our story
Every start has a story, a purpose.
Mianzi is a purpose-led home décor and furnishing brand that is working to revolutionize and redefine sustainability through reimagining designs with our planet in mind. All our designs are hand-engineered and are made by our family of heritage artisans from small villages of India.
A polygamy of craftsmanship, technology and sustainability, each product carries untold stories of a material that has deep roots in the history of India; of bamboo; of people who hold generational passion for the craft and have almost lost it; of a product that has empowered hundreds of families - now bringing a meaning, a connection to your home.
The inspiration for Mianzi began in a rickshaw repair shop, where a young child observed the beauty of simplicity in design and the efficiency of simple solutions. As a kid the founder often visited his grandfather's rickshaw repair shop with his father. While helping him with small chores he used to observe the simplicity of the design of a cycle rickshaw and the bicycle in amazement. The way the repairs and restoration were made with on spot unique solutions mostly by hand inspired him and made him wonder about the efficiency of simple ways. Bamboo as a material has been a fillip in his design philosophy & is reflected as a polygamy between sustainability, contemporary aesthetics, and cultural heritage.
Mianzi X Madhya Pradesh State Bamboo Mission
MIANZI is working in association with Madhya Pradesh State Bamboo Mission (MPSBM). Working under the National Bamboo Mission (NBM), MPSBM encourages and boosts the growth of quality bamboo, bringing in skilled artisans from all across the state and training them to promote competent designs that could capture national and international markets by making available advanced tools and equipment. MPSBM further enables MSME’s to create value by providing them with manufacturing resources and insights into recent trends. Working on international standards, MPSBM is propelling bamboo to become the perfect raw material - which is sustainable and is being industrialized, while promoting and nurturing all its subsidiaries and underlings to elevate.
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eco-conscious
When we think about our environment, we find a deeper connection with generational traditions - materials which understand nature better than us. At Mianzi, we allow the natural character and texture of the raw materials to speak for the planet while honoring local customs and traditions.
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artisan made
Every product, each basket we sell has hours of craftsmanship, a face, a name, a story behind it. Your every purchase helps us bring meaningful income for the family of artisans who made them, creating opportunities for skill building, financial empowerment, and independence.
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hand-engineered
The relationship between an artisan, the raw material, and a thoughtful hand-engineered piece creates a story, a distinct connection that is magnified with our self-invented techniques which honors traditions and help artisans to reinvent their process.
earth-friendly. empowering. inventive.
As an ardent advocate for planet-friendly, contemporary fair trade, and ethical products, Mianzi works with local communities of artisans in a gender-neutral environment, to empower them with thoughtful fresh designs that are made by integration of their time-honored craftsmanship with technology.
sustainabili-ze industrialization
MIANZI’s vision is to revolutionize the way sustainability is seen and used by bringing India its first eco-friendly yet aesthetic bamboo-built options which are individualistically revolutionary. Mianzi aims to sustainabili-ze industrialization by coming up with products that attain both competitive edge for similar products whilst reaping benefits for the environment.
what do we believe in?
Mianzi aspires to cogitate bamboo as a possible sustainable-industrial product while accrediting the heritage craftsmanship of local artisans. The objective is to rethink the whole architecture of a product from its geometry to the details, so as to recognize bamboo as a more efficient and futuristic raw material.
Why Bamboo?
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strength
The sturdiness of Bamboo ensures maximum strength, hardness, and stability to all products. When compared to wood, bamboo fiber is 2 3 times stronger than timber*. Maple wood is one of the densest and strongest hardwoods, yet bamboo is stronger while still being quite a bit lighter.
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sustainability
Harvested from fully sustainable and rapidly growing forests, bamboo is an environmentally friendly, renewable resource. Bamboo is one of the earth’s fastest-growing plants that grow to maturity in 5 years or less. While other hardwood species take 10 50 years to grow back**, new shoots of bamboo come up and mature in just five years. Harvests are possible every second year for up to 120 years, with a yield 25 times higher than timber hardwoods like an oak tree, which takes at least 40 years to mature before harvesting.
