Time after time

An engineer and an architect turn artists when they create unique pieces of clock art from everyday items. What makes them tick?

Husband-wife duo Harshad and Adithi Patankar's label Little Bent offers clock art that they create from mundane household items.
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Harshad started out as a mechanical engineering student, but soon realised he was more inclined towards an artistic expression of what he had learned as an engineer. He has been making clocks for seven years. "It's important to know how things work, because if you don't know the mechanics, you won't see the many possibilities that a device as simple as a clock offers," he says.

"I look at items that everyone sees every day, but I manage to see something different in it. That is how we came up with a clock inspired by a clothes line and another shaped like a faucet."

Wife Adithi, who gave up a career in architecture, credits his outlook to the influence his artist mother had on him. "You have to look at the world a little differently, and hence the name Little Bent," smiles Harshad.

The couple doesn't mass produce. They say they are frequently approached by stores that want to stock their range but they prefer to cater to a small base of customers. "The only publicity we work on is word of mouth," says Adithi.

That said, Little Bent makes its profits from bulk orders that corporate companies undertake to gift employees. "We are often given specific requests to create clocks that match a company's image, and are innovative," says Adithi.

Currently, the Patankars are working on their next big project that will be unveiled at the Kala Ghoda festival due to be held in February. Says Adithi, "There is a strict panel at Kala Ghoda. We must present our products to them, and if they approve, we are allowed to purchase a stall. The competition to bag a stall is incredible."

The artists work with materials like cold fibre, wood, metal and cane. The couple also plans to introduce a collection of leather bags and lamps this year.

While their Kurla workshop may be out of the way for most Mumbaikars, a comprehensive website manages to showcase most of their range. Log on to www.harshadpatankar.com.

AT: Little Bent, F-12 , first floor, Kaamgar Nagar, Kurla (E)
CALL: 9969054987