Tracing its roots back to 1992, Aafrinish by Niazi, a household clothing brand came into being with the aim to promote traditional, subcontinental karigari. Aafrinish, which means creation in Persian, is famous for exquisite hand embroideries such as chikankari and kasheedakari on the finest of fabrics. After producing stunning designs from home, the Niazi family decided to open their first flagship store in Karachi after almost three decades.

According to Hassan Niazi, who is a partner at the concept store along with his brother Zaki Niazi, they decided to join this business last year and wanted to expand it. “With the support of our parents, we hunted down this amazing place. However, we didn’t just want to create a store. In fact, we thought of building a space where people can experience the pre-partition era. To put it in simple words, this store is not ordinary – it is really a time capsule to the pre-partition era,” Hassan tells Instep.

“We wanted to open up a space/commune where people would spend some time viewing, understanding and appreciating craftsmanship as well as value the culture and ethnicity of the subcontinent,” he adds.

The whole idea behind Niazis was to create a space where interactions are not so formal rather personalised, where artists and designers can exhibit their art and karigari.

Speaking about the ethos behind the store, Hassan shares, “It all started with the idea of creating a flagship store for our clothing brand. However, we came across this huge space which was like a ruin with very old school, aesthetic tiles. So, Zaki and I started exploring our options on what we could do with it.”

He further went on to share that the store is created in a manner where they have not only displayed their clothing line but also curated jewellery, homeware, and artefacts by different artists. “Everything is very detailed inside the concept store; from antiques to vintage tiles, chandeliers and the mirrors, everything has taken a lot of passion and love and we’ve gone out of the way to put all of this together,” explains Hassan.

Located next to Cafe Flo in Clifton, Karachi, Niazis is a labour of love, says Zaki Niazi. “We went with old pillars and floorings that have been restored – all of these things have taken a lot of time and passion. When we found this place, the flooring needed a lot of scrubbing and polishing. And we literally got down on our hands and knees and polished them, bringing them back to life.”

One of the ceilings is made of a carved wood, while another one has been crafted by weaving cloth where they’ve taken the strings and gone back and forth in circles to weave a pattern. “When you enter the store, there is a canvas which has our logo on it, depicting our ideology of creation. It is inspired by Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, which forms part of the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling,” informs Zaki.

There is a lovely courtyard outside the store where the Niazi brothers have built an old brick oven as they plan to open a small cafe in the coming months. “The old-school pillars in the courtyard, with a small brick oven, exude a pre-partition era vibe and gives a rustic feel. All the niches have hand-painted murals, that are inspired by Mughlai motifs,” explains Hassan, adding that the courtyard can also be used as an event space.

As far as displaying crafts at the concept store goes, Hassan says that they have roped in calligrapher Ruheena Malik to display her artwork. They are also planning to stock ceramic pieces by Raja Farrukh Nazir of Raja Pot Works. “Right now, we have Parwana who makes ethnic, handmade paper envelopes and diaries, and then there is Honey, I’m Home premium scented candles.”

When asked about plans of expanding, Hassan Niazi shares, “We have just recently opened a concept store here in Karachi and we’re waiting to see how it works here. Having said that, the response we’ve been receiving is great, even though it has been hardly a month since we opened Niazis. Let’s see how things work out here and we will definitely think of opening an outlet elsewhere in Pakistan. As of now there is no plan set in stone.”