Tarun Oblum, creative and technical head behind Oblum. As an individual he believes he has a varied taste and his passion, interests and hobbies cover a wide spectrum. “I am quite the old school guy who enjoys anything that is well made and has a sense for aesthetics. I enjoy collecting objects of interest. I prefer manual winding over automatic and petrol over diesel. I sometimes wish I was born in the 70’s and could sing a song and play the mouth organ as well as Dylan. I enjoy the wilderness of the jungle as much as the fast paced lifestyle of city like London. I detest red tapism and to some extent the advent of modern capitalism. As of now I enjoy politics, sociology, motorbikes, war history, Amazonian tropical fish, brutality architecture, jazz and life,” he says.

Tell us a little about your work?

I started OBLUM – Handcrafted Luxury Footwear after finishing my BA(Hons):Product Design and development in the field of Footwear from Cordwainers College/Lcf/Ual. We make bespoke, Goodyear Welted English Footwear for the ‘sartorial gentlemen’. We take inspiration from English silhouettes and approach them with a contemporary outlook. We also make small leather goods on order and look into leather restoration as well.

How has the journey been by far?

The journey has been a wild ride so far. There has been an equal share of ups and downs since we started and we are still learning. That being said we do enjoy every day for the challenges it puts forth in front of us and to see a finished product leave the workshop.

Your morning, evening and weekend routine for the day?

I’m not a great morning person but i do make sure I’m at the workshop at 9:30 am everyday. My day starts with a little bit of reading; I’m currently reading The Train to Pakistan by Kushwant Singh. I then feed my Amazonian fish in my 3 planted tanks, read the newspaper, breakfast and head to work.

I’m usually at the showroom in the evening finishing off pending orders over a heady mix of jazz, blues and post rock, come back home for dinner with the family and indulge in a little bit of Animal Planet or Discovery on the telly before bed.

Weekends are when I let go and have a good time, I have great friends that I have made so far in my life and I usually spend the weekends with them over a pint of beer or two.

What do you do in your leisure time if you are not working?

I haven’t had the liberty of free time since.  I started OBLUM but during the free time that I get every now and then I read, mainly politics or war history, learn about the tropical fish keeping hobby and get on my bike for an evening ride.

How do you manage your work and personal life?

I switch on, switch off 😉

Tell us something about your family?

I have a great support system in my family. I grew up in a joint family so I was lucky to have been raised by 3 sets of parents. My family has been in the engineering industry in Hyderabad for about 35 years now. My grandfather started his industry whilst he was in college and he has always been my biggest inspiration. My mother and sister are my biggest supporters and my closest confidantes. My father is the coolest man I have met in my life and the reason behind my interest in motorbikes, wildlife and music. I am what I am today only because of his support.

What is next for you?

We are constantly looking to grow as a brand not only in the realm of footwear but in the realm of luxury handcrafted products. We never limit ourselves to a single product so our outlook is varied and wide.

I want to showcase OBLUM to India and India to the world. We have the capability of standing next to the finest and that is what we aim to do so in the future.