Corners of Creation: An Inside Look At Prashant Kanyalkar’s Out-Of-The Box Workspace

Must-haves on your desk….
Coffee, coasters, and a laptop streaming Netflix.

Three things you can’t do without…. 
My plants, my computer, and my office help.

The one thing you had in mind when you set out to design this space….
To get away from the routine of a ten-to-six job.

Favourite corner in the workplace….
The spot that I sit at by the window, where the sunlight streams in.

Favourite go-to products and designers….
Samir Raut from Studio 8.23 helped me with the overall space. I’m not big on brands; I prefer functionality and character over labels. My interiors are something I tend to build with smaller accessories and graphics rather than large pieces of furniture. Most of what’s in my office was picked up from markets in Oshiwara. Two of the chairs, in fact, my office boy found at a junk store for just Rs 50 each! I had them repurposed and they’re still being used, and look great. I did design some furniture of my own though, like the Aata Bus! chair in my office. I also love Japanese calligraphy brush pens, I have too many.

Places that inspire you…. 
Bookstores. I can spend hours in them.

One thing you would like to change about your studio…. 
The perception that it’s always ‘happy hour’ around here.

What drew you to this particular space? 
A one-floor walk-up to a quaint, quiet villa certainly beats having to walk past security scanners and waiting in serpentine elevator queues to get to a centrally air-conditioned office cabin.

The most coveted object in your studio?
My collection of toy dogs.

People’s reactions when they visit the space….
“Do you ever do any work here?”

A typical day at the workplace is….
I get to the office between 8 and 11 a.m. depending on my work load, or how the night before turned out. There’s no real time to leave; could be early evening or late at night, depending on who shows up in the evening. But I try and sneak in a nap when needed — just 30 minutes. It’s a great productivity booster, I justify to myself.