Here in Nicobar’s Treehouse (“garden studio” to some), we’re often sniffing around for swatches, for stories, and for inspiration. Easy to do, when looking out of the expanse of windows along the length of our workspace it is easier still to lose yourself for a tiny moment, forgetting that you’re anywhere close to Delhi’s rumpus.Divya Kapoor is our head of design for the Travel line, working closely with her team, Garima and Shivranjini, and her own ties with the Treehouse began before we’d even moved in, when the facade was being painted. On a cigarette break, her gaze fell on one lone leaf, splattered with ribbons of paint. Those textures, of paint both wet and dry trickling along the leaf’s veins sparked a moment of inspiration. And so it was gingerly picked, scanned, and (we can’t say exactly how) has found its way into something you’ll only see next season.Dogs, indigo, Buddhism, design (of course), colour reference and design books, and more recently, painting: these are a few of Divya’s favourite things. Her journey to Nicobar began at a course in display design in London, which led her to Good Earth’s doors in 2009, and the swim over to Nicobar was a quick and natural one, at a time when this brand was still just an idea waiting to be made real. At the time her brief was, “think organized travel,” and from there springs the ethos upon which so much of our Travel line is built, that there’s a bag for everything. “Our travel collection isn’t only about things you wear to travel in, but about multi-functional pieces that you’d use while holidaying as well. Pack less, pack right.” Plus that display design course has played a much bigger role here at Nicobar than she’d ever have dreamed when a student in London. If you’ve walked into any of our stores and looked appreciatively at the visual display: that’s Divya, and she credits that style and finesse to those days spent as a visual merchandiser with Good Earth. “When you practice visual merchandising you’re putting together the designs and creations of so many different people, and from storyboard to end consumer, it’s a very different space”, she said.

Divya’s favourite Nicobar product? “The Mukayu Gym Bag from the travel line. I’m very proud of it as a piece that’s really been thought through.”

Find a selection of the Travel products below and shop the entire line here.