Sheela Venkatraman Lunkad Email & Phone Number

New Delhi And Gurgaon, India

Direct Create, founded by Sheela and Rajeev Lunkad is an omni-channel online and offline platform that connects local artisans to a network of designers and buyers to collaborate and co-create a handcrafted life across the world. Direct Create has access to 726 crafts of India and a pan-India maker network. Fostering a community of 15,000 handpicked artisans and designers, it works towards creating an organic connection between makers, designers and buyers. It also provides in-house curation to match varied client's ideas and concepts with quality craftsmanship. Direct Create operates out of New Delhi and Amsterdam. Some of Direct Create’s Mega projects include - Swadesh Bazaar for Reliance Foundation: Direct Create curated a unique experience, bringing the best of Indian arts and crafts and presented the audience with an immersive retail experience, building around a theme-based and utility-oriented spaces, over 2 days in Udaipur. An example - A 'Dining room' pavilion which consisted of handicrafts belonging to 25 craft-clusters from all over India, in place of the usual craft or region-specific presentation generally associated with crafts.SBU Management of Fab India: Direct Create managed the Home and Lifestyle SBU of Fab India, India's largest handicraft-based retail company. They developed a range of unique collections across various product and design categories. One such collection was called the Jal Mahal Collection, inspired by the Jal Mahal, a palace in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake in the state of Rajasthan, India. This a digital collaboration with an international designer, based out of UKDirect Create is currently working on thematic collections fort museum stores and heritage monumentsWebsite: www.directcreate.comInstagram: www.instagram.com/directcreateFacebook: www.facebook.com/directcreateLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/directcreate

Uttaranchal, India

Jilling Terraces -A boutique homestay in the hills of Uttarakhand, India. Over 8 years, Sheela worked with local artisans and community to both restore a 100-year-old house and build cottages applying sustainable architecture practices and using local materials. The idea was to create a unique eco-tourism opportunity for nature lovers and creating a sustainable and equitable livelihood for the local community. Tucked in the Himalaya’s South Gola mountain range, in a clearing amidst some 100 acres of lush forests, is Jilling Terraces, the latest feather in the hat of India’s eco-tourism industry. The main building in the estate, charmingly named Chestnut House, has recently opened its doors to offer unique home-stay experiences, combining a rare closeness to nature with simple modern luxuries.

Leveraging longstanding relationships with artisans and makers to create pop-up markets for festivals and conferences. Sheela has been curating the Craft Market place for the Jaipur Literature Festival from 2011 till date. Recently she curated a Makers Market for InkTalk 2015. Sheela has also advised few Craft Marketplace startups to achieve deeper connect with the makers.

Wainghani Village, Maharashtra

Turtle Beach Resort : A 'truly sustainable' Eco Tourism Luxury Resort project located along the idillic cusp where western ghats meet arabian sea in Sindhudurg District [South Maharashtra. India]. With a 200m exclusive beach front and just 1.5 Hrs from Goa airport, spread over 12 Acres of Alphonso and Cashew orchards and panoramic Arabian sea views. Its development will create a platform for introducing tourism into rural areas based on promotion of local cultural value. The resort once completed will transform the sleepy villages of Sindhudurg with a new inclusive development model form tourism. The Wainghani village is also a well known nesting beach for several endangered Sea Turtle varieties including Leather backs and Olive ridley's.

Direct Create was contracted By Fabindia Overseas Pvt Ltd to expand its home and lifestyle business and strategically position it as a Separate Business Unit looking at all aspects of design ,supply chain, procurement, distribution and revenue maximisation across India and global stores .

Jaipur Area, India

DAH Jaipur was one of the subsidiary companies of Fabindia working with craftsmen and vendors in the state of Rajasthan,india.DAH is a self sustaining company engaged in providing sustainable living and equitable employment to more than 2500 craftspeople and thus strengthening the supply chain for Fabindia Overseas pvt ltd.The company is owned by several stakeholders including the artisans and the employees.Working on the idea of sustainable livelihoods and back end supply chain management for Fabindia. we brought in 2500 stake holders from the regions in and around Jaipur .This helped establish a well defined market link up, revive crafts, create jobs, keep the jobs in rural areas and establish an integrated model for sustainable development with traditional handicraft. The company grew almost 300% during the 2 and a half year tenure.As head of Desert Artisans Handicrafts Pvt. Ltd ( DAH), a subsidiary of FabIndia, based in Jaipur, the challenge was to implement Triple Bottom Line accounting processes, incorporating artisanal suppliers as shareholders. Sheela worked towards creating an artisan co-owned company with more than 2000 artisan shareholders. This venture became part of a Harvard case study , and the company grew almost 300% during her 2.5 years’ tenure.

2007 – 2005] Head of Design – HomeWas responsible for design and development of all products in the home category – linen ,furniture and accessories: working closely with the Fabindia design / buying team and vendors across India. Fabindia Overseas pvt ltd [2005 – 2003] Store Design AdvisorDesigned and managed interior / architectural construction at some of Fabindia’s stores – including the 8000 sqft flagship store at Greater Kailash - New Delhi also designed and produced stores in Dubai, Guanzhou (China), Jaipur, Chennai and provided ancillary inputs to the other store expansions during these years.Conceptualized and managed the design studio for the home division at fabindia ; working on furniture,home accessories, and textiles.Started the home design centre at key retail stores providing interior design to customers looking for one stop solutions.

New Delhi Area, India

Rajeev Sethi Scenographers, New Delhi [2000-2003] ArchitectMy first foray into craft and artisanal skills was initiated and honed at RSS; treading unchartered areas in developing new materials and unique design solutions to give specific expression and meaning to every object.• The Living Exhibition on the “Silk Road” for the 2002 Smithsonian Folk Life Festival. This exhibition, produced in coordination with the Smithsonian Folk Life Institution, Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project Inc, The Aga Khan Trust For Culture and The Asian Heritage Foundation, included more than 400 artists, musicians and scholars from 24 countries along the Old Silk Route from Venice to Nara, on the national mall of the United States in Washington, DC. As an architect and textile co-ordinator of the team I was responsible for the designing, sourcing, co-ordination and production of some of the architectural and textile components involving around 500 artists, craftsmen, designers, contractors and design fabricators from all over India. I was a part of the team responsible for the installation of the multi-crore festival in Washington coordinating with the technical production team of the Smithsonian Folk Life Institution.

Management, Business Administration And Management, General

Bachelor Of Architecture (Barch), Architecture, 1 St Grade

12Th, English

Bachelor'S Degree, Architecture

Architecture, 1