India Today

FROM SCRAP TO ART

Raji Anand Reconstruc­ted Handmade Jewellery

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With repurposed temple jewellery and statement

pieces that use ice-cream sticks, wood and seeds, Raji Anand, a selftaught jewellery designer has a style that clearly distinguis­hes her from the burgeoning market of designers. Her journey into jewellery making is also how she fell in love with the city again. “I’ve grown up all over the country and dabbled in many different fields including garments, styling and interiors. It was when I moved back to Chennai that I began exploring Indian garments and contempora­ry silhouette­s,” she says. With no knowledge of jewellery making, she started off with simple fabric jewellery and soon had her first solo show and every piece was quickly lapped up by buyers. “I realised how starved the market was for innovation,” she says. Her experiment­s with temple jewellery and kemp stones is what she is most easily associated with. Her work brings out an unexpected contempora­ry side of traditiona­l ornaments reconstruc­ted to create bold statement pieces. Offering cuffs, finger rings, necklaces, earrings and hair bands, Anand’s strength lies in her weakness. “Since I am not trained, I find inspiratio­n in everything I see. I start with a visual idea of the piece I am making and find detail in anything,” she says. Every piece has a twist and Anand doesn’t start with a sketch but gets down to constructi­ng it by laying the material out straight away. AT Chamiers, RA Puram and Shilpi stores WEB facebook.com/rajidesign/ PRICE Rs 6,000 onwards

 ??  ?? Raji Anand specialise­s in repurposed temple jewellery
Raji Anand specialise­s in repurposed temple jewellery

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