BackLounge Loves | Kitsch on a budget
A little store amid lifestyle Goliaths, its knick-knacks can jazz up homes starved of space
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Roti Kapda Makaan is a bright and cheery addition to Raghuvanshi Mills, Mumbai. It’s housed on the second floor of an office building, but it’s not overshadowed by the sprawling boutiques that shoulder it. The store features not a single accoutrement for the stately house, but kitschy finds for space-starved folk looking to brighten up their homes on a budget. As promised, it stocks roti (food), kapda (clothing) and makaan (shelter; or at least ways to accessorize it).
The two-week-old shop is run by Sneha Raisoni (the owner of a similarly whimsical store called Tappu Ki Dukaan) and Henal Mehta (she’s a former brand manager at Navneet Publications, India; stationery fiends will be delighted to see cool two-toned pencils at the store).
Many of the products are from ubiquitous brands like Chumbak, Happily Unmarried and The Big Bag Theory, but others, like the Batman USB stick from propshop24.in and drawstring pyjamas from gabilife.com, were previously available only online. Most interesting are the makaan offerings: chairs that fold into step ladders, benches with handy storage space and stools that can double up as coffee tables. The feature wall is a sunshine yellow treasure trove of knick-knacks, most of which make for fun, if not entirely useful, gifts. Raisoni and Mehta cleverly requisitioned cast-offs from friends and family to fashion the shelves. There’s a hollowed out television, a window frame and a suitcase serving as display units for all manner of accessories: think mugs that stir their contents themselves, inflatable beer holders and toothpicks shaped like moustaches.
Soon, the store will be a token café space too: Customers will get served at the tables (which are for sale). But for now, roti offerings are limited to bagels and a few sweet fixes like cake pops and coffee tarts, showcased for takeaway. We took home their hot chocolate spoons—little servings of ganache with a spoon embedded in them, which can be stirred in hot milk to make a rich cocoa drink.
The prices of clothes range from ₹ 450-1,450; of furniture, from ₹ 4,600-21,750; of food, from ₹ 40-330; and of accessories from ₹ 25-10,500.
At Reproscan, Raghuvanshi Mills, Mumbai.
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