Channapatna dolls come a-knocking: Karthik Vaidyanathan brings his store, Varnam, to Chennai

At Varnam, entrepreneur Karthik Vaidyanathan brings innovative creations by Karnataka’s Channapatna artisans to Chennai, from traditional toys to home decor pieces

“If you have one day to shop in a new city, for something handcrafted and unique, where would you go,” asks Karthik Vaidyanathan, for whom it has been a whirlwind two weeks as his team sets up the Varnam Craft Collective store on Wheatcrofts Road in Nungambakkam. “I want Varnam to be that go-to store for you,” he adds. From picking the right shade of paint, to crowdsourcing a bathtub for the garden to match his Bengaluru design, the entrepreneur harnessed all the love for his brand on social media. 

The store, opened on September 3,  is a riot of colour and texture from its myriad product lines coaxed out of the 200-year-old Channapatna tradition. 

Having worked for over a decade with artisans in Channapatna (Gombegala Ooru, toy town in Kannada) in the Ramanagara district of Karnataka, Karthik gets sentimental about what this store means to him. “For me, Chennai has always been a welcoming place whenever I’ve visited with exhibitions, and there is an appreciation of the work we do at Varnam.” While the lockdowns in 2020 forced the closure of two of his stores, one in Bengaluru and the other in Mumbai, this move to Chennai was a blessing in disguise. “Most individual boutique stores closed in Bengaluru, and I had to move quick to make the decision as the scale of work and the number of artisans reduced, but this way I could still pay salaries,” says Karthik, adding, “A hybrid model is probably necessary, but honestly, the touch and feel of a physical space is very important.”

You can see why. Traditional pieces share space with Varnam originals, designed by the founder and nurtured with a group of artisans since 2011. It was in that year that Karthik had been convinced of a design intervention, on a chance trip to Channapatna enroute to Mysuru. “The attempt has been to reorient this craft to the modern context by ensuring that each design has a utilitarian value and an aesthetic that is current,” he says. 

From dining and home decor to board games and toys, and even lighting, Varnam has a vast repertoire of fun and functional pieces. With whimsical names like Gyaani Goobey (wise owl), the award-winning Oinkston series of serveware and toys, the Bekku (cat) Bharanis, and the Bumbledore toys and storage solutions, Varnam has taken its penchant for form and function and helped artisans hone their skills to cater to a new market.

While Varnam Craft Collective relies strongly on its design, its founder, an engineer with a Management degree to boot, came to design serendipitously. Karthik has previously worked with Sony Music in Mumbai, producing classical and spiritual music. It was at the company that Karthik met his design mentor. “My attitude towards design was shaped by Manjiri Rajopadhya, an NID alumnus who used to head design at Sony Music. Her eye for detail and always keeping in mind that design has to deliver against deadlines are principles that I always follow. Manjiri lost her battle with cancer a few years ago. The Varnam store is dedicated to her,” Karthik says. Before his work with the Channapatna art form, Karthik worked with the brand team of  Tanishq in Bengaluru, a detour to helm operations at Radio City 91FM, before setting up and running several radio stations for Worldspace satellite radio.

He currently heads internal communication design for ACT Fibernet, while leading design and operations at Varnam. Karthik is meticulous with his metier, “The local artisans do their usual designs and simpler work but I found there were few checks on quality control in terms of proportions and finish. The artisan clusters who have worked with us over a decade now understand the value of these elements and take pride in working with Varnam.”