Sunday Monday, a textile studio founded by Brendan Kramer and Nisha Mirani, has launched their first full pillow collection called Kanso, which embodies their design values as well as their cultural heritages. Kanso, one of the seven principles of Japanese zen philosophy, means the elimination of clutter to promote well-being. The collection is named after this principle as a tribute to Kramer’s Japanese background and Mirani’s Indian heritage.
While the pillows are designed in New York City, they are crafted by hand in Rajasthan, India, using a traditional block-printing technique. The process involves carving the block designs into local teakwood, while the linen fabric is washed, dyed, and prepared. Skilled artisans from a fifth-generation family farm then carefully imprint the designs onto the fabric. The size of the block prints requires a unique skillset, and even changes in weather can affect the production timeline. After drying under the Rajasthani sun, the textiles are washed, dried, and finished.
Inspired by Isamu Noguchi’s iconic Akari lamps, Kramer and Mirani incorporated the lamps’ elegant silhouettes and simple materials into their pillow collection. The architectural lines found in the collection reflect the bamboo framing of Noguchi’s lamps. Negative space is used to accentuate the vibrant colors of the dyed linen, while the collection showcases various dualities such as light and dark, sun and moon, and circles and squares.
If you are interested in purchasing pillows from the Kanso collection, you can visit shopsundaymonday.com for more information.
Photography credit: Aaron Bengochea.
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