All of us like adorning ourselves with glittering tiny stones woven together in a string or dangling beauties. For Vasuki Karthik, it was this passion for jewellery that changed her life. Like anyone else she liked collecting jewellery pieces but also had the knack of experimenting and wearing her jewellery differently.
“My husband got me few strings of AAA quality fresh water pearls from Philippines (world’s best fresh water pearls are cultivated here). When I saw the pearls and felt the texture, I wanted to wear the pearls little differently and create a fresh piece with some silver superfluities. This generated curiosity and appreciation from my friends. Not that this has not happened before, however this time it sparked an idea for me to turn my passion into an initiative to venture into the world of jewellery design professionally,” she says.
When asked how the idea of becoming a designer came about, she said, “From the time I remember as a child, I have always been intrigued by colours, patterns, abstracts, shapes and textures. I was initiated to the world of jewellery by my late maternal grandmother. She would make me sit with our family jeweller and redesign, recreate few pieces for herself, my mom, aunt and of course for me too! My father served the Paramilitary forces as an ENT Surgeon and we travelled extensively, so I have always been exposed to the various cultures, across the country. I guess this exposure helped me a lot. I was introduced to various ethnic, tribal and traditional forms of jewels.”
The turning point came when Vasukhi got married into the family of trained classical musicians and dancers. People always liked the designs she wore and always asked her where she picked it from.
She started branching out jewellery as they needed traditional pieces for their concerts. The designs and effort were always appreciated, which gave her confidence to take a plunge into the world of designing completely.
With no designing background, Vasukhi started her business just for her passion for beautifully crafted metals and glittering gems. She works with contemporary and traditional designs using water pearls, silver, gold, precious and semi-precious stones. “I work on precious metals such as silver and gold, fresh water cultured and natural ocean pearls, precious and semiprecious stones ( rubies, emeralds, amethyst, garnets, citrine etc). As I like intricate and ornate designs I try and ensure that my designs do carry the traditional form of art of Meenakari, Jadau, Kundan, Pacchi, Temple Nakshi work, hand beaten silver work with an embossed finish to name a few,” she says. Explaining the work that goes into designing her jewellery she says, “When I imagine something I sketch it on paper. The biggest challenge lies in execution. While I have a fluent hand in stringing my own designs which I do it myself, silversmithing with the artisans is more time consuming and tests my communication skills. The entire journey from imagination to end product production is an overpowering learning experience. It’s addictive, hence the urge is constant and excitement is always there.” She works with a few artisans from Nagarcoil, Jaipur, Ooty, Rajwada, and Coimbatore.
Her biggest inspiration is her husband. “Kartik has always been a very supportive friend, and a mentor. As he travels across the world due to his profession I take his help to source my raw materials. When he is not travelling he helps me during exhibitions and events,” she says. Her designs are for every woman who loves to dress up. “I think it all started when I realised that genuine jewellery can be made affordable. This is the basic philosophy that drives my passion,” she says.Though the couple has travelled to different parts of the world, she gets her inspiration from India. "I guess the turning point in my career was when my father got transferred to the colourful exuberant state of Rajasthan. The tribal jewelry, the jewels of the maharajas were always and will always be close to the heart,” she signs off.
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