Unpacking the layers of meaning beneath a piece

I love to have a story around my jewellery pieces- where the stones come from, what they mean. On the crossroad between art and gemology, these pieces carry a meaning and become symbols of conscious rather than a random consumption.

Here is an example of a necklace I love- not sure if I love more the story or the necklace….Actually both!

Necklace "Nisha"

This is a long silver necklace with super finely polished lapis, chunks of turquoise and natural sun-kissed coral. Lapis lazuli is a relatively rare semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense blue color. Lapis was used by the Egyptians. The Egyptian cultures made a practice of burying a lapis lazuli scarab with their dead, and believed it to offer protection. I remember staring in awe at the golden Mask of Tutankhamun’s mummy  in the Egyptian museum in Cairo lavishly adorned with turquoise, lapis and carnelians.

The lapis used in this necklace comes of Afghanistan, where the highest quality lapis is mined.

The natural corals used in this necklace are known for their intense red to pink colors. These natural corals come from Thailand.

And look at these chunks of turquoise. Turquoise is “believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth” – say experts.

Turquoise, associated with the goddess Hathor, was so liked by the Ancient Egyptians that it became (arguably) the first gemstone to be imitated.

Prepare to be stopped and have your necklace snatched up! Whether you’re out running errands or wearing your little black dress to a special occasion, this necklace will compliment your outfit like no other.

Embrace your story! Tell it to others!

More such stories you can find on ANOKHA!

My favorite TED talks

I know that these days TED talks are really popular. No wonder!- TED talks have given me more insight, more knowledge and inspiration, more “wow” moments than my education and my job put together.

Here is a list of my 5 favorite talks:

1. Elisabeth Gilbert: a different way to think about the creative genius.

A brilliant way to discuss the success and failure, a great story of the origin of the famous Spanish “Olé!” and all you need to know about the creative genius.

Gilbert is the author of Eat, Prey and Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia.

2. Janine Benyus: Biomimicry in Action

I strongly believe that the future belongs to the intersection of art, science and design and biomimicry is THE intersection. We’re surrounded by a true genius- the Nature.

3. Aimee Mullins: How my legs give me super powers

Aimee Mullins is an American athlete, actress, and fashion model best known for her athletic accomplishments, despite a medical condition that resulted in the amputation of both of her legs. This talk is about her journey of redefining disability to become super-ability. Worth the watch!

4. Dan Ariely: Are we in control of our own decisions?

I love to come back to this video. Do we really make decisons? Or we have just the illusion that we make decisons? Love the example with the weekend in Rome…check it out! Behavioral economist Dan Ariely, the author of Predictably Irrational, uses counterintuitive (and sometimes shocking) research findings to show how we’re not as rational as we think when we make decisions.

5.  Neil Pasricha “The 3 A’s of Awesome”

There are more than 1000 AWESOME things to be thankful about! Neil Pasricha, has won a Webby award for best blog. The 3 A’s of awesome, as he summarizes, are Attitude, Awareness and Athenticity. I’m for all three of them! Big time!

Enjoy! Which are your favorite TED talks?

Yoga vacation in Tuscany- get energized and let go

The yoga vacation in May 2011 with Teddy and  Yogamandala was an energizing one-week-trip-to-yourself, I like to return to, virtually, once in a while. …The right dose of yoga practice, great pasta, and plenty of wine.

Cuddled in the Tuscan hills, the villa we stayed at, offered generous opportunities for those who wanted to chill by the pool, dedicate time to yoga practice, read and/or explore the surroundings. And although we stayed in a village, Vicchio, 40km away from Florence, there were opportunities for one day trips to splendid places like Siena and San Gimignano, Pisa, Lucca, Bologna (a bit of a longer drive) and of course Firenze (as the locals call Florence).

David by Michelangelo ( a copy of the original)

This shot of the leaning tower of Pisa is inspired by Teddy, who dances with shadows and inspires others to do so...

Siena- the main square

But if you don’t feel like dipping in all this cultural and touristic mumbo-jumbo, that’s also cool- just have ice-cream, sip coffee or beer, swing in the hammock and let it go….

Three things will stay with me that could recreate vacation-like feelings- the sun-kissed hills in the mornings before the yoga practice, the altar that Teddy was preparing every morning at the terrace with endless love and imagination and the cypress trees, the quintessential symbol of the Tuscan scenery.

