Take the brick walkways to reach the 15 cottages that make the Surajkund Design Galleries. But don’t let its rustic pretensions fool you. When it comes to steep prices and snobbish interiors, it is akin to the Santushti Complex. The only difference is that the well heeled are yet to spend long hours here, fretting over the products. On a Thursday afternoon, the complex was practically empty. “The place is yet to get popular among shoppers,” agrees Yash Gandhi, assistant manager, Design Galleries. However, plump-pocketed customers drop in on weekends, thanks to its proximity to plush residential complexes like Charmwood and resorts like Harmony Huts. “Tourist companies are being encouraged to include the venue on their ‘sightseeing lists’,” says Gandhi.

Its windowsills are colourfully decorated and each store promises to offer something unique. Pick up a crochet handbag at Ritu Agnihotri’s store for Rs 1,850 or stoneware from K2K (Kraft Konnection) for Rs 3,000. Popular labels, including People Tree and Happily Unmarried, dot the venue, while Ritu Beri’s expansive outlet offers factory rates. Dibyendu Mukherjee, whose company Samex manufactures leather accessories for Aldo, Nina Ricci and Marc Jacobs, too has an outlet here.

“Chandrashekar Bheda, Mahesh Borse and Agnihotri are retailing in India for the first time. They had been into exports so far,” says Rajesh Joon, officer in-charge at Design Galleries. Says Bheda: “I had been promoting regional craftsmen in trade shows and exhibitions abroad, but the Design Galleries offers a great platform to test the domestic market. It has the potential of becoming a cultural hub.”

The Union Commerce Ministry and the Haryana government have jointly funded the complex and the galleries are leased out on subsidised rates. A 3,000-sq-ft designers’ hall has also been set up to host exhibitions.