Charu
Ghandi
Charu Gandhi had an upbringing many would dream of, travelling to all corners of the world with her family whilst being exposed to art, culture and talented artisans on the way (writes Jason Bailey). It’s no surprise then that she has surrounded herself with a multicultural team at her award-winning design studio Elicyon, made up of people from East Europe, Scandinavia, Asia, Africa and America.
Talking to Charu, it’s clear she’s got her head screwed on – the office and family life run like well-oiled machines – but it’s comforting to hear she also has frantic-duck-feet moments too!

WHERE DID IT ALL START?
SO HOW DID IT EVOLVE INTO INTERIOR DESIGN?
WHAT MADE YOU TAKE THE PLUNGE AND SET UP BY YOURSELF?
DID YOU HAVE A BACKUP PLAN?
HOW DID YOU CREATE THE ELICYON BRAND?

DO YOU EVER MISS PURE ARCHITECTURE?
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR DREAM CLIENT?
DO YOU THINK OVERALL IT’S A SUPPORTIVE INDUSTRY?
I think it’s potentially less difficult to break into than others, which is a good thing. I think we could still do more on diversity; there’s always more to be done. But broadly, I’d say, certainly towards me, it was very supportive.
WHAT CLIENT CHALLENGES DO YOU COME UP AGAINST?
For us as a team, the day-to-day aspects of running a job – our bread and butter – we know what to do. It’s the human side of it that can pose the challenges, where clients can get anxious. This is where we bring our true skills and experience in helping to reassure clients; reminding them of the processes, reminding them that we’ve done this hundreds of times and that it’s always worked out, but also acknowledging how they’re feeling at the same time. For clients, it can be frustrating if they don’t get the acknowledgment that it is a scary process.
WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN?
A PIECE OF ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE?

SO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THE MOMENT – SLOWING DOWN OR SPEEDING UP?
IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND DO ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY, WHAT WOULD THAT BE?
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL MONDAY?
AND IN THE EVENINGS?
HOW ABOUT ON THE WEEKENDS, DO YOU HANG OUT IN CHELSEA?
SO WHERE WOULD YOU SUGGEST A DATE NIGHT IN LONDON?
Ah, date night in London. We had a memorable date night at an amazing restaurant called Māos, opposite Shoreditch House (sadly it’s closed now). You entered through a tiny, discreet door and then upstairs the restaurant is quite an experience – only 20 seats. But it was a gastronomic journey, very inventive, not fussy but interesting food and just beautifully done.

AND HOW DO YOU GET HOME – BLACK CAB OR UBER?
WHAT IS THE LAST FILM THAT YOU WATCHED?
WITH A TAKEAWAY?
We really avoid take away because we’ve learned they stay around the hips, it’s a lasting legacy. During COVID when it was hard to get hold of groceries, I started planning what we were going to eat so that I could source the food. And that turned into a thing – in the week, we tried to eat two vegetarian meals, one meal that’s fish, one that’s white meat, and only one that’s red meat. We would avoid beef because of the environmental impact. So I’ve now got about 30 weeks’ worth of weekly menus that I’ve created on Excel! We just work through them sequentially, and then back again. So, no takeaways!