Interview with Kajal Naina Fine jewellery

I love creating beautiful things. I became a designer to give outlet to all my feelings and emotions through my art. It was a way for me to overcome the challenges I faced in life. I want to inspire and send a message to others facing their hurdles in life to find a passion worth living for.

Because with my passion and knowledge, I want to impact people in a positive way, be in a position to help not only myself but others too and in doing so live a life greater than me, which my mother always inspired me to aim for.

I chose to become a designer.

I have been designing jewelries that that inspiration from nature using gold and diamonds and different colored gemstones. Since I started, I realize I am being more and more attracted to the beauty of pearls. I love working with pearls too and will definitely be incorporating them extensively in my designs.

Have a good understanding of jewelry making, artistic elements and also collaborate with manufacturers to make sure that it is produceable.

A good designer makes a beautiful creation but a great designer combines beauty and art in such a way that the jewellery can have a profound affect on the wearer both emotionally and physically. His creations : empower the wearer, shows their hopes and dreams and in many cases gives them the pieces to fit their life stories.

A good design goes goes beyond simple adornment, it becomes a timeless piece that can become a family heirloom to be passed down generations.

A good design is beautiful, wearable and pulls the outfit together. A good design hardly goes out of style and can be worn for generations. If the wearer connects with the design it can give make her feel loved and special.

In contemporary Jewelry designers Cindy Chao, Joel Arthur Rosenthal, Hammerle.

Keep designing. I believe one gets better and better with every project accomplished.

Definitely become a painter. It was very coincidental but I realized just now that in recent years I have been painting waterfalls and flowers just like I was obsessing over this theme in this particular necklace. I recently started painting portraits because I am loving exploring the human face in my art.

Many people out of which if I have to name one it's definitely my husband Suraj. He has shown unconditional love, support and belief in me which allowed me to flourish and move ahead without fear.

From what others tell me, it's my eye for detail,

I would like to say that when someone buys my jewelry they are not just buying a piece of jewelry. They are buying My design and reputation
My ability to select the right materials for them
My ability to assemble a lasting piece of jewelry
My ability to communicate interesting information about what they wear
Hence I strive to give them my best.

I established my company as a means of an outlet for my creative expression. I truly believe that I can bring works of art into people’s lives. Through my creations I want to make a woman feel beautiful and proud and help boost her confidence.

Design is not just a fancy shape or form. It is an expression of myself, my ideals and my beliefs. For me, designing is not only making available big or small pieces of beautiful jewelry but also connecting to the wearer.-Showing their hopes and dreams- Giving them the pieces to fit their life stories.- Make them feel loved and special- And in many special cases hopefully leave them with a piece that can be treasured for generations to come.

I thrive when challenged, so whenever presented with an opportunity to design something totally new to me it really gets me excited. I also spend a lot of time researching on the subject whatever it might be and by the time I sit down to design the piece usually I already have something in my mind waiting to be drawn and created.

There is not 1 favorite design as such. Amongst my works, I have really enjoyed the challenge of creating the rhododendron flower. I fell in love with this flower during a road trip to the mountains a year back when I saw it for the first time blooming wildly. Since then I have made various versions of it. It is the national flower of my country Nepal. It's funny that I had heard a lot about it but I never seen it in real until a year back. Another reason why it attracted me so. Anyway, the whole mountains look lovely during the bloom seasons and I was mesmerized.

The first thing I designed was a ruby, diamond and pearl earring.

I love working with gold. I started off with traditional hand designing and CAD. Most of my creations have been created by 3D printing of the resin and casting. But these days I am also doing some very artistic designs by wax carving, making a mould and casting. While training as a dentist I have done a lot of carving of tooth on wax, working with inlay waxes and also casting of metals. So the techniques in jewelry making was not completely new to me. Whenever I have the time I wish to learn wax carving for jewelry as well. Even the instruments used in jewelry making are not so different from the ones I used as a dentist!

There is no definite time.

Beauty, creativity, wearability. It has to be a work of art which looks beautiful and also has to be very easy to wear.

I usually sit down to design whenever I feel inspired. The inspiration can be from anything and usually it is always something from life. So when I am able to design the idea into a jewelry piece I feel very happy and content and also excited to go on to the next step when the design is ready to be made.

Usually very happy to finally see the design come into existence.

When it comes out just like imagined or even better. When other people love and appreciate it!

Aesthetics. Because first it has to look good.

As an artist, I think we play a very important role in society. We are able to express our ideas, thoughts and values through our creations and the message we give put can really influence people. So, we should be conscious of what message we are giving by our actions, words and our art. Example, if we are using ethically sourced materials, if we are trying to work on environmental friendly ways etc. Every small bit helps.

Before, jewelry designing tools was all hand done in paper. Now a lot of designers work in CAD because once mastered, this medium can give very accurate designs and one is immediately able to visualize how the final product will look.

I take a lot of inspiration from nature and I love flowers.I love traveling to different countries and observing what makes that land so special, the people of that place and the traditions they hold dear. I realize I have been picking inspirations from everywhere.

Looking at my creations so far, I think I am more drawn to organic shapes and styles. I also paint as a hobby and enjoying painting nature, flowers and portraits of people. As a jewelry designer also I feel most happy to create beautiful, expressive jewellery pieces which tell stories about elements of nature, the people and places I love. When something touches my heart I yearn to give my feelings a physical form. When I work on bespoke pieces also I have to approach it in the same way... I need to give my creations a story. So I talk to the client at lengths to find out what is her story, what makes her want to make this piece so that I can highlight that and design a special, meaningful piece for her.

I'm originally from Nepal and I was brought up in Nepal and India. Since then I have lived in Tokyo, Singapore and currently I am living in Hongkong with my husband and two children. Naturally, I do have a very strong influence from my Nepalese culture and background and it is visible in my designs too. But I think having lived in different countries and a lot of traveling has taught me to appreciate and take the best from across cultures and have widened my eyes as a designer. That has freed me from the confinement of being chained to any particular tradition or style based on a single country.

So far I have only designed for my company.

Firstly, designing should come from the heart. Different people have different styles and I think that as a designer one must stay true to one's heart and design what you truly like. I would say when one tries to imitate other peoples styles because it is popular or for whatever reasons, then you stop being creative and you lose your voice.

Creativity, Empathy and Resilience.

That is something I am still working on.

It depends from piece to piece. Sometimes its a one day process... sometimes I design something and over time modify it until I feel it is ready to be made.

"How do you come up with your designs?"

I think all the experiences big and small has stacked up to help me become who I am today. But I feel I am just getting started and my most important job is yet to come.

So far it's mostly everyday people who are still very special.

I would say the same answer as question 4. I thrive when challenged, so whenever presented with an opportunity to design something totally new to me it really gets me excited. I also spend a lot of time researching on the subject whatever it might be and by the time I sit down to design the piece usually I already have something in my mind waiting to be drawn and created.

I hope to open up a jewelry boutique in near future.

Right now it's just me.

Ah yes! I am very excited about this piece that I have been commissioned to make. It's a head jewelry based on traditional customs of Nepal so not something one gets a chance to make everyday. I did a lot of research to find out the relevance of it, the traditional design processes etc. to decide how I can best translate it out for my client so it feels very much in tune with todays world. And I have come up with a meaningful and pretty design which has all the relevant details but with a modern look. It is int he production stage right now so can't wait to see it.

My email kajal@kajalnaina.com