Stem Design

Stem Design is an independent design studio based in Noida, India, founded by Aman Bhayana and Sugandhi Mehrotra. Working across furniture, lighting, sculpture, and domestic objects, the pair explore how design can create emotional connections within everyday life. Their practice brings contemporary forms into dialogue with Indian craftsmanship, developing tactile pieces that encourage people to engage more closely with their surroundings and the objects they choose to live with.

Personal memories and observations inform the studio’s approach. Bhayana draws on the contrasts of New Delhi, where historical traditions coexist with a changing urban landscape. Mehrotra’s childhood in a courtyard home in Lucknow shaped her sensitivity to light, air, texture, and the atmosphere of a room. These experiences underpin a shared interest in objects that carry feeling and meaning, with the design process often beginning through an intuitive exploration of form and material.

Collaboration with Indian artisans is central to Stem’s work. Skilled makers participate throughout production, contributing techniques and knowledge that help translate an initial thought into a finished object. The studio treats the relationship between idea, hand, and material as an ongoing exchange, allowing the individuality of handmade work to remain visible. Through this process, traditional skills find new applications in contemporary furniture and lighting, connecting cultural knowledge with the practical and emotional demands of domestic life.

The Ito floor lamp exemplifies this approach through nearly two thousand fine cotton threads suspended from a handcrafted brass frame. A concealed light source illuminates the threads, which respond to passing air and give the piece a changing, almost animate presence. Other projects explore the expressive possibilities of metal, including Fragment of Home, a series of sculptures handmade from recycled aluminum. Across these works, texture, movement, and the traces of making become integral to the experience of the object.

Stem was selected for The Dwell 24 in 2023 and received the lighting award at the Indian edition of the ELLE DECO International Design Awards that year. Its work has been presented at India Design, Dutch Design Week, and Animism at Alcova during Milan Design Week 2024. Features in Dwell, Architectural Digest India, and Leibal have explored the studio’s evolving practice, bringing attention to its combination of craft, storytelling, and functional design.

Stem Design’s complete catalog available upon request.