nostalgia, yet is superbly timeless in appeal. It is a tangible preservation of the craft of hand carpentry passed down for several generations, with resourceful incorporations technology. It is a preservation of the old-world essence of Madras, and it carries forward the city’s legacy into a modern age through exquisitely crafted wooden furniture.
Madras Makers was envisioned in 2013 by Prem Balasubramanian and Carola Winnie, a husband and wife duo with backgrounds in architecture and nuanced understandings of latent aesthetics and human comfort. Driven by a holistic approach to design, their aim to uphold fine craftsmanship and authentic materials translates into a strong brand narrative.
The Chennai-based company uses reclaimed wood of the highest quality
In an era of complete automation and unchecked mass production, Madras Makers takes a conscious approach that focuses on quality. Leasing new lives to the wood from old colonial buildings in Chennai, the company has made it an objective to use only reclaimed wood. Not only does it promote a very tangible sense of social and ecological responsibility, but it does so while making a compelling visual statement. The unmatched beauty of reclaimed wood, with striking grain structures and natural seasoning that spans centuries, translates into unique furniture pieces which tell a story. Madras Makers uses the highest grade of genuine reclaimed Burma and Balharshah teak, along with other native species of wood such as Indian Laurel and Flowering Murdah, and a rare, premium stock of rosewood.
Rattan adds a flavour of nostalgia to the contemporary pieces
“Over these years, we have gained reasonable control and craft to deploy wood to express our designs holistically,” says Prem Balasubramaniam. “All our products are completely handcrafted by our skilled craftsmen using both traditional methods of hand carpentry and modern hand tools and machinery. We have developed a 7 stage polishing process to respect every piece of wood that it brings out the true character of every grain in the wood and makes them durable and age gracefully.”
Through their evocative wicker pieces, Madras Makers resurrects mid-century modern sensibilities and ushers them into a contemporary age.