Local design studio Ananta

With a focus on functional art with a local twist, the creative duo behind local design studio Ananta, is championing local crafts and communities.

Founded by sisters Viveka and Rucita in Cape Town in 2022, Ananta is known for its colourful, playful designs inspired by South Africa’s vibrant energy, culture and people, as well as the sisters’ ancestral land, India.

“Just before lockdown, we started a business travelling to different destinations to source and import handcrafted home decor and fashion accessories. We returned from our first buying trip in India, but a month after our shipment arrived, we went into lockdown. With travel no longer an option, we were hit with a major curve ball,” explains the pair of how Ananta came to be.

“We put this business plan on pause and took the opportunity to reassess. With the time and space to explore our creativity, we were reminded that our first love was designing. We realised our ultimate dream would be to establish a design studio that allowed us the freedom to explore all sorts of creative projects across design disciplines. Being passionate about the volunteer work we do in our space and time, it was equally important for us to build an impact business that economically empowers under resourced communities and positively contributes to the environment and a more conscious world.”

The sisters’ passion and talent were recognised from the start: in 2022 they unveiled their first collection at Decorex Cape Town as part of the CDI’s Handmade Collective Pavilion. In 2023 they were named the Design Indaba Emerging Creatives of the year which was followed by an impressive order from a New York client.

“To us, design means making magic! It’s what gets us excited and gives us thrills! It allows us to bring life to all the ideas in our imagination and spread joy, fun, colour and celebration to people and spaces.

“Design is also our channel to create a visual language that represents our African and Indian identity, our cross-over of cultures, where we fit in and how we can leave our mark. By working with under-resourced communities, design is a powerful way for us to empower other artists and uplift them economically, which brings so much more joy and meaning to what we do. We are so happy to be able to do all of this through the wondrous and magical world of Ananta.

Today, their designs, including furniture and lighting pieces, as well as a range of woven handbags, can also be found at Merchants on Long and Always Welcome in Cape Town.