PR maven Shrimoi Bhattacharya creates design solutions for culinary feasts on her new Instagram sourcebook
Earlier this year, Shrimoi Bhattacharya changed both his pin code and his lifestyle. PR professional, and founder of People Consulting, moved her base from Delhi to a small, sleepy village in North Goa called Olaulim – “which even the people of Goa don’t know about”.
Work didn’t stop, but everything slowed down in the village, which has winding streets, lush fields and a lonely cafe. It gave Bhattacharya, 48, the opportunity to look beyond meetings, power lunches and parties (and write her newly published book, pitch perfect) Bringing up her family’s year-and-a-half of entertaining (and the tableware she’s been collecting for years) makes her realize there’s something beautiful about setting up a special ritual for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. .
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As she began befriending local flavor makers, ceramists and artists in Goa, she decided to give shape to an idea that had been sprouting for some time – to create a sourcebook for curated tablescapes. “I am a proud Bengali, born and raised in Paris. France has a heritage of the decorative arts and the joy of the table, as I like to call it, is an art to live by. In India, we talk about treating the guest like a god. So, for me, it was about bringing these dual roots together,” she says.
small batch design
Bhattacharya launched Tablecode by Shree on Instagram a few months back, which is “about my journey from aesthetically pleasing, traveling to multiple places and picking products for the table”. She’s also teaming up with creators, both known and unknown, to showcase small batch designs. Currently, her feed is alive with festive creations from Suite No. 8 – red and blue chevron dinner plates with polka dot quarter plates with gilded gold edges, on a pretty red gingham tablecloth.
Another must-see celebration: plates from artist Arte, with a bold Art Deco vibe he picked up a decade ago. They are now available for order. As in “curated from the legendary, but very elusive, Ranjit Ahuja, who always makes me laugh as he says ‘doesn’t need PR’. And he’s right; he doesn’t need PR”.
Lace and Kansa Collaboration
- Bhattacharya is rediscovering India through her passion project — from Kunbi Textiles from handmade ceramics to tatting lace. “We have this incredible tradition of lace made by nuns across the country, from Kerala to West Bengal. When I grew up in Calcutta, I saw a lot at my mother’s friends’ parties. I had no idea it would make complete sense on a table today. These are collector’s pieces. Then there’s an “old gentleman based in Kolkata, who’s trying to keep up” Kansa work alive” she talks to him about how they can pair up Kansa With Madras checking for the table. “The idea is also to bring North and South together in some interesting ways,” she says. Of course, it’s hard to put the pieces she sourced for sale. “My friends tease me that, inevitably, I’ve got another excuse to go shopping. When I sold my first piece – a round teeting lace table cover – I had a really hard time getting away with it. I had to say out loud, ‘Yeah, I’m letting it go’.”
“I’m not here to teach the lesson of table styling because I think it’s too personal. What I’ll do is share how you can really mix things up. You need a source to put the table together.” There’s no need to get everything from him,” she says. “When I visit Sri Lanka, I go to my favorite store, Paradise Road, with their minimalistic design approach. In Goa, I found these plates of cabbage leaves from an unbranded Portuguese manufacturer, which are just gorgeous. I have pieces from everywhere. ,
local profit
On a personal level, she wanted to do something rooted in Goa, where the changing seasons bring different inspirations. “It’s neon green all around me as I’m talking to you,” she laughs. One of her favorite spots is the al fresco terrace in her 110-year-old home (renovated by Goa-based architect Ini Chatterjee), which faces a sparkling blue pool and green fields; This is visible in many of his photographs.
Collectible fish plates and cabbage leaf plates on tatting lace tablecloths | photo Credit: special arrangement
She quickly brings the conversation back to her local association. “I am working with this lovely potter Neela, who lives in the neighboring village of Karona. I am also working with an incredibly talented textile designer, Poonam Pandit, who used to work in [the late] Wendell Rodrigues to Evolve Kunbi Saree for her. So I challenged him: ‘Can we use this dying cloth to make a table cover’. Now there is only one loom left, and she is working with the weavers.”
If tablecode accelerates, Bhattacharya would prefer to open a smaller space near the house. “It is a lot about the experience – a travel experience. So whether it is through pop-ups or working with people in design, food etc… it is going to be a very collaborative platform. More That’s going to enjoy it.”
Buy everything you see at @tablecodebysri (dm for pricing), or commission Bhattacharya to put together a table.
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