Exec Lifestyle?s Weekend Watch recommends and previews television shows, films and live events that you simply cannot miss! Check out our recommendations for this weekend (15-17 May 2015)

About Town:

Art connoisseurs have much to anticipated this weekend with a number of exhibitions ongoing and even back to back. ?Passages from Reclusive Conversations? is one of the solo painting exhibition being displayed in the city, that features a series of new work by Mahesh Baliga. He creates allegorical and often satirical paintings that challenge the standard comprehension of everyday scenarios. His work explores age-old paradoxes such as the fact that the pursuit of order often leads instead to disorder.

Don?t miss his alluring work displayed at Project 88 in Colaba.

Shopping:

Lifestyle and shopping destination Summer Souk is celebrating the sunny days at the Corona Garden through a pop-up gala for the city which could be one's getaway for the weekend. Here you will find a treasure box filled with edgy and colorful fashion clothing, and a range of  accessories,from bags and clutches and a lot more. The grand summer festival has been designed to create an upmarket shopping experience filled with fun, quirk and style.

They also have food stalls such as Raw Pressery, Spoonful, 8 Food, Live2Eat by Brijwasi, Georgian Deli (Keema Pav Fusion), Cup-a-lusious, FoodWhizz by Chef Shwetambari and the dessert factory. So ladies, go pamper yourself this weekend with a dash of ?sugar and spice and all things nice!

Television:

Star Sports 4:

The football fanatics have a busy week ahead, with some very exciting matches lined up. Though the Premier League pole position is already cemented by Chelsea, the battle for second slot is wide open. Amidst these ups and down comes one of the fiercest battle of English Football as the Red Devils Manchester United host the Gunners Arsenal in the theatre of dreams at Old Trafford. Catch the action on Star Sports 4, 8.30pm  in the evening.  

By Papri Das

With the advent of e-commerce and other related start-ups, one can see more and more women actively taking initiatives to set-up several business ventures, shrugging away the conventional notion that business is a man?s world. A fine example would be Funcart.in CEO Ritika Nangia. Her start up has been quite the talk of the town for providing innovative party merchandises online.

?Funcart.in being a unique party supplies portal brings to you unique theme based accessories for decoration and funky costume wearables,? shares Nangia, adding that the USP of Funcart.in is to make a party celebration memorable and fun through exclusive party items at an affordable price.

?Party supplies is still at a very nascent stage in India. With the standard of living going up and the youth of India constituting 1/5th of the total Indian population, parties have become the need of everyone. That?s the reason I wanted to set up an e-commerce venture, which would have good stuff at affordable prices, so that everyone can party without feeling the pinch on their pockets,? Nagia says putting the appeal for an all-stop online party shop into perspective.

She feels that there is a dearth of brick and mortar stores that caters to specific party needs such as pinsters party, adults birthday celebrations etc. ?The Indian market shadows our culture and is marked by sellers who shy away from kinky accessories. But here at Funcart.in, we don?t play by the taboo rules, and cater to people who would want to enjoy like ?seize the day?,? shares the 30 year old entrepreneur.

When asked if women have it easier to set-up e-commerce brands, Nangia replies in the negative. ?I don?t think that e-commerce can be defined as a platform, which is easy for women entrepreneurs. The biggest hurdles in e-commerce are primarily the logistics, which are general and irrespective to gender handling it. I would say a smart effort is required to run an efficient e-com business and women are best for it.?

Born and brought up in a family where women spontaneously took part in the family business, Nangia naturally had the makings of an entrepreneur. Therefore, right after her Bachelors degree in Commerce and studying exports and retail management from NIFT Delhi, she started her own leather bags label Rits and Prikar. ?But the label was under the family business group, and wanting to start something on my own led me to explore the idea of a online party accessories destination. And that?s how Funcart.in materialised in 2014,? she recounts. Now, almost a year old, funcart.in enjoys a fair amount of traffic and sells 200 units a day. But far from being complacent, Nangia aims to push the daily sales to a thousand units a day.

By Papri Das

Just like fashion, one?s home interior not only reflects one?s personality and taste, it also resonates the ideas of their time. Keeping that in mind, in this current high tech world one would expect that people who splurge on their homes are populating it with robots, gadgets, droids and the likes. However, interior designers catering to high-end clientele observe that there is a gradual inclination towards ?classic? style home decor -- more wood, earthy colours and elaborate designs.

Indiantelevision.com?s Exec Lifestyle spoke to well-known celebrity architect and interior designer Parag Pandya from Hauz Kraft to give us an insight into what it means to design a home for the A-listers, and the top trends that are emerging in interior designing.

