Since our inception in 2019, Kam Ce Kam has been a furniture and interiors brand that has walked the fine line between innovative design and traditional manufacturing methods. And while we may be young on the surface, we bring to this highly competitive industry millennia of inspiration and passion.
The heritage of Indian furniture and its craftsmanship is a long and compelling one and we aim to bring it to homes all around the globe. Our local artisans use age-old techniques to handcraft everything we make. And we only make to order.
Whilst having various local connotations in Hindi, “kam ce kam” essentially translates into English as “at the very least”. For us at Kam Ce Kam we feel that at “at the very least” we are simply the start of your creative vision. Our furniture and furnishings in your space can be utilised by you and not dictated by us.
Our Indian inspired minimalist approach to designing home interiors allows our customers to enhance and create as they see fit. We firmly believe that ‘less is more’ when it comes to design and, so we focus on creating timeless quality.
Our inspirational founder Jehanara Knowles grew up in both the bustling urban hubs of New Delhi and London. Through her dichotomy of experiences we are privileged to bring you furniture and interior designs that embody this blend of two vastly different places. Our pieces are a convergence of British Traditionalism and Indian Minimalism all with an eye on traditional Indian methods of manufacturing.
Our founder knew from a very young age that she, “wanted to be in the world of design”, having had parents in the industry. Art and design were always passions of Jehanara’s, so her education included many painting and sculpture classes at school. She studied Architecture at Central St Martins and upon graduation Jehanara moved to an interior and architectural design firm in London. After 5 years dealing with home interiors, with one major project being in New Delhi, India, she decided to work between the two cities. This unique dual exposure to styles led Jehanara to realise the incredible resource India is, and thus Kam Ce Kam was born.
“India is a country of vast talent and rich materials,” says our founder. “Often you will find a cane weaver that comes from generations of cane weavers, a potter who comes from a village of potters, or a timber carver who has learnt the trade from their father. The resource of making and materiality in India is immense – I’m surprised that more people aren’t celebrating this.” Kam Ce Kam wants to bring this generational knowledge of furniture design and interiors to your home now.
Growing up in New Delhi it opened Jehanara’s eyes to the unique opportunities and resources of crafting in India. She reflected on the fact that there is, “a system in the chaos which takes patience to learn, but once you do, the possibilities are endless.” Indian craftsmen are unrivalled in their passion and even mistakes can appear beautiful. Combining this Indian perspective with life in London, Jehanara was constantly surrounded by the best of both worlds of design that pushed her as both a designer and business owner to create inspired and practical pieces for Kam Ce Kam clients.
In terms of specific influences, Jehanara credits modernist Bauhaus pieces from designers like Marcel Breuer, Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier, in particular Le Corbusier’s pieces from his time in India. Their various visions commonly focused on a belief that “form follows function”. At Kam Ce Kam, you will notice almost immediately that we prize function and practicality over gaudiness and industry trends. We know your home is first of all a home, so while style and being unique are important, we still want your furniture and furnishings to be useful to you, and not just to be looked at and admired. It all comes back to what Kam Ce Kam means in Hindi, “at the very least.”
The shared learning Jehanara experienced is fundamental to everything we do at Kam Ce Kam. From India we bring the intricacy and the nuances of handmade craftsmanship and from the UK we bring the knowledge of best practices and attention to detail.
Our customers can expect to see a multicultural blend of eclecticism. Kam Ce Kam is an amalgamation of materials, heritage, inspiration and details. You will recognise what each piece we create is, but be in awe of how it was crafted and the unique individualism of them.
What inspires a Kam Ce Kam home you might ask?
You can expect to see beautiful arrangements that won’t overpower the senses. Continuity of ‘flow’ is important for any living space and we aim to design our furniture and furnishings accordingly. We like to think of pieces as making subtle statements, a passive impressiveness if you will. Minimalism and sophistication are qualities our furniture simply exudes.
Kam Ce Kam has always had one eye on design founded in traditional values, yet with a modern sensibility. We know the earth is not just ours and we are merely passing through. All the timber Kam Ce Kam uses is sustainably sourced. Any stone, leather or cane we use is fused with seat cushioning that is made from coir, a natural coconut fibre. Any marble we use are off cut pieces only.
So you may be able to understand by now that we are far more sustainable than the competition. Our cane products are hand woven and timber is always hand carved. We like to rely less on machinery and more of an old-world styled craftsmanship. We are authentic in what we do and sustainable in what we source.
The packaging we use is all recycled materials and when it comes to what we make, we only make to order. That means we don’t waste a single resource.
To maintain our Indian heritage, we employ a number of Indian artisans so we can create exceptionally authentic furniture and furnishings for years to come.
Kam Ce Kam means “at the very least”, but what we create is anything but the least.
