Now isn't that cute?

Say goodbye to staid desktop calendars and plain cotton totes. Products at the Akanksha store get a designer makeover that we are totally loving

There was a time when we would walk into the Akanksha Art Shop or stumble into their stall at one of the many exhibitions and know exactly what we'd encounter.


James Ferreira (standing), Soojata Kapoor (sitting) and Sonal Sawant
share a moment around Sonal's elephant shelf creation (Rs 30,000 + vat).
Pics/ Sayed Sameer Abedi

The calendars, notebooks, canvas bags, pen stands, paintings made by less privileged kids, supported by the non-profit foundation, would all be there. Cute stuff no doubt, talented too, but clich ufffdd and bringing a sense of d ufffdj vu. It's to break through this perception that the foundation has now got together leading city designers to re-invent Akanksha's product image from 'handicraft-like' to 'hep'.

What can you find at the cozy Worli store now? Super cute kiddie singlet tops and shorts made from Sholapur blankets by fashion designer James Ferreira, who made the staid Sholapur chaddar go from a winter must-have to a hot trend at the Lakm ufffd India Fashion Week 2007.

"I intend to introduce kids to the culture and fashion of a particular state, this time the state in question is Maharashtra," said a smiling James. "We will do this through an accompanying booklet that will trace the adventures of two kids as they go from one state to another." The 100% cotton range also includes a jersey with a horse embroidered using the khand fabric, kurtas made from dhotis and dresses in pastel colours with elements of a Maharashtrian saree that made us wish we could get a sized-up version of the same.

The handmade home accessories designer Soojata Kapoor is also on board the designer team. She has concocted interesting knick-knacks like colourful duster pegs, a d ufffdcoupage lamp, Akanksha's mascot Miss Muglee in the form of a huggable soft toy crocodile and our favourite -- a snakes and ladders game which gives your kids a lesson in identifying snakes.

What you will definitely not miss at the store is a massive, almost five feet tall elephant, with cut-outs in the body frame that serve as shelves, created by set designer Sonal Sawant. We heart her other furniture creations that work around the jungle theme -- there's a handpainted rocking chair sporting a dinosaur, a vibrant chair with a coiling snake as its backrest, a study table with a giraffe shooting out from its edge and cloth pegs with frogs and kittens. "I have taken designs that the Akanksha kids have made and put these on functional products. So you might see a few rough edges or mismatched colours, but then you know that the design comes from the mind of a kid," says Sonal. The designers will now give kids lessons in tailoring and art to enable them to make such equally cool products.

At The Akanksha Art Shop, 8/B, Poonam Apartments, Shiv Sagar Estate, Dr Annie Besant Road, Worli. Call 24918869. The new collection will be launched at the store on February 26