Kasera 1

The KASERA seating collection is the fruit of a creative collaboration between architect-designer David Joe Thomas and tape basket weavers and cane furniture weavers through a sharing of their respective knowledge systems. The colour partnerships of the weave, the central feature of the seats, were developed with weavers from Karaikudi. The usage and combination of colours are intuitive to them because of their background in weaving baskets as well as the larger context of colour representation in other aspects of their region, from clothing to architecture. 

For KAASH this collection is our brightest tryst with colour yet. These seats work beautifully in all sorts of contexts; they're multifunctional, and can be commissioned in various colour combinations to represent different personality types. It is a versatile set, one that recollects the confidence with which Indian design has always dealt with colour.

The structure of the seats is a series of intersecting planes to enhance the flat graphic quality of the checkerboard weave. Using planes as arm rests and structural supports also allows for a larger visual field for the weave. The collection uses the half-inch tape as a repetitive unit, while its modularity is inspired by the way the baskets are presented usually—as a family of sizes, from big to small. The seats can be commissioned in a selection of ten combinations to represent different personality types. 

The form of the KASERA collection has been inspired by the Indian charpai. And much like that traditional design, these pieces are also multifunctional and can be interpreted as either seating, shelving, or even a combination of both. The tape is made from plastic—the same material the weavers use for the bags. As such, the pieces in the collection can be used both indoors and outdoors.