THE BUBBLE ROOM

Image Source- The Bubble Room 

Image Source - The Bubble Room

Image Source - The Bubble Room

“What are your hobbies?” How often have we been asked this question as kids!

Most children these days occupy themselves with the latest tech and gadgets and we, as adults, are busy with our crazy schedules.  What if I told you that you could set aside one day from your hectic life and spend that day learning a new form of art or a new style of cooking and do all of that in the midst of some lovely company (not to forget frisky Pepper and cuddly Bingo) and end that day by making some new friends and developing a new hobby?

Nestled amongst greenery, located in a calm locality at Jayanagar, South Bangalore is TheBubble Room, a Hobby Studio that conducts workshops on art, cooking, crafts, music and much more. Besides conducting workshops, one may also hire the available spaces at The Hobby Room for gatherings or events. For more details, log on to their website.

The Hobby Room is owned and run by Harshita Das. Harshita is an enthusiastic baker and an artist. She came up with the idea of a hobby room after having attended numerous workshops and decided on having a one stop source for all such activities. She now collaborates with various artists who usually conduct a one day workshop at the Hobby Room.

   

With Skip’s holidays having begun, I am constantly thinking of ways to keep him occupied and when Harshita sent me this poster, I promptly agreed to attend it. Skip loves baking and was looking forward to attending this workshop.

The Hobby Room is bright and airy and this is what you first notice when you walk through the gates. Then you look around and see that the place is tastefully and artistically done up by the owner and you know you’ve come to the right place to learn a new craft. Every nook and cranny has an interesting object. They have an indoor and an outdoor area that can also accommodate two workshops simultaneously

When Skip and I arrived, there was a Folk art workshop in session with children and adults deeply engrossed in their respective paintings.

The Kitchen Studio was equipped with workstations set up for 16 children. The kitchen features avant-garde baking equipment. The mini chef workshop was conducted by Kamna Malhotra (Kreative Kitchen). While our review is about the Hobby Room, it would be amiss of me not to mention the wonderful workshop conducted by Kamna and her two lovely boys. Hats off to Kamna and her sons for managing 16 highly excitable kids and patiently guiding each and every child to bake and decorate their own cupcake. Ingredients were measured and given to the children and the children by themselves prepared the batter for the cupcakes and the “Mug- Brownies” under Kamna’s guidance. She also explained to them the whole process that goes into baking a delectable cake. The kids baked their own “Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes” and then used these to make “Burger Cupcakes”, “Owl Cupcakes” and learnt to frost cupcakes with “Rainbow Frosting”. They also shaped cookie dough and decorated their “Gems Cookies”. Each child was given a recipe booklet to carry home and was certified as Master Mini-Chefs. J

While each kid neatly laid their bakes into their containers, Skip and I stood in a corner polishing off ours. With a mouthful of Mug-Brownie, Skip proclaimed “I want to bake for the rest of my life”.

Harhsita is actively involved in these workshops and not only helps coordinate the activities but also actively assists the persons conducting it. She is also responsible for the stunning photographs seen on their Facebook page.

Fascinated by what The Hobby Room has to offer? Here are some of the workshops being conducted by them – Folk art (Madhubani, Warli, Gond, Kalamkari, Cherial mask/scroll painting), Block printing, weaving Dream-catchers, crotchets, summer workshops for kids, preparing frozen desserts, playing the guitar.....

Here is why I would recommend The Hobby Room:

1.      It’s a one stop shop for an assortment of activities.

2.      It’s a wonderful platform for those with talent to showcase and teach others their craft.

3.      It caters to children and adults alike. (They had also conducted cooking workshops for couples on Valentine’s Day)

4.    It conducts workshops for crafts that are popular and some not so conventional. (You can learn to weave dream-catchers, who’d have thought of that!!!)

5.      Even if you don’t want to pursue that particular craft as a hobby, a one day session is a good experience to create something new and you also get to take your creation back home. (wouldn’t you want a Cherial mask hanging in your drawing room?)

6.     The Hobby Room is done up artistically that will get your creative juices flowing.

7.   You can also hire out spaces available at The Hobby Room. (I have attended two events there and they have been fun!)

“What new hobby would you like to discover?”