Every home is a manifestation of the personalities of those who live in it. How would a uniform design work for all clients, wondered Sayli and Manasi, the co-founders of the bespoke brand Vilaasita. 

As the name suggests, Vilaasita is all about unique and luxurious furniture, lighting and home decor items. The handcrafted products are aesthetically designed and sustainably produced. 

The idea behind creating the brand was to handcraft exquisite products for the home, designs of which would combine age-old techniques with contemporary styles. 

What makes Vilaasita’s designs so unique are the artisans, some of whom are third generation furniture makers. They bring the co-owners’s ideas to life and create elegant and timeless pieces with loving care. Sayli and Manasi make sure quality control checks are conducted at every stage.

Sayali and Manasi come with a background in technology and strategy consulting, and a common passion for design. The team includes advisors with experience in interior design, furniture manufacturing and logistics.

“The inspiration for the brand comes from the huge gap we saw in the Indian market. It’s a challenge to find furniture that is artistically crafted and fairly priced,” Manasi says.

Sayali adds, “Our indigenous craftsmen and artisans are losing their livelihood to low quality, factory-made furniture. So, every time you buy a piece from Vilaasita, you're doing your bit to keep the skill and tradition of handcrafting alive.”

Vilaasita also partners with other socially conscious brands to create and curate rare and beautiful handcrafted home decor products. These partners empower the artisan communities by providing training and creating jobs.

The dynamic duo

While Sayali is a computer science graduate from Vellore Institute of Technology, Manasi is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Sayli's belief in the potential of technology to make markets accessible to informal artisans inspired her to launch Vilaasita. On the other hand, Manasi’s motivations were her passion for design and her belief in the power of business to bring about a change in the artisan world.