I made new lovely friends and, needless to say, gathered new experiences from what is it like to cook a dinner with 3-4 other people and not exchange a SINGLE word (we had silence practice for 30 mins.) to cool your beer in the pool, “dance- with-your-shadow-practice”, learn to do the  “crane position” and improve the position of  the “downward facing dog” (ok, you can say I’m a beginner, but you know what? I improved….)….Ohhhh, and not to forget the yumeiho massage (we loved to be kindly twisted by Moksha)

Energizing. Letting Go Experience. Period.

What is the melody of your jewellery?

I recently read an article about Synesthesia and I got really excited about it.

What is synesthesia? It is a rare neurological condition that leads stimulation in one sensory pathway to trigger an experience in another. A common case of synesthesia is the cross-sensory experience of color and sound — “hearing” color or “seeing” music or even “smelling” a number.

See and hear the synesthetic experience of the talented Israeli artist Michal Levy.

Now you might raise a brow and say that this is total nuts and makes no sense….

I think this is insanely genious…imagine how rich and powerful an experience is to be able to have a cross sensory experience.

Check-out the cool animation by Argentinian motion graphics designer Esteban Diácono

Now, what is the message I want to convey?

People usually buy jewellery just because they like it; others buy jewellery with natural stones which are “their stones”- the stones of their birthmonth or stones that people believe have certain impact on the human body.

Looking at the color of your jewellery or the stones that your jewellery or the shapes, textures of the stones, what melodies does this evoke in your mind? What do you hear? What do you “see” beyond what you look at?

When I look at moonstone, for example, I hear ocean waves crushing and I see blue, although the moonstone has a white milky texture. I associate moonstone with the number 9, which is big and prominent in my sensory experience. Isn’t it cool and playful?

Here is my personal highlight of the synesthesian experience Vivaldi’s Four Seasons as a score animation. Enjoy!

Suman Mishra: My relationship to jewellery is like that of a painter to her canvas

I met Suman Mishra on a quite sunny Sunday afternoon in April 2011. She welcomed me warmly in her home in New Delhi and as she was preparing chai, we chatted about the World Championship in cricket, which India won after 28 years (technically, we spoke about the guys on the cricket team and the impact of India’s victory on the traffic conditions in New Delhi, as I have no clue about cricket).

We met as old friends somehow and I felt very comfortable and at ease as I entered her sun-lit beautifully decorated home.

I liked her smile. Genuine and enchaning. (you wish you could have one of these).

Suman, a sociology major based out of New Delhi, is a self-taught jewellery designer and leverages a system of apprenticeship to create her jewellery designs. “Do actually the apprentices work for you?” “No, they don’t. I don’t want to have anyone working for me“. I liked this statement a lot and it is actually totally in sync with her view on the competition.

What impressed me most about her  is that desire and feeling for experiencing through sensing the world- through food, smells, shapes, textures. Suman sees nature as one major source for her inspirations in jewellery making; she goes for long walks close to her home (you would wonder where are the parks in the middle of the bustling city of New Delhi, but trust me, there are plenty of beautiful places to get inspired by) and observes trees, leaves, plants, flowers, etc.

Over a cup of coffee in Barista, Suman mentioned with ease…”I don’t see anyone as a competitor, I just experience life through jewellery making“…And I thought,  “You’re just blessed with that vibrant easiness that spurs your creativity“.

Now, on another note, if you really stop for a second and try to see the world like she does, I’m sure you will feel such a relief.

“I like to collaborate“, she said and gave me that broad smile. She won me. As simple as that. I’m a firm believer in collaboration.

We have two things in common: 1) we create jewellery through experience and 2) we never had a coke in our childhood (not because our moms didn’t allow)

Suman Mishra jewellery is partnering with Anokha Jewellery (no wonder:-)) and I believe this partnership will go a long way.

A small feature with a big impact

The day before yesterday Facebook rolled out a seemingly minor enhancement to their Photos feature. For a while now, users have been able to tag friends in their photos and have that tag link to the friends’ profile pages. Now, however, users can do the same with company pages (referred to in the Facebook lexicon as “Pages”).

So, for example, if you take a picture of yourself with your favorite musician, and that musician has a Page, you can tag the musician in your photo and link it to the musician’s Page. Or, for example, if you’re wearing a cute pair of jeans from your favorite designer, you can tag them, and the tag will link back to the designer’s Page.

Or, of course, if you’re wearing some stunning jewellery and a beaming smile on your face, a tag is much worth!

Read more here….

Interesting times!!!!

