Last night I asked a friend of mine what came to her mind when she heard the phrase ‘Pyjama Party’. Her answer – friends, wild fun and PJs. She’s not far off the mark. Rithika Kumar, founder and designer of Pyjama Party – an art studio that churns out customized hand painted home décor items, costume jewellery and funky shoes – created this concept with the very thought of customers expressing their fun side with her artistic products in her mind.
Established in 2009, Pyjama Party – in Rithika’s own words – started as a “self-expression, it is something I enjoy and love doing and am emotionally invested in”. One look at her creations and you can see that she’s managed to turn regular objects into unique products that have the capability to be conversation starters. Her home décor items like the lollipop lamps, vibrant lanterns, blinged out tea-lights, crazy coasters and many more, all become the center of attention regardless of their setting.
Rithika’s onus to start Pyjama Party was not monetary gain, instead her aspirations were more creative in nature. She says,
Pyjama Party has been a dream that would linger in the alleys of my mind almost daily and would resurface every time I was disgruntled at my 9 to 5 job. It’s been something that I’ve been passionate about from its conceptual stages. For any small business to be a success more than the funding, the business models, the logistical and administrative set up, it demands complete faith in ones ideas and a drive and gusto that no doubts can quell.
Her wooden bats with quirky designs painted on them sure bowled me over (pun intended). From colourful bottles for growing plants to tea kettles with a plethora of quirky designs hand painted on them, Rithika brings her own unique style to everyday objects. However, she acknowledges the disconnection between her brand’s name and the range of products offered under it. “I wanted a name that was quirky and would make anybody’s ears prick up. Pyjama Party, to anyone, would arouse some amount of curiosity. We are a fun, adventurous and vibrant brand and this strange disconnect with our products and the label name seems to have worked for us,” reasons Kumar.
Rithika, who held the job of a creative strategy planner in advertising says her job involved following trends and observing people and cultural symbols, and that this has translated itself into Pyjama Party. Her advertising background speaks volumes when one comes to know the names of her products like Light My Fire (colourful lanterns) and Keep Me Hanging (wall hangings).
Commenting on the growth of Pyjama Party, Rithika says,
Pyjama Party is a fun brand born out of the desire to create quirky funky products, we don’t take ourselves too seriously and design products that we hope add a dash of colour to people homes and lives. When Pyjama Party started we only had a line of funky quirky one of a kind jewellery today we have a line of quirky home decor products and customised products.
Her quirky and kitsch products have managed to stir up quite a lot of attention. While her design retail in quite a few stores in India, Mahika, which is a marketplace for unique designers also retails her products in UK. Pyjama Party’s Facebook page is also quite popular and you can stay updated with the release of new products and place direct orders from there too!
Creative, quirky and sometimes even outlandish is what ‘Pyjama Party’ is all about and TYS salutes all the hard work and creativity that has gone into making it the success story it is today.
