These Two Siblings Create Coveted Handmade Trunks in India. Here’s How They Get Made.

Brothers Priyank and Paritosh Mehta are on a mission to bring the bygone aesthetics of steamship travel into the 21st century. Trunks Company, which they founded in Jaipur, India, in 2011, offers everything from stylish steamers to elaborate bar cabinets to vaults for fine watches and jewelry. A discerning international clientele has caught on: Notable commissions have included an installation at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace hotel and projects for Qatar’s royal family.

Each handmade example draws inspiration from Jaipur, and even the company’s flower logo is derived from traditional jali, the latticed architectural screens popularized in the 16th century. Nearly all of the trunks’ elements are designed or manufactured in-house, from the bar tools to the drawer knobs.

“In India, there’s no one who does trunks,” says Paritosh Mehta. “India has a very different dynamic than anywhere else in the West. And doing luxury, doing things that are unusual, is very difficult.”

Still, the brand has built its name on creating intricately crafted pieces. Its made-to-order designs allow you to choose the fabrics, hardware, and other details and are produced at its 16,000-square-foot atelier. For fully bespoke requests, Mehta says, “we prefer meeting one-on-one so we can understand our clients, their lifestyle.”

Each trunk can take up to eight months to complete, with lead times and prices increasing for larger sizes and special materials. A Pipe and Chess Bar Cabinet, which made its U.S. debut in November at Salon Art + Design in New York and can be seen here, ranges from $60,000 to $85,000.

“A lot of our clients find them to be functional works of art,” adds Mehta, “something that’s not only there to be ‘hung on a wall,’ but also to be used and passed down from one generation to another.”

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