Just Empyreal

Sheer brilliance

Understated elegance that will commemorate your special moments- a 5-line necklace with coral and freshwater pearls with a carefully handcrafted silver clasp.

The coral is sourced from Italy and the freshwater pearls from Taiwan.

This necklace is to die for!

This delightful necklace is captured by the camera of the talented Bombay-based photographer Anwesha Mandal. Nidhi Sunil, who is the model on this picture, did a phenomenal job. I love the shimmer of the neckalce on her stunning dusky skin. Nidhi is born in Bangalore, lives and models out of the bustling Bombay.

Live it. Love it.

Find this gorgeous piece of work here!

Photoshoot in Mumbai: behind the scenes with Anwesha Mandal

Anwesha Mandal contacted me on Facebook almost a year ago- very friendly and straightforward…. She came across my webpage and loved my jewellery, so she asked if we can do a jewellery photo shoot together.

As I live in Germany and she- in India, we could possible do the  shoot only on my next visit to Mumbai.

She sent me the link to her portfolio on facebook and I liked it…We connected on Facebook and Twitter, which gave me the chance to follow her work and eventually get convinced:-)

My friends were sceptical about the photo shoot with Anwesha that I was planning as 1) we never met each other before in person 2) the shoot would be in Mumbai and I had no clue what to expect…So, there were some question marks around the whole thing….but I knew it…

I had a very good feeling and I could trust her.

Now, you will ask ….”How could you possibly trust a stranger? “

And I will say “Yes, I can, as long as my guts feeling tells me to do so. Besides, in business, you have to show trust first and expect the same in return…and not vice versa“

So, some weeks back on the day of the photo shoot on Grant Road in Mumbai, I met Anwesha. She came across as I thought she would be- friendly, calm and professional. I liked how she instructed the team to set the proper lighting before the model arrived…And I loved how she sailed through the day with her camera.

Anwesha in action; Model: Nidhi Sunil

Getting more shots; Model: Nidhi Sunil

Anwesha in action; Model: Nidhi Sunil

She commands with controlled confidence, which I like and this gives you the feeling she knows what she is doing.

Anwesha doesn’t have this geeky, diva-like attitude people in this industry (usually) do. She is down-to-earth and has a “get-the-job-done” attitude.

The photo shoot was fun…

Love this intermezzo....

Here is the preparation for one of my favorite shots…

I'm holding the necklace; Nidhi is getting her final make-up touches

raw shot

another raw shot

And the FINAL one……

Sheer brilliance

“Where do you get inspirations for your photoshoots?”

“I am generally inspired by everything around me from   people to nature to patterns to colors all coming together to form wonderful poetry. I love Bombay and i love the beauty in all the chaos. I enjoy the colors and vibrancy of the city and i tend to infuse that in a lot of my pictures.”

“What do you dream about?”

 “I dream to better my art each day. I just dream to have a huge bundle of work that I am extremely proud of at the end of the day. “

One thing I learned from Anwesha on that day in Mumbai (and I have no clue about photography): playing with light can do miraculous effects…This is actually what you can see in her photo shooting for my jewellery collection.

Here is one explosion of light! Vibrant and fresh…like the work of Anwesha.

Delhi Magic- a travel through times….

I arrived in New Delhi on the night when India became the world champion in cricket after 28 years. I could imagine what it would be on the streets and wanted to reach my hotel as soon as possible. But the street madness was contagious and I surrendered- as soon as I reached the hotel, I had to get out capturing with my camera the total championship euphoria:-)…there was not a single car that passed by without at least one person on the roof….

The Delhi I remembered from the winter of 2003 was a foggy, cold and utterly unfriendly Delhi. Now I met a sunny, friendly, calm Delhi on an April afternoon.

Bara Gumbad, Sunset at Lodi Gardens

Stunning arcades in Lodi Gardens

you can say I have some fascination for arches:-)

Next stop: The flower market close to Connaught place is bustling only until 9am every morning- a mélange of colors and smells….after 9am it literally evaporates.You need flowers for a wedding- go here!

beautiful....

lovely marigolds....Hanuman Mandir was just across the street...

Next stop: The Bangla Sahib Gurudwara was one of a kind experience. I liked the spaciousness and the pervasive quietness of this place.

The gardens of Bangla Sahib Gurudwara

A lake at the Gurudwara where devotees can take a dip

A sikh devotee from Amritsar

The Gurudwara is a place where you can charge your phone (like this lady), have picnic lunch, spend the night (on the mattresses)...

