Murubi
Jaymin Panchasara & Shwetha Iyengar

2024 GODREJ DESIGN LAB FELLOW

  • Murubi is a contemporary, design-driven brand based in India, specializing in crafting exceptional furniture and products. Guided by the belief that good design enhances and elevates everyday life, the brand focuses on creating timeless, utilitarian pieces that foster appreciation for one's surroundings and promote contentment. Formerly known as Skai, Murubi rebranded in late 2023 to reflect its evolving identity. The name blends 'Mulu/Muru,' meaning complete and wholesome in Tamil, with 'bi,' derived from 'be,' signifying life and presence.

    Every product is carefully handcrafted in India, with a strong focus on timelessness and utility. Beyond their functional appeal, Murubi's products transform into storytellers, weaving a narrative that transcends generations and trends. The brand champions circular design, considering how products can be replaced, upgraded, and how materials are used today. Circularity is central to managing limited resources and ensuring a sustainable future. Sustainability, for Murubi, is not an afterthought but the foundation of its design process.

    Murubi's recent exploration centers on water hyacinth— a fast- spreading plant that disrupts freshwater ecosystems. Through the Godrej Design Lab Fellowship, the studio has showcased the untapped potential of this renewable fibre, transforming it from an environmental challenge into an opportunity for innovation.

    Traditionally used in basketry, water hyacinth holds promise for diverse applications, from furniture to biofuels. By broadening its use, Murubi aims to promote sustainable practices, raise awareness of its versatility, and contribute to ecological restoration through “eradication by utilization.”

From the GDL Team

In a sea of sameness, Shwetha and Jaymin’s work stands out in the growing design-brand scene. Beyond their contemporary-but- approachable visual style, there is deep thought and attention to the typically unseen: how materials come together, how products are packed, assembled, and how parts are, eventually, replaced.

We were quite interested in how this commitment to “the whole” would be applied in their new and evolving collection. It has been really exciting to see how at-length, on-site trips have enabled them to go beyond just using an invasive species within designs but to come up with ways to use their eye for design and technical details to use and add value to what other brands consider “not usable” and undesirable.

Uncovering the Problem
Designing a Way Forward

Water hyacinth is one of the most invasive plant species in the world and has been suffocating freshwater sources like rivers, ponds, dams, and lakes, making them unsuitable for commercial uses.

Water hyacinth is one of the most invasive plant species in the world and has been suffocating freshwater sources like rivers, ponds, dams, and lakes, making them unsuitable for commercial uses.

In recent decades, it has become a sustainable resource for producing various home products like laundry baskets, table mats, and storage bins. It is not only natural and renewable but also possesses unique characteristics, making every product distinct. The stems of water hyacinth serve both the economy and ecology effectively, integrated into various products. By broadening the range of crafts and homeware that utilize water hyacinth fibre, artisans and designers can raise awareness about its potential and encourage more sustainable consumption practices.

  • A common variety water hyacinth
  • Map of the world; the green stuff must be land

Water Hyacinth has sparked our imagination for a different future—one that tackles this issue by innovating new, practical products. How can we utilise this invasive species to benefit the environment? Can eradication by utilisation be a way to help this situation? Can it be the next weaving material alongside cane, bamboo, rattan?

  • Give this woman a raise

    To bring our ideas to life, we partnered with Rope Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. in Kuchampatti near Madurai, India’s largest direct manufacturer and exporter of handmade natural fibre baskets and lifestyle products. Rope produces over a million handmade pieces annually, engaging over a thousand women artisans and workers across multiple product categories. Women form the backbone of the company as the primary weavers, and Rope upskills them by teaching weaving techniques to craft home products and accessories from natural fibres.

    In this project with water hyacinth, we have explored its versatility by creating seats, rugs, and even incorporating it into textiles. However, working with water hyacinth stems presented unique challenges. Compared to other natural fibres like cane or jute, water hyacinth has weaker tensile strength, requiring complementary materials such as metal frameworks, banana fibre, or cotton thread to add strength and structure. Additionally, the stems are not uniform in size—narrow at one end and broad at the other. So we twisted them to create uniformity while enhancing their character.

    Many repurposed materials are praised for being reused, but the actual reuse rate often goes unnoticed. With water hyacinth, for example, up to 80% of the lot may be discarded due to variations in stem colour and size. This can shift the focus from reducing the plant’s presence to meeting the demand for its use, potentially increasing its production instead of solving the problem. To address this, we experimented with dyeing the fibre using azo-free dyes, which are environmentally friendly.

    The whole point of dyeing is to make use of the entire lot rather than discarding the stems with irregular colours. By dyeing them, we can utilise almost 85% of the harvested stems. To our surprise, the stems absorb dyes beautifully, allowing us to achieve vibrant blues, greens, and browns.The result of these efforts—dyeing, twisting, and weaving—is our new collection, Maarum, which combines the organic elegance of water hyacinth with the solidity of natural wood.

  • She busy. Please do not disturb.
  • A water hyacinth after marinating in water
  • This is what it finally product looks like

The Maarum Collection

The Maarum Collection, named after the Tamil word for “change,” includes a stool and a bench, offering various seat and wood options. It celebrates the timeless elegance of wood paired with the versatility of woven or wooden seats. The design strikes a balance between straight and curved lines, brought together through thoughtful and clever construction. Crafted from solid wood, the collection emphasizes the natural texture and richness of the material, enabling transformation in its expression through a curated selection of woods, finishes, and weave materials. True to its name, Maarum embodies adaptability and the beauty of change.

All the pieces that make up the table

The Maarum bench evolved naturally from the stool, echoing its seat design in a deliberate, rhythmic pattern. Designed with modularity in mind, the bench is made in parts—its seats, legs, and frame are separate components. This construction not only allows for customization but also makes the components replaceable and repairable, significantly extending the life of the furniture piece.

  • The tables, standing proudly on all fours

  • Design

    Murubi


    • Jaymin Panchasara
    • Shwetha Iyengar
    • Jack Allfrey
    • Yash Mistry

  • Production

    Rope Enterprises Team


    • Sreejith Nedumapully
    • V. Sooliyathaiya
    • S. Priya
    • K. Murugeshwari
    • P. Murgeshwari
    • P. Vanita
    • N. Sumathi
    • P. Jeyalakshmi
    • Govindhraj

  • Material

    American Hardwood

    Export Council


    • AHEC India
    • Richard Wilson
    • Roderick Wiles