Meet Sarita Subramaniam, Founder of Kai Kraftz, who designs classy yet whimsical lamps for modern spaces by using only reclaimed wood, repurposed materials and traditional crafts sourced through eco-friendly choices. Each piece is an inimitable functional objet-d’art—shaped by human hands and imbued with emotions. Located in the foothills of Sahyadri in Karjat, Maharashtra, Kai Kraftz is a unique artisanal design atelier, born from Sarita’s reverence and fiery passion for Indian handcrafted artistry.
Remember the antiquated brass tea kettle with a spouted neck and swing handle? Its weathered surface spoke unspoken tales from generations of handling. Once a staple in the Indian kitchens of yesteryears, it is still a common sight at many humble street-side tea stalls. You may mostly come across different metal versions of this vessel at your favourite chai tapri or chaya kada (local lingo for tea stall), brewing hot tea through the day’s hustle and bustle. Indeed, they are strong nostalgic reminders of the vintage ware.
So, does the very mention of tea light you up and get you going? But here’s someone who literally lights up the lamp of her imagination with a tea kettle! Yes, you read it right, a brass tea kettle for a lamp. Well, if that’s mind-boggling, hold on. She doesn’t stop at that. There’s the brass cylindrical tiered tiffin carrier (dabba), milk can, oil can and copper modak patra too! All vintage utility ware designed along with reclaimed material and heritage looms and set into splendid and chic lamps.
Sarita Subramaniam – Lady with the Lamp & Her Fiery Passion for Handmade Artistry
Meet Sarita Subramaniam, Founder of Kai Kraftz, who designs an amazing ensemble of classy yet whimsical masterpieces of lamps. One of her artistic creations is named Vijaya. The lamp is crafted with a brass kettle, featuring a curved spout, arched handle, and a fitted lid, mounted on reclaimed wooden roundels. What serves as a magnificent contrast is the shade made with a traditional hand-pleated Kanjeevaram silk. With its lustrous weave and zari border, the shade brings in a colour pop element to the patinated brass below.
The fabled Aladdin stumbled upon a lamp that unleashed magic. Lo and behold, nothing short of a magic is Sarita’s creation Srivalli! The fabric of the shade is made from abandoned cocoons collected from the hills of Meghalaya. The traditional Ryndia fabric is handspun and handwoven by women of the native communities of the North Eastern state. And then comes her ingenious touch. She uses a ceramic pickle barni (bharani or jaadi) from a very different region of India as an object of illumination. The vessel rests on a tiered wooden plinth finished in lime green and indigo-blue mineral pigments. A calibrated brass connector accommodates the electrical assembly.
“Each piece is an inimitable functional objet-d’art—imbued with emotion, shaped by human hands, and defined by understated elegance,” explains Sarita.
Kai Kraftz, a Luxury Artisanal Design Atelier Nestled in the Foothills of Sahyadri
Located in Karjat, Maharashtra, Kai Kraftz is a luxury artisanal design atelier, born from Sarita’s reverence and fiery passion for Indian handcrafted artistry and decades of her antiquing through rural markets and exhibitions. “Kai Kraft’s creations resonate with discerning patrons, from individuals wanting to elevate their homes, retreats, or workspaces with refined pieces, to designers and photographers seeking evocative settings, as well as cafes, luxury hotel, boutique, and all connoisseurs of artisanal heritage,” she explains.
People often ask Sarita why she chose to design table lamps. And she always quips, “Why not? Lighting affects our mood much more than we credit it to.” Sarita further adds, “Kai Kraftz is rooted in the belief that true luxury lies in authenticity, rarity, and meaning. It stands at the intersection of heritage and contemporary design, reviving materials and crafts of the past for modern spaces.”
From Dentistry to Artistry – Choices Rooted in Sustainability, Handmade Heritage & Wildlife Conservation
Sarita’s vibrant childhood memories of visiting her ancestral home centre on spending hours at this one favourite spot – the attic. She would be mesmerized by the kitchenalia, including the generational idli patra and copperware pooja patra.
A dentist by profession, she is a diehard wildlife lover and an ardent conservationist by conviction. She has travelled extensively across the bio diverse forests of India along with her husband Dr PV Subramaniam, a practicing Periodontist.
After 30 years of dental practice, Sarita quit the medical profession owing to certain personal choices, driven by health-related reasons. This was a turning point in her life. Reclaiming her strength, she chose a very different calling—one rooted in sustainability, conservation and a deep connection with nature. What began as a personal passion gradually evolved into a full-time commitment to handmade heritage and wildlife conservation.
In 2020, the couple moved out of Mumbai, to settle down at their farmhouse in Karjat, a city in the Raigad district of Maharashtra. Five years on, they started the art studio and began curating handcrafted lamps and art collectibles. While Sarita executes the complete ideation, conceptualization and designing of the lamps, Dr Subramaniam extends his technical and logistical support in sourcing materials and coordinating with carpenters and technicians involved in the lamp making. They share a mutual admiration for handmade arts and are champions of wildlife conservation and sustainability goals.
Ethos & Aesthetics Shaped by Sustainability
As Sarita believes in the ethos of sustainability, only reclaimed and old wood is used by Kai Kraftz so that no tree is cut for making a lamp. Whether it’s the interiors of her home, her former clinic or the design elements of her lampshades, the materials are always sourced through slow intentional and ecofriendly lifestyle choices. “Over the last two decades, we have avoided using new wood/ plywood/ veneers and instead relied on sustainable reclaimed wood for our interiors. Obviously, the same sustainability based ethos ooze into Kai Kraftz lamps where only reclaimed wood and repurposed utilitarian household items make for quirky modern day lamps,” describes Sarita.
“My husband and I designed our dental clinic, our erstwhile flat in Mumbai and our present farmhouse which is our primary residence with the help of a contractor and in-house carpenters, masons and electricians. Guess we cut our teeth on the interiors in our home and clinic before we started creating the artisanal handcrafted Kai Kraftz lamps,” she amusingly reflects.
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Dr Sarita Subramaniam and Dr PV Subramaniam are founders of Earth Brigade Foundation (EBF), an NGO established in 2017. Its flagship initiative is Project Aquarius which donates sustainable and renewable energy based solar powered pump set installations inside forests to provide drinking water for wildlife especially in the critical summer months. EBF’s women empowerment initiative, Pink Brigade provides sanitary napkins, often biodegradable sanitary napkins to underprivileged women and young girls in and around forested communities.