No Filter: Meet the hottest new interior designing trio in town

Cricketer Murali Vijay’s home décor is the talk of the town and to find out why, I caught up with the team behind it. Nikita Vijay, his wife, said, “I was in search of designers who could bring more to the table than the run of the mill stuff for the interiors of our home. That’s when I bumped into Bricks & Beams on a social platform and I could immediately connect with their work. The rest is history… They are great in delivering customised designs in line to your preferences. They have done a fabulous job with the interiors and are very detail-oriented when it comes to combining two genres of designs and delivering a seamless outcome. I’m really proud about my choice.” 

After a rave review like that, they have been bagging several projects from designing studios for fashion designers and corporates, residences for film stars and even for Ravichandran Ashwin. 

Dinakar Manie, Jey Manie and Ram Krish is the trio behind Bricks n Beams and have achieved all this in just a year. Dinakar has over 18 years of experience in the industry while Ram and Jey quit their cushy jobs in the US to come back home to start this passion project. Before this, they had only designed homes for friends and family but all that has changed and now, they are thorough professionals with a sky-rocketing career. 

They have a great eye for detail and their ability to repurpose antiques, personal curios, junk and trash into beautiful décor pieces is one of their biggest assets. Not all passion projects turn into successes but talent, hard work and playing to one’s strengths all while working with conviction does pay off.

There are several milestones in a fashion designer’s career — opening your own studio space is one of them — Suresh Menon did just that last weekend. He is a talented makeup artist and has been dolling up stars like Bindhu Madhavi, DD, Aishwarya Rajesh, Sneha, Oviya, Sanchana, Kiki Vijay, Raiza, etc. His makeup masterclasses usually have a waitlist. He launched his studio with a low-key party in true ‘Sura’ (Suresh) style; it felt like an ensemble cast party as all of these stars were hobnobbing and calling dibs on pieces from his latest festive collection. Models were flooding social media app feeds with pictures from this gala. 

It’s wonderful to have been witness to Sura’s journey from assisting a popular designer while in college. I remember him being incredibly sweet and helpful amidst the chaos that ensues backstage during a fashion show. He eventually trained to be a makeup artist and is very much in demand by brides and celebrities alike. His story will inspire many as he has worked hard to save up and set up his design space. With all of his multiple talents, slowly but surely his dreams will turn into reality. 

One such dream came true for him recently, when Venket Ram G, the photographer, shot his latest collection modelled by the beautiful Bindhu Madhavi. Sura was so excited and incredibly touched by this gesture and couldn’t stop talking about it for days — understandably so. The stars are lining up and Suresh Menon, the designer, seems to be finding his space and his voice.