Issue 001 · The editor's notes

Every issue, the catalogue starts at around 300 candidates and ends at ten. Here's how we got Issue 001 down — and what didn't make the cut.

The brief for Issue 001

For the launch we wanted prints that worked in most Indian homes — not the most editorial. Calm colours, scalable subjects, room for furniture to do its thing.

The ones we kept

• Mandala Goddess — bold without being loud. The mandala motif is familiar; the palette is contemporary.
• Boho Bloom — for the painted bedroom corner that needs a softer punctuation.
• The Taj Mahal — a clean, painterly take on the obvious subject. Skips the postcard cliché.
• Wildflower Meadow — a calm watercolour that anchors a busy living room.

The ones that didn't make it (this time)

• A Mughal miniature reinterpretation that read too much like a textbook illustration at A4.
• A maximalist tiger print that fought every other piece in the room.
• Three Hokusai variations that we'll save for the Japan-themed Issue we're sketching for early 2027.

What's next

Issue 002 drops 1 July. Two of the rejected pieces from 001 are coming back — refined. Subscribe to the newsletter to see them first.