June 13, 2024

Meet Revival's Designers: Chandni for the Romp Collection

While our design team is collaborative, each collection has one main creative brain at its helm, from the idea to the finished product. In this series we introduce you to the people that create the visions behind our collections.

Meet our Senior Textile Designer Chandni Pradhan. Internally, she is known as our “queen of color,” a title bequeathed to her from head of design Christina Tullock. Chandni’s work brims with personality, and her unmatched, playful sense of craft allows her to experiment with vibrancy and brightness. Bottom line: she never (ever!) takes her artisanal designs too seriously. The result? Captivating sketches that transform into captivating rugs.

Chandni directed our Romp Collection from start to finish. Inspired by the mild psychedelia found in Swedish rya rugs from the sixties, Chandni had this collection made in natural wool to properly showcase the colorful and playful linework of her designs. Complimentary to both vintage and modern home decor, the Romp collection is handmade using a mix of high and low looped pile which adds varied texture for your eyes (and feet), but don’t just take our word for it! Learn more about the Romp collection and Chandni’s creative process in our interview below:

Shop Book rugs from the Romp Collection

R: Chandni! What did you want to be when you grew up? 

C: I’ve been drawing and making things with my hands from a very young age. And let me say, a passion towards the arts kind of runs in my family as well. My mom and grandmother are both trained singers. My mom was the one who pushed me to explore drawing and art. Mumbai [where I live] is quite a hub for textiles. My father had a small garment manufacturing unit that I would visit very often during my younger school days. That was my first introduction to textiles. I loved the various textures and colors I saw in the factory! Somewhere along the way, I combined the two and became a textile designer!

R: What inspires you in the world? Where do you find your creative inspiration

C: I’m a glass-half-full kind of girl. Despite all the problems going on around us, I like to see our world as a place of hope and beauty! For me, creative inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere—it could be a random photo I’ve snapped on one of my travels, to paintings by my favorite artists. There’s no dearth of inspiration in our world.

R: Who is another creative that inspires you?

C: Oh god, I have a whole list of artists I love and admire! To name a few: Ellsworth Kelly, Josef and Annie Albers, Sheila Hicks, Louise Bourgeois, Frank Stella, David Hicks, and the list goes on and on. I think the common denominator among all these artists is that their work was ground-breaking for their time (and even today!). They each have their unique point of view on art.

Shop Chair rugs from the Romp Collection

R: Tell us how the Romp Collection came to life. What does your creative process look like?

C: Our collections always begin with research and creating a moodboard, followed by doing rough sketches by hand. I then use those sketches as references to create the final designs digitally. Particularly for Romp, the starting point was the gorgeous traditional Swedish rya rugs. While researching, I stumbled upon the work of Danish photographer Poul Ib Henriksen. His photos featured elegant models and ryas set against some pretty wild outdoor landscapes in the Scandinavian region. Some other artists I referenced for this collection are Paul Klee (love his line work and use of color), and Vasily Kandinsky (he was a real pioneer in abstract painting).

Traditionally, Ryas are shag rugs. The motifs, though geometric, have a great deal of movement due to the high-shag pile. We chose this particular weave for this collection to add a sense of movement with the abrash colors and irregularity with the high-low looped pile.

Shop Rosy rugs from the Romp Collection

R: Why do you love designing rugs in particular?

C: I think that a rug brings a space together. It adds warmth and centers any room. There are various techniques and materials which can be used to achieve almost anything your mind can imagine. Your imagination knows no bounds when it comes to designing rugs! Also, the craftsmen in India are amazingly skilled. Their knowledge and years of experience lend itself to the creative process—with their help, nothing is impossible.

R: Describe your personal design philosophy in one or two sentences like you’re telling a friend!

C: Don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t overthink it and go with your intuition. Enjoying the process produces the best results. Don’t take it personally if someone doesn’t like your work. You can’t please everyone, you’re not ice cream!

Shop the entire Romp Collection