It’s been a long, slow journey, but Paradise Road’s first pop-up in India is finally here. Udayshanth Fernando’s iconic Sri Lankan homeware brand will be visiting Mumbai for three days, but the idea has been in the air for years. “I’ve received at least five requests a month, for decades, asking us to open stores all over the world,” shares Udayshanth’s daughter, interior designer Annika Fernando, who runs the PR Concept Store and a design label called Maus. “When I was younger, I had all these grand ideas about how to grow the business. But now, I truly appreciate why my father didn’t. Once you venture overseas, you have to trust someone else with your ‘baby’—and that’s always been a challenge,” adds Fernando, who is currently in Mumbai for her pop-up.
Paradise Road is no stranger to forging new paths: in the ’90s and early ’00s, the brand expanded to include a boutique hotel, an art gallery, and a café. But going abroad has always been something the team has approached with caution—until now. Why the change of heart? “When Anaita [Shroff Adajania, who collaborated on the pop-up with pop-up curator The Living Room Story] approached me with this opportunity, my father was initially very hesitant,” Fernando admits. “But we trusted that this was a partner who would truly respect and care for Paradise Road’s identity.” Moreover, Paradise Road isn’t just about retail—it's about spotlighting Sri Lankan design and craftsmanship on a global stage. “We’re about creating a platform that represents local designers and artists—we have the ability to share their story internationally. If we become part of Sri Lanka’s story, I think that’s pretty good.”
Fans of the brand can expect to find all the motifs that have become synonymous with Paradise Road—hand-painted ceramics, geometric patterns, and batik prints—but will also bear witness to a brand poised on the cusp of transformation. Featuring evil eye plates, coasters and table runners with Tamil alphabets, cement sculptures, and monochrome crockery, Bandra’s Peace Haven bungalow has been reimagined to transport guests to the Sri Lankan design store.
On December 1—Udayshanth Fernando’s 75th birthday—Paradise Road will open its first standalone structure in Colombo, which will include a Paradise Road retail store, a PR Concept Store, a gallery curated by Annika’s sister Saskia (who runs the renowned Saskia Fernando Gallery), and a restaurant. For the first time, various arms of the brand will be brought together in a single space—one that emphasises the interconnectedness of all of its endeavours and encourages a community to form around it.
The brand’s global reputation has steadily grown, but it’s not about rapid expansion for the sake of it. “It started in the ’80s with my father sketching designs and driving around Sri Lanka to find artisans who would make those samples,” shares Fernando. “Some of those same artisans have been with us for nearly 40 years. That’s our story—nurturing the local art and design culture.”
In this vein, Paradise Road’s Mumbai pop-up is more a gift to the brand’s devoted fanbase in India than an aggressive move to grow the brand globally. It’s also a lesson in a cautious expansion—one that responds to customer’s desire for more thoughtfully crafted products and hyperlocal stories. And if this pop-up sparks a sudden yearning to travel down to the island and experience more of what’s on offer—that’s just an added bonus.
The Paradise Road pop-up is on at Peace Haven Bungalow, Bandra, until November 16th; 11am-7pm
