Hey there!
We’re Viv and Ami, the duo behind this whimsical adventure.
The Wishing Chair, named after our favorite Enid Blyton book, started as a small experimental passion project and has blossomed into a national home decor and gifting brand.
Imagine two women now in their 40s, navigating the chaotic business world of India with humor, cake, and a whole lot of heart.
A long-time friendship that grew into partnership
We’ve been friends for over 20 years and started this company over a decade ago, making it work against all odds. Ami is the left-brained list-maker, solving problems and kicking ass, while Viv is the right-brained dreamer, adding creativity and whimsy to all our designs.
Over the timeline of The Wishing Chair, we have seen each other through the vagaries of starting up and keeping hope. We have learned the value of connection brought on by vulnerability, the love required to tick by the same clock while moving, sometimes, at different speeds, each of us with wholly different needs. And yet we are creating something greater than the sum of its parts, the fruit of our collaboration emerging directly from the friendship itself.
A Thrifty, Bootstrapped Adventure
We’ve bootstrapped our way up, learning everything on the job without any formal design or retail training. It’s not always been sunshine and rainbows (though we love both), but a few storm clouds as well — COVID lockdowns, flooding warehouses, store space shuffles, and contending with countless mansplainers.
But we show up with courage, honesty, and light-heartedness: this is the secret sauce behind The Wishing Chair.
the reads & feeds
Two things we enjoy the most are
“our newsletter and the Viv & Ami Book Club.”
the Newsletter
The newsletter began as a COVID distraction, sharing our favorite internet finds.Now it’s a monthly curation of internet ephemera and some of our day-to-day peccadilloes we like to share as women entrepreneurs
. We love the heaps of emails we receive in response to these, it keeps us connected and inspired.
the book club
The book club started to keep us accountable to read a book a month instead of just scrolling Insta or binge-watching Netflix. It’s now a cozy literary party for book lovers who share our passion for the written word.
Email us at vivandami@wishingchair.in if you want to be a part of either.
Join us as we work to make life more artful, one story, one creation, and one thoughtful gesture at a time.
With love, laughter, and a sprinkle of whimsy,
