Designers as a tribe
Women Designers who were geographically dispersed because of work, socialised to network unhindered by personal commitments, were the ones who were successful. Continue reading Designers as a tribe
The Reinvention of Gita from homemaker to businesswoman
Morning started with Gita sending her kids to school. Her duties over, today she was excited. This would the first day of a jewellery design class she had enrolled, not far from her home. Two years was a big commitment, but her mind was made up. The years rolled as Gita took herself to the next level of a learning the professional ropes of being a designer. Sometimes when home beckoned, she could not attend. Those instances were far fewer. “When I joined, I already had three children,” she said, “the younger one was a toddler.” She shared her experience … Continue reading The Reinvention of Gita from homemaker to businesswoman
Five Types of Jewellery Designers
Before we go further with these stories, lets discuss the different kinds of designers of jewellery. Why do we need to carry this exercise? There are many reasons. The biggest reason is that they are all called designers, but the roles … Continue reading Five Types of Jewellery Designers
The Craftsman of Milkman colony
Today, I’ll give the jewellery profession a break. The stories have a tinge of hard reality which makes your day somewhat sad. Let us instead talk about unknown craftsmen, one who we will call Vinod. Vinod was a 22 year old woodworker living in Milkman colony in Jodhpur. His distinction was that he knew English and this secured him a job in the regional crafts centre. His pleasant demeanour also made him the first choice for any guidance in the area where he lived. So when a group of craft researchers still in college, wanted to study the craft of … Continue reading The Craftsman of Milkman colony
A Test of experience of a designer, by a non designer
The Boss lady was called bhabhiji by everybody. Her qualification for running this multi brand jewellery shop was that she was married to the proprietor. That put her right in the most trusted people basket. She had the air of a maternal love around her and you could imagine her better suited getting her nails done or gossiping with other moms on a lazy monday afternoon. But here she was, entitlement and circumstances placed her on the southwest side of the long rectangular conference table. Two designers were on the other end. One bright and perky 25 year old who … Continue reading A Test of experience of a designer, by a non designer
The Experienced Artist & the younger designers. A True Story.
How do you judge the experience of a designer? That the designer is experienced? Here is such one story. Dileep Da as he was called, with “Da” meaning older brother, a term of respect in Bengal, was considered highly experienced in his time. He had learned his trade of jewellery art as an apprentice in Bengal in early 80’s and then worked with export houses, quite similar to what Arun did in his early years. But, that is where his path and that of Arun diverged. Dileep Da was pulled into the manufacturing side of the trade. Not only would … Continue reading The Experienced Artist & the younger designers. A True Story.
The case of the missing diamonds
The biggest challenge faced in the jewellery profession is the value of goods and raw materials. A small biscuit of gold can be a few lacs of rupees. Precious stones can be expensive too and kept locked away in a safe. A tiny 4 X 2 folded packet of diamonds, called a “pudia” in local parlance, can be inconspicuous in its white appearance but hold many lacs of shiny glittery stones, often cousins of each other, but more expensive as they become more identical, whiter and bigger. In jewellery industry till now there had been traditional methods to safekeep diamonds … Continue reading The case of the missing diamonds
The Jewellery Designer who worked for less than $33 (Rs. 2400) a month. (True story)
He was only sixteen when he dropped out of high school. He was a fine artist in a remote village in West Bengal. Nothing unusual, as many boys in Bengal are creative. But, he wanted to do something about it, rather than joining his father’s small town business. A nearby cluster called Domjur had over 20,000 jewellery artisans. Within this cluster was a small jewellery school that he enrolled in for a couple of years. The truth is that being in that cluster he could not progress. So the next logical step? Calcutta. Every morning, he would take a train … Continue reading The Jewellery Designer who worked for less than $33 (Rs. 2400) a month. (True story)
A New Story
Designers are egotistical people with a dash of empathy and lots of sensitivity. Funny as it may sound from another Designer, but its true. Last month I decided that enough of WordPress! Instagram was much more compelling and real. I wrote a post on my travel blog explaining perfectly (according to me) why I would now stop to use WordPress. That time I did not know what was to follow. I had not spoken to Alan K yet. I had not spoken to the other bunch of designers during a self initiated project. Bless you Paul G and your free … Continue reading A New Story
The Rise and Rise and Fall? of Mehul Choksi
It was early 1997. NIFT did not even have a jewellery course at that time. The Accessory Design course opened to a jewellery internship for the last six months. Two 20 something olds, me and another designer, were sent to … Continue reading The Rise and Rise and Fall? of Mehul Choksi
Pursuit of Imagination 