The Vault: A Hush Hush Market By Dhruv Sharma

Amidst the hustle and bustle of lights and crowd of 32nd Avenue lies an obscure hush-hush concept-based ‘treasure hunt’ market, The Vault by Dhruv Sharma. 

Situated right below Starbucks in an obscure underground location, surely gives it a touch of mystery. The Vault offers a wide range of products ranging from skincare to beauty to well-being and interior. It is home to 50 homegrown brands across India that are displayed in a delicate manner, with the sole aim of providing an offline space to homegrown brands that started their journey via Instagram. The subtle colour grading of the walls compliments the rusty vibe of the place in the best way possible. 

The exquisite whereabouts of this place are nothing less than that of the entrance of a vintage secret society club, the ones that we usually see while binge-watching an episode of our favourite period drama on Netflix. The soothing treasure hunt interior gives it a rustic look that Gen Z has been going crazy about ever since Dark Academia became a trending notion. This treasure hunt seeks to provide a place for small businesses to market their product in this space and give the consumers a first-hand experience of everything. From its miscellaneous candle collection to their beautifully curated jewellery sections, it truly serves as the hub for creative designs and marvellous quality. It caters to well-known beauty and skincare brands like FAE Beauty, Simply NAM, Gush Beauty and Gunam Beauty. Not just beauty brands, this vintage treasure hunt market is also home to niche gourmet food brands and has an inbuilt extravagant flower shop, which surely is a treat to the eyes. Indian affordable luxury perfume brands are found here too, one of them being Kastoor, which curates plant-based perfumes. Most brands seen on Shark Tank are on display here. 

Recently, this place had an inventory update of new homegrown fashion and beauty brands along with an addition in their food section featuring brands like Third Roast, The Gourmet Jar, Darkins Chocolate etc. What brings this unique bazaar together is not just the fact that they are indie homegrown brands but how they all inculcate sustainability in every form possible either by taking vegan leather to make handbags or curating candles using hemp. 

Seva, one of the sustainable candle brands, does one cataract surgery in a tribal village for every ten candles that they sell.

Something absolutely unique that sets this place aside as the hub for an experiential market is its amiable nature.  In the digital era where content creation has taken the youth and the internet by storm, The Vault seeks to provide a place for all content creators to film, direct and use the space for their needs. With its gorgeous library and an even better seating area there also lies a coffee shop where book nerds can enjoy their evening with their favourite book and a cup of coffee on the side. This place is home to workshops and sessions by professionals, every other day one can find activities like candle making, pottery, dimsum making and paper making.

Ritika Goel, Senior Fashion Consultant said, “We just don't want people to shop around we want people to enjoy the space and enjoy 32nd in general, you can get a cup of coffee here, you can eat around and even do a pottery session that we do daily, except on Mondays. If you want to get events done, then you can get it done by the app because most of the events are happening down here. We are also going to open up a bar very soon and we wish for it to be very interactive. Basically, if you get a cup of coffee or a glass of drink either way we want you to have an experience where you shop, drink, do something entertaining and just have a good time here that's the whole point of this place.”

And that is The Vault, a home to brands and an experience for the people.

Tanvee Khanna

Guest Author