Era Chandok has a succinct way of capturing the essence of the businesses she and her husband, Manoj, started 10 years ago - Royal Imports.
“It’s your doorway to the exotic world of India” is her description of the upscale Dana Drive shop, that specializes in antique furnishings, statuary and architectural items, along with rich, exuberantly colored tapestries, silk bedding and drapes, shawls and other textiles.
Some of those architectural items - intricately carved, antique wooden arches and window frames - grace the front of the business, which is located off U.S. 41 South, near Page Field.
The Chandoks, of Fort Myers, said that unlike chains that carry Indian-style merchandise, the stock only items that they’ve found during annual prospecting trips to India.
“Each piece is hand picked,” Manoj Chandok, 44, said.
According to his wife, they chose their inventory with the same care they’d exercise if it were going in their own home. “It’s like our own personal collection.” she said.
They said the furnishings and accessories, and architectural pieces such as doors and frames, arches, gates - even entire walls - are culled from mansions and palaces and are between 100 and 300 years old.
Importing directly, minus a middle-man, makes it possible to keep prices as low as possible, the Chandoks added.
Teak and Indian rosewood are the materials used for the hand-made statues, furniture and other wooden items that fill almost every square inch of the shop. Found here and there are statues, both large and small, hewn from stone, as well as pieces constructed of brass and other metals.
Some of the furnishings are a mixture of antique items, such as doors, combined with a newly manufactured piece made to match, such as an armoire or table. Others are the original article, brought to these shores.
Whether wood or stone, the delicately-carved Hindu symbols found everywhere among the inventory, are in sharp contrast to the size, bulk and sturdiness of many of them.
Era Chandok said that everything about an item - what it’s made from and its markings - all have meaning and are meant to impart Vastu Vidya, the Indian cultural equivalent of Feng Shui, the Chinese art of positioning objects to promote harmonious living.
“It’s to make the home peaceful, a pure environment for us to function in” she explained. “They all bring positive energy into the environment.”
They said their Web site, mogulgallery.com, enables them to draw retail customers from across the country, some who travel from out of state just to visit Royal Imports.
“We’ve had people who fly in and stay one or two days to shop” Manoj said. “It’s people who understand the uniqueness of these objects. There are no two pieces alike.”
Royal Imports also sells to wholesale and commercial clients, including many designers, he said.
Jackie Johnson, 50, of south Fort Myers said she’s brought statuary, tapestries, bed spreads and even the two main entrances to her home, since she began shopping at Royal Imports three years ago.
“I think that their merchandise is far superior to comparable merchandise that I’ve seen,” Johnson said. “They’re not merely importers. They have an eye for quality and design and that’s what they bring. They’re both very knowledgeable, so they can help customers with how to use this piece or that piece, or where to use this piece or that piece. Their pricing is good, relative to quality.”
The Chandoks said they plan to add paintings, jewelry boxes and other small giftware, to their stock in September.
Those items, like those they currently carry, will be selected with an eye toward the one-of-kind.
“That is our identity at Royal Imports, Era Chandok said. “It’s a royal collection. We’re different. We’re unique. You won’t find it anyplace else.” |
