Shefali Javeri – Founder, Shefali Javeri & Associates
Since 1999, Selafi Javeri & Associates have been delighting customers through her bespoke interiors after gaining relevant work experience in its domain. As a child, she was always curious about shapes and formation of every object. How different objects took their form, and further these forms resulted in the formation of different spaces would rattle her childish mind then. Later this further led her to take up architecture as her professional career.
While there isn’t dearth of expert interiors in the market, Shefali Javeri’s venture specializes in working on creating bespoke interiors for residential and commercial spaces. She calls her offering as “Therapeutic Interiors”, which means creating of spaces based on human psychology. This takes into account the likes and dislikes of every aspect of light, colour, form for every individual’s space that are created, which adds a personalized décor for every project designed by her firm. Residential and commercial spaces like restaurants, offices, education establishments etc are their core strengths.
According to Shefali, the fine detailing and space management created by them, gives the much-needed touch of a visual and practical touch to every space they design. However, in this line of business, understand clients and their taste is very crucial. As a result, working closely with them with perfect transparency actually helps. Post pandemic, the entire business dynamics have changed. And as a responsible designer, the team’s moto is to grow the business in leaps n bounds by creating more and more spaces curated for an individual’s therapeutic environment.
Shefali considers Architect Charles Correa as her inspiration. He always believed that nothing is impossible, and that’s the core strength she takes back from his words in her practice today. He was celebrated for his sensitivity to the needs of the urban poor and for his use of traditional methods and materials. However, as a woman entrepreneur, the zest to leave an impact on the society, encouraged Shefali to start her own business.
Shefali’s professional acumen comes from her strength which she gathered on her entrepreneurial journey. According to her,
“The struggles I faced yesterday, are my strength today. Every experience has taught me new strategies and learnings to grow the business. Dealing with contractors, commanding work as a woman were some of the challenges I faced, and working on with new strategies helped me overcome them.”
She feels that young like-minded team members, who are as passionate about designing were the essential needed to begin, and a positive attitude, to carry along always. The future looks promising for this line of business. Study of the rising real estate, re-ascertains the need of creating maximum use of minimum spaces, which was a huge opportunity for a designer like her. The ability to create therapeutic interior spaces, and the drive to create a unique experience for every individual’s requirement, in the given timelines makes her firm most unique.
Among all the projects she has done so far, a restaurant made on a Greece city concept at Kalyan is close to her. She of the opinion that learning is life’s ongoing process, or its more like you don’t stop breathing, and so is the same towards the process of learning. The most important learning is to be people sensitive along with being design sensitive. To the newcomers in this line of business, she suggests that – enjoy the journey of designing, and let the destination just follow.
The recipient of Blinkwink Excellence Award 2020 & being nominee for the top 100 women achievers award (Foxclues India Prime Awards) gives a different level of high which she cherishes. We wish more such awards and accolades cross her path, as she keeps wowing with her unique design concepts.