We love to have paintings on our walls, but we’re even more enamored with the idea of displaying art on our couch. “I was looking to create pillows as pieces of modern art and push boundaries,” says designer Afshan Durrani, of Lost City Products’ Forensic Collection pillows. And she certainly accomplished both. 

We love to have paintings on our walls, but we’re even more enamored with the idea of displaying art on our couch. “I was looking to create pillows as pieces of modern art and push boundaries,” says designer Afshan Durrani, of Lost City Products’ Forensic Collection pillows. And she certainly accomplished both. 

The beautiful and exquisitely crafted Hair, Print and High throw pillows were inspired by crime scene images. Though they’re undeniably conversation pieces—your guests will never have to cast around for something to talk about—their noir-ish quality is more than offset by their beautiful craftsmanship. 

“Fine hand embroidery, like any other sophisticated art form, is part of our global cultural heritage,” says Lost City Products designer and founder Afshan Durrani of the Indian artisans who make each pillow. “It is also the livelihood of many artisans who inherit the skill from master craftsmen. Threatened by mass industrialization, it is more important now than ever before to preserve this vanishing craft.”

Each pillow is made of one hundred percent cotton (in a neutral tone Durrani calls “greigh”) and features silk rayon embroidery that is applied using a hooked needle technique that originated in India in the fourteenth century, and takes between seven to ten days to complete. An exposed black zipper on the back of each adds a nice graphic detail. And though we love the striking red splashes of the High pillow, we would like to point out that the Hair and Print pillows are just as gorgeous and a lot less likely to make Aunt Edna choke on her coffee. Unless that’s the effect you’re going for of course.