Cut above the rest

By Laila Nasry

Just 22, Harshini who started this line of work in 1999 says jewellery designing was never something she envisaged as a career. "I always wanted to have my own ad agency," she remembers. "I had even designed my logo." 

However designing was not totally new to her, her favourite pastime being painting. "I had an exhibition in September 1999," she recalls. "My present boss Rukman Fonseka came all three days!" Apart from buying a couple of her paintings, he invited her to join Agasti as its sole designer. 

"I told him, look I can draw, but I don't know whether I can do this," she says. But her initial nerves soon wore off. "I was fascinated to see so many gems. Like in the fairy tales I thought precious necklaces were only for queens and princesses. But here I am dabbling with diamonds and rubies," she smiles. 

Her first design was a diamond necklace. "The customer said 'I have stones, draw me a necklace with stars'." However not everyone is so decisive. "There are some who come asking for a diamond necklace, then change their minds, saying their husbands can't afford diamonds, while others leave the sole discretion to her. Whatever the request, Harshini strives to achieve what pleases them the most. "I'm not catering to my individual tastes, but to someone else's," she says. "There's some stuff I design which I dare not wear, but which is an order." 

But Harshini strongly believes and advocates breaking all rules. "Make your own rules," she says vehemently. "Some customers want the same old thing. Go in for something different. In a necklace instead of having the focus always in the middle have it in a side, anywhere... somewhere. Do it the way you like." Recalling a recent order for a bride and her retinue, she says the bride being open to new ideas, her necklace was three strands of blue beads. 

Harshini designs in yellow gold, white gold, beads, precious and semi-precious stones. Her designs are a mix of ethnic and modern. "This is very popular with foreigners," she says. Moreover, the jewellery is not only for women. "I have guys coming in asking me to do pieces for them." Beads are very popular, she adds with both guys and girls. 

In design, having good ideas is not enough, says Harshini. She has workmen working under her and the final creation, she points out, is a co-ordinated effort. Though she has done a course in jewellery design and the finer points and technicalities are well within her grasp, "I ask the workmen how a particular pattern can be achieved best and they'd tell me."

Harshini believes in perfection. "If not, don't do it all," she says. She works on her designs over and over again until she is thoroughly satisfied. This can be rather tiring at times expecially if the design includes delicate patterns and filigree work which takes ages to be drawn up.

"There have been times I've done a difficult drawing to perfection and mucked it up at the end. That can be really frustrating." At times she takes her work home. "Then I don't have time to paint and I stay up in the night which leaves me drained out." However music inspires her and she says designing is easy when she is calm and in a clear frame of mind.

Though her job can be stressful, constantly bombarded by orders, apart from designing for the shop Harshini enjoys her work to the fullest. "However tired I am, I want to come back to work, because I know I'm going to make something new today." 

Clothes Line

That secret ingredient 

People be careful of what you eat. Once I happened to be at a certain popular place by the sea when I saw a pineapple vendor searching for gold in his nostrils and some unlucky girls happened to buy pineapple from the same man. But of course, he gave it to them with a fork to show how hygienic he was - good for them. 

Another unfortunate incident was at a kottu rotti place. While the man was making kottu he added a little bit of this, a little bit of that and a little bit of - a sneeze (extra salt) and we say "Mmm, this food tastes yummy". Only he knew the whole recipe. What a good cook! Why does this happen to food? So watch out! 

Rojitha.

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