Pandya has handled many executive and celebrity clients, including Amitabh Bachchan, Mukesh Bhatt, Emraan Hashmi, Sunidhi Chauhan, Javed Ali and more. Given the choice between designing a corporate space and a home, he would gladly choose the latter. ?It?s much more challenging and there is more scope to renovate. Each space has a different layout and therefore no two living rooms, kitchen or bedroom can be the same. As a creative person, it?s the natural preference.?

When Pandya walks into a new home, the first thing he notices in the living room is the sofa, and the decor around it. ?It speaks volumes about the resident?s taste. If there is a painting on the wall behind it, which is accompanied by a fawyer, it shows that minimalistic sophistication appeals to them. Similarly, if the interiors have darker hues and more earthy designs and furniture, it reflects that that while the residents keep up with times, they are more rooted. On the other hand, if you see colonial designs in someone?s house, it means that they travel a lot, mostly to European countries,? points out the interior designer, who prefers contemporary minimal when it comes to decorating his own office space.

?The colour palate of minimal contemporary is mostly pastels and subtle hues like beige and white. When it comes to the furniture, it?s more glass and metal (steel). Over the last few years, minimal contemporary has been the ?in thing? and we have seen some amazing innovation in design with just these,? Pandya explains.

However, the trend seems to be shifting. ?Rather than extreme minimal contemporary, recently people are going for a more fusion-like approach to it, where simple architecture and lighter hues complement elaborate furnitures. Five years from now, I believe that home decor will do a full circle and classic designs will once again be popular,? Pandya points out.

?I can already see the trend emerging. What's interesting is that with classic, one can not only do the tried and tested western classic designs, but also look within our country?s rich heritage for inspiration,? he adds.

Following are a few tips that can give your home a classic look:

1) Rajasthani Dewans:

Rajasthani dewan sets and ornate chairs, which are often used as props in traditional or period drama film sets serve as wonderful accents in homes. These chairs or dewans can be upholstered with rich cloth like velvet or silk in warm colours like red, orange or magnolia. You can also raid old carpets, sarees or bedcovers for the same.

2) Wooden Swings:

Full wooden swings inside homes have been a trend for a long time. Rich wooden swings are a fashion statement and a chill out zone in homes. These can be decorated with good looking fabric and cushions and you?re good to go.

3) Flower Arrangement:

Somehow, vases and flowers seem indispensable for living rooms. Nothing encourages positivity and radiates happiness in a family like flowers do. You could arrange long-stemmed flowers in vases, or put them in crystal bowls with water, or just have a lot of them in ceramic jugs.

Exec Lifestyle?s Weekend Watch recommends and previews television shows, films and live events that you simply cannot miss! Check out our recommendations for this weekend (8-10 May 2015)

About Town

If you are a 90s kid, then you were mostly likely witness to the Vengaboyz craze that swept the world with their sensational songs, and perhaps sung along to their ?oh so? catchy songs as a guilty pleasure. Well here?s your chance to relive those moments, as the very popular Dutch Eurodance group  hit the city in full throttle this weekend. So go Boom Boom Boom Boom with Vengaboyz live in Mumbai at Phoenix Market City in Kurla West this Friday at 7:30 pm

Movies:

After enamoring viewers with the quirky trailers, the multi-starrer and much talked about Shoojit Sircar movie, Piku is finally hitting the screens this May 8th. What makes Piku intriguing isn't only the array of highly accomplished and popular actors -- Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan Khan -- but the comedy Sircar promises to bring to the screen with them. Dont forget to book your tickets now, and enjoy a fun filled time with your family watching Piku this weekend.

By Papri Das

When South Korean expat and Shop CJ head of marketing Donald Kwag first came to India in 2007 for a market analysis, he was blown away by ?diverse cultures, legacy of great freedom fighters and beautiful landscapes.?

In a tete-a-tete with Indiantelevision.com?s Exec Lifestyle, Kwag opens up on the challenges he faced in understanding the Indian consumer, and his tryst with Hinglish

What made you come to India?

I was working in the marketing and new business development team for CJ O Shopping in Korea, when the company decided to expand their business overseas. And India was one of the important markets.  I was sent here in 2007 with my other CJ colleagues. We studied the market for about two years, and what we saw amazed us about this country. Based on our research, we launched our channel in 2009.

What are your chief responsibilities as the head of marketing?

In my current role as the head of marketing, Shop CJ India, I am responsible foR strategising business plans for the channel and the website. I am also responsible for analysing sales and marketing activities of the business vis-?-vis advertising, sales, promotion, public relations, product development, pricing and channel distribution.

