Roopa Pemmaraju Expands Into Home Category
Roopa Pemmaraju is branching out.
The designer, who has become known for her elaborate and exquisite women’s collection handcrafted by Indian artisans, has now turned her attention to the home.
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Right before the holidays, Pemmaraju started dabbling in the category by quietly offering an array of colorful pillows. And now, she’s expanded into sustainably produced bedding, quilts and rugs that have been designed in Brooklyn and made by craftsmen in Bengaluru, India.
Botanical gardens from the three countries where Pemmaraju has lived — India, Australia and the U.S. — form the inspiration behind the motifs and colors within the home collection.
As is the case with her women’s apparel collection, each piece is created responsibly by skilled artisans who earn fair wages to support their families’ safety and education, she said. “Our artisans are truly the heart of our brand, and our utmost priority is providing compassionate, dignified work that helps their communities thrive.”
Brian Teburg
The materials are also ethically sourced. The duvet covers, for example, are made from cotton and linen; pillows and cushions from recycled cotton, silk and linen; and rugs handwoven using natural fibers such as wool, hemp and silk.
The home collection will launch on Pemmaraju’s e-commerce site on March 17 and retail for $200 to $400 for the pillows, $200 to $600 for recycled hand-made quilts, and $1,200 to $4,800 for handwoven rugs.
In conjunction with the home product, Pemmaraju also created a fall collection for 2022 that she unveiled online. The inspiration for the season was the colorful gardens she encountered during her travels through India and Australia that were more wild and less structured than those in the U.S. It brought back memories of the random flower seeds her mother scattered around her “whimsical garden” in India that resulted in an endless array of varieties and colors.
Brian Teburg
This resulted in the “Smara,” or “memory of the garden” collection, of “bejeweled botanical motifs” on skirts, flowy dresses, silk reversible coats and hand-embroidered velvets.
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