Five things we’re loving this week
Editor’s note: We’re a team of dedicated (okay, addicted) hunters of cool products, who finally have an excuse to do what we love best, which is to spend tons of time window-browsing for the good stuff & sharing it with everyone we know.
Each week we pick five new things we absolutely love. Some of these are practical. Some are delightful. Most sit somewhere in between. What they all have in common is that they’re not obvious, and that’s exactly why we love them. At least one of them will make you think: I didn’t even know this existed… but now I want it.
PS: There are a ton of more shopping recs over at Souk. Check them out already!
*****
Moving well beyond the outside-in gaze that frequently romanticizes their work as a simple victory over hardship, this collective memoir (written by co-founder Disha Mullick alongside nine of the journalists who helm the platform) shows what it truly means to navigate caste, class, and patriarchy on the ground. The narrative is raw and uninhibited, capturing the complex, flawed, and tenacious realities of women reporting from dusty crossroads without ever stripping away their humor or individual voices.
Price: Rs. 699
Zodiac-themed accessories make great personal gifts, and we think this Leo satin scarf would be a perfect gift for fashion-loving folk born in July or August. We love the artwork and the poetic text (Let's raise a storm he said. Put your ear to my heart she said.) and like everything from The Summer House, it's made in their own studio with a clear focus on responsible production.
Price: Rs. 3,800
You know we're suckers for functional+sculptural art (hello, Claymen!). While Millimeter is ambiguous about what animal this is, we're choosing to believe this handcrafted geometric stoneware animal is humankind's best friend, and we'd definitely use it to store our favourite earrings.
Milimeter was founded by Industrial Designer Amritanshu Prajwal, who believes one of the biggest issues in Indian design is that craft is seen merely as a decorative element—something that is measured on aesthetic parameters rather than being utility-driven or functional. He started Milimeter to work with clay artisans from his region, and hopes to build a practice that uses craft as method, not decoration.
Price: Rs. 4,999
We like the drop-shoulders and faded denim wash finish on this 100% French terry oversized tee. This one's for those whose world revolves around dogs!
Hoomans make merch for fellow 'hoomans' who are wildly, unapologetically obsessed with their pets. Their tees, hoodies, caps and totes celebrate the beautiful chaos of pet parenthood and help dog and cat crazy folk find their people. Our favourite thing about them though has to be that a part of what they make goes toward supporting street dogs and animal welfare, 'cos in their own words, "Every dog deserves at least one 'hooman' rooting for them." Yes.
Price: Rs. 1,640
5) Uprooted: A Graphic Account of the Struggle for Forest Rights
In this graphic journal, comics maker and educator Ita Mehrotra uses an immersive mix of field notes, dialogue, and scribbled marginalia to document the lives of the Van Gujjar and Taungya communities in the Uttarakhand Terai. She captures how bureaucratic "development" models and modern conservation projects aggressively treat nomadic pastoralists as trespassers on the very soils they have nurtured for generations. The focus is on ground-level voices, featuring moving testimonies from the community elders (an old woman reflects on summer nights spent deep in the woods, proving that the forest tigers have a quiet, mutual understanding with their grazing buffaloes) alongside the fierce defiance of the younger generation (such as Anita from the Taungya villages, who sharply reminds us that if people are oppressed for centuries, they will always find a way to fight back).
Price: Rs. 599
*****
For more stunning lists and recommendations, head over to our sister site, Souk!
souk picks