puducherry footwear from used tyres art installation from discarded vinyl records and soft toys from strips of cloth from tailoring shops puducherry is dotted with small boutiques displaying work by talented local designers but the products come with a twist it always has a sustainable edge to it local boutiques like ovoid divaart kasha ki asha or even kalki offer products with an ecofriendly edge quirky fusionled and functional these are products that are unique to puducherry which is fast transforming into a design hub with a conscience divaart a city boutique owned by local designer divya goswami features paper art which recycles scrap paper into installation pieces bricabrac and even jewellery goswami who did a course on accessory design from niftdelhi and fashion technology from institut francais de la modeparis started out when a friend who makes stationary out of handmade paper approached me to help her design some jewellery with scrap paper like most local designers her ideas are born out of her childhood years in puducherry and her work stints in europe puducherry has people from all over the world who come here inspired by sri aurobindo and the mothers philosophy and choose to live with a certain kind of awareness and consciousness towards nature and life she said thats why when people come to shop in puducherry what sells best is what the city is good at pottery incense aromatherapy craft based and organic products and alternative food items she said the latest addition to puducherrys green design bandwagon is a furniture collection from local design studio ovoid founded by architects neelratan and supriti mittal the studio which has been handling endtoend design solutions for the past ten years has now launched a furniture line made entirely from reclaimed wood the signature line which is currently being showcased at the local furniture boutique yaka is the work of eclectic designer biswa rout whose local roots have mingled with his training experience in countries like japan to create a fusion of contemporary styles yaka the boutique where ovoid furniture is being retailed is also known for its quirky collectibles often made from recycled material like vinyl records the boutiques in and around puducherry and auroville from kalki to living art to kasha ki asha cover everything from home dcor to garments with a peculiarly puducherry twist of eco friendly design take kasha vandes ngocumcaf kasha ki asha the popular store not only sources its products from the villages around puducherry as part of a selfhelp ngo but also stocks a unique range of soft toys made from leftover material in the citys tailoring shops puducherrys ecofriendly credentials are perhaps best promoted by its most wellknown brand import hidesign over the years we have stuck to our credo of vegetable tanned and hand dyed products and refused to use chemicals said dilip kapur founder ceo hidesign