Ananta on Not Being Defined by an Outsider’s Gaze
After a couple of years of Instagram stalking, I had the pleasure of meeting the sister-duo behind Ananta Design Studio, Viveka and Rucita Vassen, earlier this year. Our Cape Town Furniture Week exhibitions were housed in the same building and when I had the opportunity to sneak upstairs to see their work, I was blown away. Their signature beaded vases and crocheted video cassette tape seating were displayed on a shiny red fabric backdrop—I can still see the fabric dancing in the summer breeze when I close my eyes.
Besides the obvious colourful visual punch, Viveka and Rucita’s work also stood out to me for its refined quality. Keep reading to find out how they weave the vibrant coulors and textures of both Africa and India into their work.
WHERE ARE YOUR ROOTS? We have roots in both South Africa and India. South Africa is our homeland where our parents and we were born, while India is our ancestral motherland. Our grandparents on both sides of our family were born in India but came to South Africa at a relatively young age. We recently discovered that our paternal great-grandfather played a pivotal role in assisting Indian families with settling in South Africa. He would travel between India and South Africa on the ships, accompanying those in search of brighter futures. For us, this explains a lot about our pull between South Africa and India, feeling a sense of home in two places, and wanting to weave both heritages into our work.
TELL US ABOUT WHERE YOU CURRENTLY LIVE? We were born and raised in the Indian Community of Rylands in Athlone, Cape Town. In 1994, just after the [first democratic] elections, we moved to Claremont in the Southern Suburbs, where we are still currently living. We love living in the burbs, it’s a calm and quiet area surrounded by trees, mountain views and visits from the neighbourhood guinea fowls.
DESCRIBE WHAT YOU MAKE AND WHAT YOU’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT. We create joyful design. At the moment our focus is on decor, lighting and furniture, but being a multidisciplinary studio means this could lead us to other forms of design too…
Our dual heritage has shaped what we make and what we are passionate about. We have a deep appreciation for culture and heritage crafts, which has led us to re-imagine traditional crafts into playful and functional collectible pieces for contemporary spaces. Our glass beaded lights and vases play with the vibrant colours and textures of Africa and India. Our mirrors adorned in telephone wire showcases African craft in a new light, while our seating pieces crocheted from upcycled audio and video cassette tapes bring a sense of playful nostalgia to spaces. Each of our pieces is a joyful blend of colour, pattern, and storytelling, creating a sense of celebration, connection and community. We have found this creative journey has allowed us to honour our roots while growing in bold new directions.
HOW DOES PLACE INFORM WHAT YOU DO? Place shapes everything we absorb—the colours, people, culture, and mood. It becomes the lens through which we create. Growing up in South Africa, surrounded by both natural richness and cultural complexity, we’ve inherited a deep appreciation for storytelling, symbolism, and craft. Our work is a reflection of this layered environment: vibrant yet grounded, joyful yet intentional. Place isn’t just a backdrop, it’s a constant source of guidance and inspiration.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON AFRICAN DESIGN? African furniture design has really started to take shape and make an impact in recent years with a strong emphasis on cultural identity. Designers are experimenting and innovating with sustainable materials, natural fibres, and repurposing waste. What’s exciting is that African design is no longer being defined by an outsider’s gaze: it's being shaped by local voices, stories, and aesthetics that are deeply rooted in place and heritage. There’s a boldness and freedom to it, a refusal to be boxed in. It’s not just about form or function, but about meaning, identity, and community—and that’s what makes it powerful.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PART OF YOUR PROCESS? Experimenting with craft techniques and incorporating them into new designs is our favourite part of our process. It’s the freedom and playfulness of the creative process that excites us! It’s in these moments of exploration—testing materials, pushing traditional techniques in unexpected directions, letting accidents lead to breakthroughs—that our most joyful work emerges. It’s also where collaboration with our artisans comes alive, turning a spark of an idea into something tactile, meaningful, and beautifully made by hand.
TELL US ABOUT A LOCAL UNSUNG HERO. Nuun has just launched a beautiful collection of interior pieces made from waste and ethically sourced materials, and we’re obsessed! We’ve followed their journey for years and love how they’ve evolved from eco-friendly packaging to fashion, and now into furniture and art. Their work feels like part of a new design wave, while also echoing the spirit of one of our all-time favourite South African creatives, Heath Nash. Like Heath, Nuun embraces a playful, experimental approach and reimagines reclaimed materials into beautiful, unexpected forms. They’re taking sustainability to new heights, turning waste into wonder!
WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT FOR THE FUTURE? We’re excited to venture down a new creative avenue, creating conceptual art pieces that also incorporate craft techniques. This will allow us to further explore our heritage and the possibilities that open up when craft, culture and contemporary art meet.
Overall, we're looking forward to pushing boundaries, building deeper relationships with our artisan partners, and sharing African design stories with the world in ways that feel bold, joyful, and full of heart.
Connect with Ananta Design Studio on Instagram here.