Jodhpur-based furniture, lighting and décor brand Orange Tree recently collaborated with Raw Collaborative for a regenerative design initiative. Named Raw Foundry, it is a platform for final-year students and fresh graduates to showcase their creativity at the Raw Collaborative 2024 year-end show, scheduled to take place in Gujarat from December 5-8. The design competition is taking place in India for the first time.
Regenerative design is an approach that aims to work with natural ecosystem processes for returning energy from less usable to more usable forms. Through this, students from different cities and walks of life will contribute new and innovative ideas to the company. Orange Tree’s Doux Edit, made of waste.
| Photo Credit:Special arrangement From a number of design schools across India, students and fresh graduates participated in the competition. Ten of them were shortlisted on the basis of originality, innovation, material exploration, sustainability and cost efficiency of the design. Some of the shortlisted entries included AI-generated designs, 3D-printed clay objects, metal casting, flat pack furniture, and the use of bacterial cellulose.
The shortlisted participants will be mentored by Rebecca Reubens, design educator and sustainability champion, and founder, Rhizome, along with Rajesh Kumar, Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Crafts and Design. They will guide the selected students through three online workshops, in preparation for the finale. Inside Orange Tree factory.
| Photo Credit:Special arrangement Conscientious brand Orange Tree is the retail arm of Basant, which has been designing and manufacturing contemporary furniture, lighting and décor for over 25 years, for more than 20 countries. A major exporter to well-known brands such as West Elm, Pottery Barn, Zara Home and Crate & Barrel, among others, the conscientious brand was founded in Jodhpur in 2014. With four retail outlets in Jodhpur, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, and another one slated to open in Raipur by October this year, all of its products are designed in-house at its expansive 9,35,000 sq.
ft. state-of-the-art production facility in Jodhpur. Dedicated workshops, an automated finishing area, an expanded upholstery section and testing labs operate under a single roof.
Design students taking a tour of Orange Tree’s factory.| Photo Credit:Special arrangement While taking a guided tour of the brand’s spacious factory, one can’t help noticing the level of precision — from design to manufacturing, packaging and selling. Driven by a strong environmentally conscious philosophy, all products at Orange Tree are designed with a focus on uniqueness, sustainability and experimentation.
Their collections from locally produced sustainable materials such as wood (acacia, oak, teak, sheesham and mango), metal, stone, ceramic, papier mache, bamboo, jute and cane, are contemporary and minimalistic. Gaurav Jain| Photo Credit:Special arrangement Gaurav Jain, founder, Orange Tree, says, “For me, travel is all about looking for new materials, crafts and design persons. For instance, a lot of our bamboo work is sourced from eastern India.
We aim to showcase and promote the country’s young talent and capabilities to the world in the form of a global product that is produced locally.” Orange Tree’s Doux Edit coasters made of waste.| Photo Credit:Special arrangement The brand, which has a team of 1,200 workers and a supply chain of more than 20,000 people across the country, believes in environmental consciousness and responsibility.
Almost 75% of their power consumption is fuelled by solar energy. It has a robust rain harvesting facility, a mechanism for recycling sawdust and using it as a fuel in their kiln for drying raw wood, besides running an active plantation project where 5,000 higher category Sheesham saplings are planted every year. Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit The Hindu Property Plus / Green design / environment and design / architectural design / design institutes / design and engineering / interior design / habitat and housing / housing and urban planning / houses & villas / house building / properties (general) / Home & garden / Sustainability / building material / engineering / Civil engineering / recycling / waste management / urban solid waste / waste / waste management and pollution control.
