Shwetha Surendran By Express News Service CHENNAI: If you’re a collector and have one of those boxes filled with little gems and quirky trinkets from lands afar, only to spill it and have it fill a room in an aesthetically pleasing haphazard way, you’d get The Button Thief Co. With a classic three-panel window framing the centre of the little boutique, this space is flooded with sunlight, breathing new life into its vintage and reworked pieces of furniture. Looking around, whether it’s the pale-yellow sewing machine desk in the corner or the large branch that hangs down from the ceiling acting as a clothing display, you know that they all have stories to tell. And so, meet their storyteller, Swathy Jagannathan. You might know her as the designer behind the labels, Studio Bhang and Ila, but Swathy’s eclectic career path and travel experiences culminate in full at The Button Thief Co. “While I was working in films, I began making little tops and blouses for myself, and before I knew it, I had quit my job and launched my label,” she recalls. Having started Studio Bhang in 2016, and Ila subsequently after, pieces from both collections find a place in her little shop of curiosities, which is otherwise sprinkled with bits of home décor, bath powders and of course, lots and lots of buttons. “I am an avid collector of little thingamabobs. Buttons, clothing tags, pretty threads; they all end up in my big box and now the store,” she says. “It’s become a little problematic now when customers walk in and want to buy one of the items, I find it terribly hard to part with them,” she adds with a laugh. A baby blue lamp from Trunk Box, reworked from a pillar at an old Chettinad House, sits atop her windowsill. It does have a price tag on it, but I’m convinced that the next time I walk in, it’s going to be at the same place. It’s all a part of Swathy’s little treasure cove now. Having just relocated the store a month ago, from Nungambakkam to Adyar, The Button Thief Co is still her work in progress. A passionate traveller — Jordanian camel hair rugs, Balinese straw bags and mosaic art are all collectables that have seen the insides of The Button Thief Co over the years. But in the next few months, Swathy has bigger plans. “I already have a few of my mom’s bath powders on display, and I want to add a few more to the line and call it ‘Mother knows best’. Apart from that, maybe add a little pastry corner and a nice variety of fun stationery. It’s all my favourite things under one roof,” she says with a blissful smile. So if you’re ever in The Button Thief Co, and you’re asked to answer Marie Kondo’s trademark question, “Which of these items sparks joy?” The answer is obvious. Everything. For details, visit Instagram page: @thebuttonthiefco_

Stay updated with all the Chennai Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.