Oh you have? Well then I'm guessing that this place looks familiar:
Recognize it?
*squint*
*squint*
Ahhhhh there it is. Oh wow! That place is familiar!
So where are we? This is Sketch, a restaurant in London that probably has good food, but more importantly, has been coined the most instagrammed restaurant IN THE WHOLE FREAKING WORLD. And why wouldn't it be? Can you imagine visiting this Life-Size gum drop and NOT taking a photo?
Didn't think so.
India Mahdavi is the designer-brains behind this haven and after reading up on her work at Sketch, I went down a rabbit-hole of internet research that left me saying her name, on repeat, for like three-days-straight.
To save you the three days of burning red eyes and a laptop overheating your private parts,
I've gathered some highlights below:
- It took her a month to find just the right shade of pink for Sketch, in London. Since then, this color has been coined "Millenial Pink" (so like, hey kiddos, meet your maker).
- Born in Iran but grew up in multiple countries. She now lives and works in Paris.
- Speaks French, English, German, and Farsi (when asked which language she dreams in, her reply: "I dream in Color")
- Deeply inspired by color, with a seriously imaginative mind. That, plus a hefty degree in architecture, graphic design, and furniture design; this woman is not only creatively gifted, she's perhaps one of the hardest working designers (or dare I say, artists) of our time.
Her work makes my head spin. This woman pulls things out of her head, like she's making cotton candy at a festival. While I, literally could not design a chair if you asked me to. I'm the kind of designer who knows what to do with beautiful things, but if you put me in an empty room with a pad of paper and pencil, all I'm going to come up with is this:
India has described the fantasy-land that she lived in, in her mind as a child; a place she calls Palapimsosak. This place is filled with candy, color, toys, and all the joys a child could dream of (and then some, I'm sure). Originally invented as a way to cope with the constant change she experienced growing up, Palapimsosak is now reflected in all her work.
While India does offer Residential Design, the bulk of her recognition has come from commercial projects; and its no wonder, because she's NAILING IT.
One of my design philosophies is that residential homes are somewhere that should be peaceful, calm, and welcoming; a place to rest your mind. While in commercial design, I believe the opposite. Hotels and Restaurants in particular, should be an adventure, an escape, and an experience; a place to put your mind in motion. A place that makes you feel something new, and exciting; something you've never felt before, and that makes you want to taste it again and again. To me, every single Mahdavi design does just that.
Finally, no two Mahdavi designs are alike, and when hired, she is very clear with clients that the project will be unlike anything they've seen before. They will get the "Mahdavi" look, but it will be unique to their location, their building, their project... In my opinion, this is what elevates Mahadavi from being just a designer or architect, to being a true artist.
For more on India Mahdavi, check out her website: India-Mahdavi.com
And for even more on her, try giving a visit one of her restaurants or hotels - and purchase two tickets, because I'm tagging along.
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