…it is a place not only to pray, it a place to be…

Langar, is the place which really impressed me most, serves free vegetarian meals and is managed and operated by all volunteers I was one of them on that day!!! Yeahhh!  It is a part of the Sikh tradition of Seva, translated literally to mean ones spiritual service, or one’s giving back in the name of selfless generosity.

Volunteering work

I spent some time in the kitchen preparing some chapattis….noone was surprised as I came and no one was surprised as I left….actually, I think no one cared. The woman opposite me, kept on throwing dough balls at me to make more chapattis and gave me a very cheeky look….Not sure what exactly she was thinking…..

Lunch is cooked in the Langar

You can imagine in a city of the size and attraction of New Delhi, what awaits among the multitudes of people…actually, it is unimaginable…

everyone sits and eats in rows

During lunch, large canisters of dal (lentils) and cooked vegetables were carried up and down the rows, heaping spoonfuls outpoured in every plate. Hands were outstretched to receive the fresh, warm chapatti (bread) being tossed through the air precisely yet lightly falling into one’s open-cupped palms.

Anyone can come here for lunch- rich and poor, young and old, sick and healthy, people from different casts. You have to stretch your palms and ask for food- how humiliating is this? Actually, I didn’t feel humiliated at all…we are just all equal…this was a great way to remind us about that.

Next stop: Old Delhi

Old Delhi oozes with history- Red Fort (Lal Qila), Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk – it is a true travel in time.

Bustling Old Delhi

Red Fort was built during the reign of Shah Jahan, the one who also built Taj Mahal, and served as his residence.

Red Fort

And boy, you can tell so just by looking at the open halls of Diwan-i-Aam and Diwan-i-Khas.

Diwan-i-Aam- where the emperor met the regular people

Diwan-i-Khas- a pavilion clad completely in marble, the pillars are decorated with floral carvings and inlay work with many semi-precious stones

Spectacular work on marble! You can just hold your breadth…ok, still trumped by Taj Mahal, of course….

some restoration going on- done in a manner as in the times of Shah Jahan

Jama Masjid- the biggest mosque in India

This part of the city has a very special allure- it is breathing heavily under the weight of millions trying to make a living and many actually making a decent one…I wouldn’t mind to stand and watch, but I couldn’t …there were people trying to make their way around you thus pushing you in all possible directions…..

get your clothes ironed with an antique- for 5 rupees a piece...

Qutub Minar, as impressive as it stands, is the oldest minaret ever built in India.  

Qutub Minar

a girl at Qutub Minar

Next stop: Humayun’s Tomb- the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun.

The entrance of Humayun's Tomb

Now if didn’t know it was a tomb, I would just think it was a garden with a monument- spectacularly serene place- just sit and watch…. I had a hard time leaving the gardens….

Humayun's Tomb

As I was leaving Delhi, I noticed that on every electricity post, there was a sign saying  “Delhi, meri jaan”. I asked the driver what this means. He said “Delhi, my love”…and I thought….”….this is soooo Indian”…:-)

How to spur creativity?

A friend of mine recently mentioned, “….ah, you know what, I’m not that creative”….and this statement really got me thinking…. I actually believe that we’re all creative, just we forgot how…Just observe how kids perceive the world- they ask zillions of questions, they imagine pink giraffes and are afraid that bears will come at night. They imagine. As we grow up and go through school, we’re taught to search for the right answer; we’re taught the linear thinking that there is only one answer….and we strive to get this damn right answer all our lives….The truth is: very often there is more than one right answer and sometimes there is just no right answer!

And this how it is in life….there is one right answer and things are not really black and white…sometimes pink, sometime black…as the song  from Elephante, Asi es La Vida, says.

Now, how to become more creative?

Do you think that designers are really creative all the time? No, they get stuck, they experience empty/non-productive moments, but they know how to get unstuck.

Here it is: once they get stuck, they just search for a new pattern to get source of new ideas…As simple as that: I tried it and it works!

To illustrate this, here is a simple exercise I did as I went through a brief course at Stanford D-School: You have in front of you a sheet of paper with 30 circles. You have 3 minutes to turn the circles into something.

Now, if you still have circles that are empty, no worries, most people fail at the first try.

What did you do?- Did you try to make smily face, tired face, disappointed face, crying face, angry face, etc…What did you do when you got stuck as you couldn’t find any more faces? Did you try to combine two circles, or three circles? Or draw outside of them?

Try it out! Search for a new pattern when you get stuck- this is the gist to spur your creativity!