Designers turn rags to riches

Picture this: A necklace featuring a cement disk or a pair of earrings made of discarded watch parts. NIMAI, a multi-designer jewellery store in south Delhi, offers designs made of unusual materials — ceramic, nuts and bolts, discarded watch parts, old Indian coins, glass, wooden blocks, fuse parts, acrylic, enamel — pair with formal western outfits or ethnic attire.

There's also Delhi-based Abhishek Basak's Absynthe Design offers the 'Steampunk' line made of discarded watch parts including the dial and the back end machine. His collection includes earrings, necklace, cuff links and trademark spider-shaped ring and hairpin. Another interesting collection is Fooljhadi by Delhi-based Divya Berry, which includes wedding-wear jewellery made of cloth using traditional hand embroidery. The store also features Ark, a label by Ahmedabad-based Dhruv Singh and Sukanya Pasi, who offer a range of handmade jewellery that blends silver and other distinct crafts such as carved wooden blocks and Ajrakh textiles.

NIMAI has around 90 Indian designers on board, including prominent names such as Amrapali and Eina Ahluwalia, and offers jewellery ranging from Rs 500- Rs2 lakh.

"The idea was to try and create awareness on a new breed of jewellery designers from India who are innovating and experimenting with unique mediums which are not restricted to silver, gold or brass," says NIMAI's Founder and CEO Pooja Roy Yadav, who worked as a brand consultant until five years ago. "I packed my bags and went to London School of Fashion and took a few summer courses in metal-smithery, jewellery-making and designing. Once back, I realised that jewellery was available along with garments, shoes and bags, but always kept in a corner. Unless it was gold or silver, it was considered junk or artificial jewellery. I didn't want these amazing pieces confined as junk," Yadav adds. She has also set up an in-house design cell which came out with its first product called 'Promise', a bangle with a secret compartment to store a hand written vow, in alliance with acid attack survivor Laxmi who will receive three per cent of the proceeds from each bangle.

Yadav says she is adding designers monthly and plans to offer 10 in-house designs/collections this year. Each collection would identify with either/both the missions of the brand — empowerment of women and uplift of Indian artisans.