BUILDING BLOCKS
Radhika Malhotra, 30, Na ur The designer who uses reclaimed teak wood to create jewellery
Ever imagined that feather-light jewellery could be made from reclaimed teak wood blocks that are usually discarded after a house is constructed? Radhika Malhotra’s SATAT is doing just that; she’s been making these unique pieces since
2017 and has even showcased at Milan Design Week.
Priced between ₹1,099 and ₹5,000, her sustainable jewellery sells through multiple retail channels. Though there’s no dedicated physical store yet, Radhika retails her jewellery through domestic fashion and jewellery online portals like Ogaan and Jaypore and stores like Nimai. Internationally, her designs are available on websites such as Dubai-based Dori, The Jewel Jar, Paprika and stores like Iris Trends in Chicago, just to name a few.
The venture is successful, and Radhika has also launched a clothing line. She intends to take her brand to every part of the world for people to see the intricacy and beauty of the work of Indian artisans—work that comes with the added benefit of sustainability.
Always having been a sustainability enthusiast, Radhika realised that jewellery was something she never saw being incorporated with sustainability.
“This made me think about starting a venture where I can incorporate sustainability into jewellery and other accessories. I wanted to make jewellery with materials that were reclaimed or waste that I could reuse. So, I
“I WANTED TO MAKE JEWELLERY WITH MATERIALS THAT WERE RECLAIMED OR WASTE THAT I COULD REUSE. SO, I STARTED SEARCHING FOR ARTISANS. THAT’S HOW IT BEGAN.“
—RADHIKA MALHOTRA, DESIGNER
started searching for artisans and people doing such kind of work using that medium an d came across a cluster of artisans that are doing this. We incorporated the idea, clubbed it, innovated the process and that’s how it began,” Radhika shares.
At the time, there was no other accessory brand in India that was using sustainability as its core concept. “I came across this beautiful craft inspired from the two-century-old practice of making printing blocks. But we upgraded it to fit it into the jewellery-making space. Block-making is functional, and a lot of things are considered while making the blocks. So, we extracted the wood-carving part and innovated it accordingly, and use only natural materials to colour the pieces that are made from scratch by karigars. This really highlights the sustainability aspect,” Radhika explains.
Of course, she also wondered if recycled or upcycled jewellery would appeal to people, but she stuck to her guns and went ahead. “The jewellery came out very attractive and easy for me to launch. Customers were really intrigued by it being handcrafted and sustainable,” says Radhika, who has a Bachelor of Design in fashion and lifestyle accessories from the National Institute of Fashion Technology.