Be spectacular

Curated by Sucheta Chakraborty Kasturi Gadge and Anju MaskeriWhile in East Germany on an eyewear project as a code and ecommerce expert Arjun Sagar was amazed at German craftsmanship and the longevity of the products ldquoI was working alongside consultant Matthias Hasse when I learnt that the pair of glasses he was wearing had lasted him 20odd years and it was made by a local companyrdquo Coco Leni which he launched with Hasse uses ethicallysourced materials like bull horn wood and bamboo to create the bespoke eyewearCoco Leni also offers customisation on the glassesldquoIt Coco Leni isnrsquot a startup It is the rebirth of a German brand that wasnrsquot reaching enough people I felt the need for it in the larger international market so I brought it to India and plan to take it to other countries as wellrdquo Their buffalo horn eyewear and bio acetate frame he claims is created using ethically sourced and sustainable material ldquoThe horn is collected only after the completion of the animalrsquos life cycle Any waste in the framemaking process is returned to the earth for use as fertiliserrdquo He has introduced lsquomade to orderrsquo to offer personalisation of the sunglassesArjun SagarldquoEyewear is more than just a pair of glasses it is also a way to express your personality and highlight face structure So we work with our customers to create glasses that fit We have taken a handson approach and designed our own software which generates a 3D model from a 2D drawing for viewing adding colour and sizing Taking measurements is an integral feature of the design software and enables us to produce personalised glassesrdquo Coco Lenirsquos glasses are priced between Rs 7500 and Rs 15000cocoleniinLearn about sustainable businessesIyer recording an episode of Mindful BusinessesIf you are a startup looking to know about your peers and how they overcame initial hiccups or a consumer looking for environmentallyconscious products Vidhya Ramaswamy Iyerrsquos Mindful Businesses podcast might just be the right listen for you ldquoWe seek out innovators in the business sector who have brought new green technologies to the market and find out their challenges struggles and pathways to success The stories are informative for business owners and revealing to consumers seeking green productsrdquo says IyerVidhya Ramaswamy IyerIn each episode she sets the stage with background information about the industry that the organisation operates in and then delves into the motivations and journeys of the founders Started in July 2019 the podcast is in its eighth season with over 71 episodes Iyer spends her time between Philadelphia West Lafayette and Mumbai and her podcast features businesses based in all these cities From Mumbai she has had Tania and Sujatha Biswas founders of Suta and Anamika Sengupta and Biplap Dutta founders of Almitra Sustainables talk about their businessesldquoWe look for authenticity genuineness and passion in the founders and for a business that employs sustainable social environmental and economic practicesrdquo shares Iyer who wants her listeners to pick up at least a few new practices around sustainability from each episode ldquoOur guests reach out to us or are recommended to us by our listeners We do extensive research about the environment they operate in and the mindful solutions they offerrdquoMindful Businesses on Apple Podcasts Gaana and SpotifyAn ode to Japanese art and historyMessenger with a Letter from the series Elegant FiveNeedled Pine by artist Kitagawa Utamaro Pic CourtesySaint Louis Art MuseumArt from Japan an Instagram page started in late 2017 by Copenhagenbased Christian Petersen showcases the most stunning collection of Japanese paintings and prints with details of the artists material period and the current home of the artwork For its curator a Philosophy graduate from the University of Copenhagen who has long been fascinated with Japanese history and culture the page began as a personal projectTracing the beginnings of this absorption he shares ldquoFor me as for so many others the real entrypoint into the world of Japanese art was ukiyoe woodblock prints which I found very striking and evocative in their ability to bring Edo period Japan back to liferdquo alluding to the period in Japanese history when art and popular culture flourished significantly Kitagawa Utamaro 17531806 known for his bijin kubie or ldquolargeheaded pictures of beautiful womenrdquo he shares is his favourite among the great Edo ukiyoe artists for his unique style and sensitive portraitsChristian PetersenThe page archives striking works by artists such as Shinsui Ito one of the great figures of the early20th century shinhanga art movement which revitalised traditional art after it began to decline with the advent of photography in the early 20th century Tosa Mitsuoki of the Tosa school devoted to yamatoe a classical Japanese style of painting and Soga Shhaku of the Edo period who distinguished himself by using an earlier style of brushstroke and painting mostly monochromesFor Petersen among the things he admires most about Japanese art is its closeness to nature and attention to the seasonal rhythm of flowers trees and landscapes He hopes to show contemporary artworks from living Japanese artists tooartfromjapan Instagram