About

Who We Are

We are Bangalore-based furniture makers who believe deeply in the unique, aesthetic pleasure of crafted furniture.

We operate at the intersection of modernist design histories from the Indian subcontinent, contemporary design, and craft based production.

Our workshop, while physically an ecosystem of skilled carpenters, wood polishers, cane weavers, upholsterers, and tailors, from craft communities across India, is in spirit, a living archive of material intelligence.

Through our research and practice, we function as creative custodians and stewards of modernism from our region, which was, and continues to be, defined by its use of local materials and craft traditions, while assimilating global influences.

Evolution

Phantom Hands began in 2014 as a monthly catalogue of vintage objects, researched and curated by Aparna Rao and Deepak Srinath.

In their quest to find heirloom design with a high standard of craftsmanship, Aparna and Deepak stumbled onto design histories of the cosmopolitan modernism that defined the early years of independent India.

Being more inclined towards furniture in which simplicity, proportion, and the logic of construction stood out, they were fascinated when they encountered the modernist furniture made for the city of Chandigarh in the 1950s. This fascination sparked the idea of remaking those designs, which opened the doors to a much deeper exploration of the intersection between modernist design and craft traditions.

Today, Phantom Hands’ products—a mix of original collections, as well as re-editions of designs by iconic South Asian modernists like Geoffrey Bawa—are seen in several international design spaces, as well as in the homes of discerning aesthetes around the world.

First Collection

Aparna and Deepak’s curiosity about the authorship and copyright of Chandigarh's mid-century modern furniture was driven by the intent to have their offerings be completely above board. Their search for these took them on a journey from Chandigarh to Geneva, via Montreal and Paris.

What emerged from this expedition was revealing. Though often attributed to Pierre Jeanneret, the pieces had been developed in the collaborative design office he led, and were produced in a number of local workshops, shaped by the material and skills available at the time. Further, the designs had been freely adapted for various situations and evolved over a thirty year period, going beyond Chandigarh to several parts of Northern India and even as far as government offices in Bangalore.

With the newfound understanding that this furniture was the product of an open, craft-based process, Aparna and Deepak decided to continue in this tradition, and set up a workshop in their hometown, Bangalore.

Project Chandigarh, Phantom Hands’ first furniture collection, was launched in May, 2015. What began as three chair models soon expanded to re-editions of several pieces.

Design Collaborations

Since 2017, Phantom Hands has collaborated with contemporary designers such as INODA+SVEJE, x + l, Derek Welsh, Padmaja Krishnan, Klemens Grund, Nityan Unnikrishnan, BIG-GAME, Felix Pfäffli and others to create collections of original design. In parallel, we continue our in-depth engagement with South Asian modernism. Our most recent partnership was with the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, with whom we worked to create a collection of the Sri Lankan master’s fiercely contextual furniture designs.

All our collections draw from the philosophy of cosmopolitan modernism that emerged in the subcontinent in the mid-20th century, and build on the vast bank of material intelligence that traditional Indian craftsmanship offers.

Today, Phantom Hands is a design and craft collective of more than 100 artisans who specialise in carpentry, wood finishing, cane weaving, upholstery, and metal work.