While we all love chunky junk jewellery, come summer and metallic adornments are best kept locked in the wardrobe. But then how do we add that stylish edge to our summer dresses or breezy suits and palazzos? Thanks to unconventional fashionistas, a jewellery trend that's been getting major love in the recent years is fun and quirky fabric jewellery. Yes, you heard us. Fabric jewellery has transformed over the years and how! Now you will find them in cutting edge designs and peppy hues, while keeping with eco conscious fashion too.
For Delhi-based jewellery designer Paulami Saha, if it weren't for her urge to showcase the traditional crafts of West Bengal (such as kantha stitch) by designing contemporary bags, she would have probably never gotten to the idea of using the leftover fabric to create a new type of jewellery. There's been no looking back ever since. Now she has a team of women who dedicatedly work with her in making quirky earrings, neckpieces and finger rings, while showcasing Indian craftwork.
Through social media she has been able to build a little empire of sorts that's a nod to power women. If you know of Paulami then chances are that you have already made acquaintance with Ratna, Advaita, Lokkhi or Kamla. Well, these are names of her jewellery pieces, each with its own characteristic appeal, almost reminiscent of real life people.
We recently caught up with Paulami Saha to find out how she goes about designing her jewellery and coming up with cool ideas to thrill her customers.
Tell us about brand Paulami and how it started?
Paulami, the brand, started about four years ago. I wanted to use the crafts from West Bengal in a modern context and make interesting accessories out of it. I initially started by making bags, which showcased West Bengal's traditional kantha stitch work. The thought of designing jewellery happened later when we were looking for ways to deal with leftover fabric. Our jewellery received such a great response that we came up with many more quirky designs and now we buy fabric exclusively for it.
What would you say makes fabric jewellery trendy?
I would say that the USP of fabric jewellery is that it's versatile and it can instantly add a pop of colour to simple outfits to make you stand out. It's unconventional yet nothing extreme. The kind of response I have been getting, it's evident that people now are more open to experimenting with their looks than before.
How do you go about designing jewellery?
It's very organic. I am a hands on person, and I don't really follow any theme or concept. I usually doodle and while designing the jewellery, I think what would be interesting for me to wear and accordingly plan out designs that are contemporary despite holding on to Indian traditional crafts.
How would you describe your range of jewellery?
Most of my jewellery is very flexible, giving the user the choice to style them up in different ways. You can use the same piece as a choker or a matinee necklace. Before my experience of getting into jewellery designing, I was into hardware designing. I worked for brands like Magpie, where we would always go for clean designs. I still think along the same lines. I like clean designs that are also multi-functional.
Each of your jewellery piece sounds like a power woman. How do you come up with such interesting names?
I think I am very lucky in getting customers who have been very supportive. A lot of my designs are named after them. When I started designing, a lot of my customers helped me with inputs, and as those pieces started selling, I began to name them after them. There's one called Parma and then there's Kamla, who are my close friends now. Apart from that, we also decided to pick names that would reflect a woman character. We have Keya, which is a very simple and elegant neckpiece; and there's a ladder neckpiece called Lata. Tejaswani is a statement piece that's bold and powerful.
Tell us about your latest jewellery range.
I am currently making very interesting earrings because that's picked up more easily. We have something called Tok Jhal, which is shaped as nimbu and mirchi, and representative of keeping away evil eye. Keeping with summers, I have picked seasonal fruits, flowers and bright colours to make quirky earrings, rings and brooch (such as watermelon, bird, fish, butterfly, etc.).
I am also planning to launch a new set of accessories - wooden clutches - where I will be marrying three different crafts.
What kind of fabric do you use for it?
With people leaning towards eco consciousness, we try and use fabrics that are environment friendly. Our jewellery is mostly made out of cotton, poly silk and dupion silk.
Paulami being an online store, social media must mean the world to you.
We are a small brand, and so we completely bank on social media for our business. It's the only mode where we can sell directly to our customers. It's challenging too because we constantly need to generate interesting content to reach out to more and more people and make them notice our jewellery collection. Instagram is a huge help, even more than Facebook as we have learnt through our experience, which of course was a big surprise. Earlier we would focus a lot on Facebook, but now Instagram is helping us in a better way to connect with our customers.
How long does delivery take?
As soon as we get the order, within three to four days the products are delivered.
Which celebrities would you like to see wearing your jewellery?
Nandita Das. I am a big fan of her. Her style is very understated yet elegant, and she always dresses powerfully not celebratorily. Then Shabana Azmi and also Vidya Balan, who are both strong women. Also, Vidya Balan is often seen wearing silver jewellery, so it will be interesting to find out how she works fabric jewellery.
So from power dressing to lending a stylish edge to everyday casuals, add fabric jewellery to your wardrobe and work the trend.
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