Fiber Flats

Led by Vaidehi Lilladhar Thakkar, an interior architect and designer, Spaces, Things, Etcetera is a Pune-based multi-disciplinary design studio whose name doesn't mince words.

Our interest in them was piqued two years ago by the Etcetera, as Vaidehi does not simply design interiors and products, she also dreams up their materials. As a fibre artist, she’s created Fiber Flats, a unique material she’s spent the last decade developing that highlights the delicate beauty of everyday fruit and veg.

The textures of Fiber Flats can resemble anything from paper to skin, allowing the material a variety of applications — from lighting, to veneers, in objet d’art — their fibres, seeds, and shapes giving each variation its own distinct charm: think onion lace or bitter gourd leather.

In 2019 she collaborated with Nir Meiri, a British design studio to create Veggie Lights, in which the humble cabbage was elevated into a compostable lamp shape that celebrated its translucent marbled tones and intricate veins.

When we first met her in person, we had just listened to her speak for an hour and her words rang in my ear: people always want to spend more time with nature and bring it in more closely.

LOVER visited her at her home in Pune where she embodies that ethos: living amongst fresh flowers, potted plants and lighting fixtures made from the humble baingan. Read our interview to learn more.

Vaidehi, one thing that struck me about you is how you’ve loved nature from an early age 

I’ve been fascinated with nature — especially its intricacy and incredible symmetry — since early childhood. Growing up in small town Kerala, the long walks along the backwaters, the seashore, and hours spent exploring our sprawling backyard were nothing short of a wonderland for me. The flowers, the insects, the sea shells, even the seeds were for me treasures hidden in plain sight. Those childhood influences have left an indelible imprint that reflects in almost everything I do. 


Can you tell us about your background? What brought you to where you are today?

At 17, I moved to Ahmedabad to study Interior Architecture at CEPT (Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology) University, and then to the US.

While at CEPT, I got an opportunity to intern with Jacob George, and I dare say I made the most of my time spent working with him. Another significant period in my journey of discovery was the time I spent working at the Akron Art Museum. It was here I realised the difference between visiting a museum, and spending day after day in one: After a while, the eye starts seeing things that were invisible earlier. That they had a fascinating fiber art exhibition at that time was providence, I guess. 

It was these cumulative experiences that came together while I was working with Hasenstab Architects in Ohio. It was during this phase that I discovered my passion for fibres and took up courses in fibre art from renowned art schools such as the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine, the Cleveland Institute of Art, and the Art Institute of Philadelphia, while working a full-time job. 

By 2010, I felt I needed my own avenue of expression, so I moved back to India and started Spaces Things Et cetera. My training in varied natural materials art led me to experiment with fruits and vegetables. The textures and patterns of these appealed to my sensibilities, and thus came about ‘Fiber Flats’. 


How would you describe Fiber Flats? What are some of the processes it takes to achieve such a unique material?

Fiber Flats are cross-sections of fruits or vegetables arranged in a specific manner that are treated to create surfaces for interior applications. 

The making of the Fiber Flats is a long process, ranging from 15 to 25 days, with weather playing an important factor in determining how long this takes. The required vegetable or fruit is cut into slices a little less than a quarter of an inch thick. Then they are processed with water-based adhesives and treated to confer anti-fungal properties. Lastly, they are left to dehydrate until the sheet is devoid of all moisture. Fiber Flats are made in our workshop. However, the assembly of the final product can also happen on-site. 

Being a visually engaging material with its patterns and textures, I mostly let this material do all the talking. To begin with, once the application of this material is finalised, we start by choosing the type of Fiber Flat to be used. With over forty types to choose from, this usually takes some time and is a critical part of the design process.

Once this is done, the experimentation within the material itself begins – using the material in multiples or in sheet form, how maximum strength can be derived from inherent fibres for a particular form and so on. Then we move on to the actual production.


What are your aims and also some of the challenges you’ve faced when working with Fiber Flats

My ultimate aim has been to adapt best sustainable practices during the lifecycle of the material. Starting from the sourcing of fruits and vegetables to the longevity of the final product. This in itself has been a challenge. Finding farmers that believe in this, adapting to varying weather conditions and finding the best protective coatings out there that do what they are supposed to do are some of the many challenges that have been trying.


What’s fascinates you most about fruits and vegetables, and thus working with them?

At heart, we all admire nature, and often try to bring nature into our spaces. Some hang pictures of waterfalls or flowers or birds, some put real or artificial flowers in their vases, some have nature inspired prints in their upholstery or wall paper, and so on. This is my way of bringing nature into spaces; a way of perceiving nature in a different light, with all its perfections and imperfections. The most fascinating thing about Fiber Flats is helping people connect a bit more closely to nature; get up close and personal, allow it to mingle with their personal space. Sometimes all it takes is a little peek for a whole new world of possibilities to unfold.

The making of Fiber Flats requires a lot of pivoting at every stage- right from conceptualisation to its manifestation. In this process, the material demonstrates its multi-faceted characteristics. The stubbornness, moodiness, cooperativeness etc all come to the fore.

This only makes Fiber Flats feel alive, humanly relatable and fascinating.


What do you think are some of the possibilities with this material? What are some of the ways you have used Fiber Flats in the past?

Being a fairly versatile material, possibilities with this material are immense. Lighting elements, furniture, partitioning screens are some of the many applications that can be explored further with this material.

I have created flat surfaces and curved surfaces with Fiber Flats. I have managed to mould them without the use of a base structural material. Surface enhancements such as dyeing and printing have also been used over Fiber Flats.

For the collaboration with Nir Meiri Studio, Veggie Lights were made out of red cabbage Fiber Flats. Mimicking and retaining the actual form and also retaining the haptic perception of a cabbage was our intent. We wanted to explore an organic expression; hence highlight nature’s perfections and imperfections through our design.


Why is it important for you to retain your voice as a designer rather than simply turn into a manufacturer?

Being a designer at heart, manufacturing is not something that is relatable to me. Mass production, numbers are things that get involved when manufacturing. This is something that I would rather stay away from. More than anything, I need to get the joy of creating something new every time rather than replicate one design that has been standardised.  


What does the future hold for your studio?

The future seems promising and exciting as I am in the process of developing more products out of Fiber Flats. We would also like to keep an inventory of ready products for fellow designers to choose from.

Follow Vaidehi’s work via her studio website and on Instagram @spacesthingsetcetera.