About Us

About us

Studio Firdaus was born from the love of the handcrafted, honouring traditional skills perfected over generations. We create exquisitely designed and intricately hand-painted papier mâché objects, including décor boxes, coasters, festive ornaments and wall plates that blend traditional crafts with contemporary design to bring a timeless elegance to any space.

An intricate art form with its roots in Persia and Central Asia, papier-mâché craft traditions travelled to the Kashmir valley in the upper Himalayan regions of India. Papier-mâché craft traditions continue to be honoured by artisans in the valley who pass down this legacy over generations. Eco-friendly and crafted in small batches, every item is that we create has a story that is intertwined with the lives and families of our expert artisans in the valley who use intricate motifs and vibrant colours to create timeless masterpieces out of the pulp of discarded paper.

We believe that our craftspeople are at the core of all we do and we are committed to creating a positive impact on the lives of our artisans, as well as the ecosystem of the papier-mâché industry.

The brand name ‘Studio Firdaus’ is an amalgamation of two words ‘Studio’ and ‘Firdaus’. While ‘Studio’ is the English word for an artist’s workshop, ‘Firdaus’ has its origins in Arabic and Persian and means paradise, a word often used in reference to the valley of Kashmir. Bringing together a timeless craft and tradition with our modern day lives, we believe that our Studio Firdaus is where all the magic happens!

Design Philosophy​

Studio Firdaus stands for the preservation of the intricately handcrafted papier mâché art form that has existed for centuries in the valley of Kashmir.

This deep-rooted respect and appreciation for the craft forms the basis of our design philosophy, that believes in building on the existing portfolio of products and designs by infusing fresh energy into it and aligning it with contemporary aspirations, without taking away from the thos of the craft.

Design intervention at Studio Firdaus entails –

  • Design-based – our contemporary take on the creation of new objects while deploying the existing papier mâché manufacturing techniques to mould paper pulp into various shapes
  • Functionality-based – making minor modifications to existing products to re-imagine their functionality/use-cases
  • Art-based – introducing fresh design patterns to the existing collection of patterns that are intricately hand painted by our teams of talented Kashmiri artists on paper moulds 

The approach to design intervention is iterative and collaborative and considers both the creative as well as practical aspects of the process. 

The various elements informing the design intervention process include –

Creative thinking

Re-imagining the craft by pushing the boundaries of form, function and style

Expert validation

Validating and refining ideas, with experts from diverse creative industries

Market alignment

Listening to customers to seek inspiration for design innovation as well as to get feedback on prototypes.

Artisan feedback

Brainstorming with artisans to co-create design ideas, assess possibilities and explore innovations.