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more oxygen
Bamboo is one of the best plants on the earth to sequester carbon with its unrivaled capacity to capture carbon. It also releases about 35 percent more oxygen than equivalent stands of trees***.
awards and recognitions
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TRENDS EXCELLENCE AWARDS
BEST FURNITURE DESIGN, 2019
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ELLE DECOR
YOUNG TALENT OF THE YEAR, 2019
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LEXUS DESIGN AWARD
BEST FURNITURE DESIGN, 2019
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AMBIENTE TALENTS
GOOD DESIGN, 2020
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DESIGN X DESIGN
20 UNDER 35, 2019
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INTERNATIONAL BAMBOO DESIGN
BEST PRODUCT DESIGN, 2021
how are we doing it?
To be considered a semi-industrial material, the bamboo has to be re-shaped into flat sections. One thing we realized about bamboo is that it has high flexural strengths which can be used for bending and further applying for creating various shapes while integrating with the geometry. To be able to work bamboo with a lot of design possibilities, we created our own methods by tweaking existing industrial machines. When we finally got perfectly flat, long sections along with the fibers of bamboo we started exploring the material, examining its technical aspects while designing and prototyping. To make the project as realistic as possible, we also developed a few industrial machines dedicated to the work of bamboo bending. The machine is based on existing industrial technology; it is an assembly of different systems to create an efficient tool. While experimenting with the material, we were able to conceptualize the various possibilities to industrially produce the prototypes.
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how do we ensure sustainability?
At Mianzi, our designers makes a learning connection with each artisan, fostering genuine relationships to ensure that the traditions are remembered and honored and highest levels of dignity, respect and social responsibility are upheld as we work with these heritage communities of artisans. This connection allows us to trace each product from concept to completion, ensuring that the sustainability is maintained in a manner that is in line with today's lifestyle and that no damage is done to the environment.
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our extensive family of heritage artisans
We work directly with our artisans to create modern products while respecting, preserving, and protecting traditional artistry. We embrace slow design and artisanal production. We ensure fair and prompt payment with all of our artisans
who is getting benefited?
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employment
India has the second-largest reserves of bamboo in the world. Leveraging this can spur gainful employment and income generation especially in states like Madhya Pradesh, Assam, and the rest of North East India, which have more than 75% of India’s bamboo reserves and where bamboo is an intrinsic part of the local culture. The local craftsman is draining to more developed cities in search of employment that can revive their vanishing dexterities and gain employment in their localities while breathing a new life to their ancient craft, by creating designs that resonate with today’s consumers.
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ecosystem
Featuring an unrivaled grow rate, Bamboo captures greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide and releases 35% more oxygen into the atmosphere than an equivalent stand of hardwood trees, and requires no chemicals to thrive. It can easily grow in arid regions and its roots remain in place after harvesting where they prevent erosion and help retain nutrients and preserve vital moisture in the soil for the next crop. This renewable resource has versatile applications, thus leaves very little waste.
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consumers
Imagine a product you can assemble in a matter of minutes on your own, has impressive aesthetics, is resilient, can efficiently decrease your carbon footprint, and is budget-friendly! The products leave the user with a sense of joyous satisfaction, feeding their creative cravings with a sense of belongingness, thus, increasing the desirability factor. Enthused with the concept of Hedonistic Sustainability, these bamboo products attain a competitive edge for similar products while reaping benefits for the environment, setting sustainability a default challenge to every innovation.
Our Journal
View all-
Bamboo Lamps Redefining Sustainable Decor
Home décor is no longer just about aesthetics—it’s about making conscious, eco-friendly choices. As we search for ways to infuse our spaces with beauty, comfort, and environmental mindfulness, bamboo decor...
Bamboo Lamps Redefining Sustainable Decor
Home décor is no longer just about aesthetics—it’s about making conscious, eco-friendly choices. As we search for ways to infuse our spaces with beauty, comfort, and environmental mindfulness, bamboo decor...
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The Coronal Loop: A Fusion of Tradition and Fut...
Designers and architects continually push the envelope of possibilities, merging the past with futuristic visions. Enter the "Coronal Loop," an awe-inspiring bamboo installation created by Mianzi for Amit Aggarwal's 2024...
The Coronal Loop: A Fusion of Tradition and Fut...
Designers and architects continually push the envelope of possibilities, merging the past with futuristic visions. Enter the "Coronal Loop," an awe-inspiring bamboo installation created by Mianzi for Amit Aggarwal's 2024...
