In Bed With… Prateek Jain & Gautam Seth

Prateek Jain and Gautam Seth are the creative forces behind Klove: a Delhi-based boutique luxury practice that specialises in custom lighting solutions.

We enjoyed being let in to their gorgeous 4,000 sq. ft home-studio which reflects their deep knowledge of light, form and space: 

What gets you out of bed every morning?
Prateek: We’re morning people. I wake up by six, work out and take piano lessons. By 9.30am, we’re both ready for the day.

What’s it like living in a home-studio?
Gautam: Amazing. We’re blessed to be able to work where we live.
Prateek: During peak season, it becomes a creative madhouse because we’re usually working on a new collection. Otherwise, it’s a regular office.

 Nighttime routine:
Prateek: We finish work by 6.30pm. To relax, we play with our dogs and watch TV. Three-four times a week is dinner and drinks with friends.

Midnight snack?
Gautam: Chocolate ice cream. Sometimes.

How did you start designing objects of illumination?
Prateek: We started Klove in 2005. The installations came into being because we wanted to tell stories through our collections. Only then does it evolve from a mere object into something substantial. 

How important are materials?
Prateek: When you get used to a single material, you want to keep working with it. We’ve started pushing ourselves to experiment with different materials.

“It’s important to have a leitmotif in your work, but it stagnates when there isn’t an evolution in your design language. One must constantly evolve.” – Gautam

From shamanic symbolism to tropical explorations, where do your ideas come from?
Prateek: Most of our work is inspired by elemental energy or nature. The fact that we don’t come from a cookie-cutter design background helps us think out of the box. 
Gautam: When you start looking in a particular direction for creativity, you tend to find it. 

“Gautam is very intuitive and most of his ideas are internal. I look outward for experiences that inspire me.” – Prateek

Tips for better sleep?
Prateek: Have a drink before bed. My poison of choice is tequila.
Gautam: Switch off your phone.

Favourite mood to create through light?
Gautam: We like creating things to be a part of our lives in that very moment. We were all about black earlier, and are now moving towards white. 

Artists who inspire you?
Gautam: Jeff Koons. 
Prateek: The Campana Brothers.

Photo Credit: Rema Chaudhary

 Biggest takeaways from 2019? 
Prateek: 2019 has been a year of complete change. A new office, renovated showroom and set up of a state-of-the-art factory. We’ve also had some big exhibitions and projects.

What does 2020 hold for Klove? 
Gautam: We want to go global: Middle East, London and Miami. Our new showroom opens in January 2020. It looks like everything is going to get bigger for us.