How difficult was it to understand consumer behaviour in India? 

It was a challenging job because unlike other countries, in India, if you travel 100 kilometres - you see people with different language, culture, festivals etc. Needless to say the buying pattern also varies. When we came to India for the first time, we had a very limited understanding of Indian consumers; hence it baffled us even more.

To compensate for our lack of understanding, we did a lot of research, studied market reports from recognized agencies, travelled beyond Mumbai, and even visited festivals like the Kumbh Mela. That gave us a first-hand understanding of Indian customers and their behaviour.

How important is culture in dictating the buying pattern of a place?

Yes, culture is an aspect, which affects buying behaviour. Factors like buying season, decision influencers and product configuration etc. are a part of culture.

We have observed that especially in the case of female category products like saris, jewellery and cosmetics.

For example, Indian women tend to discuss and buy a product together with their sisters, aunts, neighbour or female colleagues. This helped us build a product configuration. We started making a multiple pack deal like a pack of 10 saris to sell on our channel. One would think that something like that would fail. However we started getting a very good response for the same.

How did you adjust to the work culture here? How different is it from that of Korea?

I work with a wonderful team here, even if there are language and culture barriers, they understand my vision and work expectations. 

South Koreans are workaholics, punctual and compliant. We work for hours and with pin drop silence at the work place. Also, in South Korea, people do not switch their jobs too often. Their average time spent in a company is at least five - seven years. Still, I like the kind of professional mind-sets and ownership that Indians have and hence it was not very difficult to adjust with respect to daily work life here.

How do you spend time beyond your work hours?

Shop CJ is growing with a fast pace and I always need to be on my toes. Hence most of my day is occupied with work. I spend around 12 hours in office on weekdays. I even come to office on weekends. I enjoy my work thoroughly. On Sundays, I make it a point to visit the church and sometimes I play golf with friends and colleagues. We used to hang out at the  Wellington Club in South Mumbai, and often visit Chinese and Korean restaurants in Bandra.

Have you adjusted to the local cuisine?

I would say that overall food flavour in India is similar to S. Korea. We also eat spicy food made with multiple stages of preparation. Hence it was not very difficult to cope up with Indian food. So yes, I have tried them. Moreover, my wife had been cooking Korean food for my family, so we enjoy the regular Korean cuisine at home.

Did you learn any Hindi during your stay in Mumbai?

Yes, if course. It was important for me to understand Hindi as our channel is Hinglish. I am familiar with frequently spoken words like Namastey, shukriya, thik hai etc. I even use them often.

By Papri Das

Just as you are pleased to receive a card that is enclosed in a beautiful envelope, design packages add value to a product -- be it consumer goods, services or digital applications. No wonder then that designing studios and branding agencies are some of the most sought after in the industry.

But fighting the bidding war to hire the top branding partners isn?t something every startup can afford. Having started off from being small players in the industry not too long ago, this is something that folks at DesignAren understand well. ?We understand the importance of working with startups. We are aware of the budget constraints and lay a platform that makes our design solutions more accessible in terms of reasonable pricing,? says Ritesh Rathi, one of the two partners at DesignAren, who also holds a Masters at Georgia Institute of Technology.

Backing him up, his partner Nirali Parekh Rathi adds, ?Our intent is to provide design services for corporations and startups alike who may have not considered design as tool to improve their product experience.? 

At a time when MNCs spend millions over packaging, does designing take priority over content? ?Yes and No! The packaging is a part and parcel of the experience of consuming a product. Good packaging can create a good first impression for a brand and its credibility along with differentiating itself from the various other competitors. Having said that, the content and product has to be able to carry itself forward to match the promise that the packaging or branding is making,? Nirali clarifies.

Over the last few years DesignAren has worked with brands like McDonald?s, Radio Mirchi, Jones Lang LaSalle, Brookfield Financial, ICICI Prudential and Citibank. ?As one of our first projects, we worked for McDonald?s India for their hiring campaign,? Ritesh recollects when asked about his most challenging project so far. ?It was a challenge to come up with a strong and catchy tag line that would become the over-reaching theme for the entire hiring cycle. The visuals asked for a direct message to all levels of employees that McDonald?s was looking to hire and that each position offered certain perks. After speaking to several current McDonald?s employees about their experience working at there, we came up with the campaign theme of ?@McDonalds I can.??

If you wish to enhance your prodcut with an attractive packaging, Nirali and Ritesh would be happy to help you with their experiences and thoughts on the sector. Since they have worked in the USA before starting DesignAren, they could possibly give you a global perspective too.