It was her grandfather who opened up the fascinating world of jewellery designing to Urvashi Verma when she was a child. Urvashi remembers being upset about not being able to find a pink necklace and earrings for her uncle’s wedding because she ‘wished to be all decked up in pink, like they showed in cartoon fairytales.’ Her grandfather noticed her interest and a jewellery designing course at the age of seven followed.
“The first thing I made was a pink jewellery set, of course,” she says, laughing.
The creative streak continued and she went on to successfully complete her bachelors in Footwear Designing as a gold medallist from Footwear Design and Development Institute, Chennai.
“It was not a coincidence. Since childhood, I have been inclined towards creative artefacts — from jewellery and perfume bottles to night lamps. Everything caught my attention and I noticed and admired the smallest intricacies in their designs,” says Urvashi.
“As I grew older, I started noticing the beautiful home décor items my mother used to make out of whatever was available; something that other people would label ‘waste’ or ‘unusable’. But my favourite still remained jewellery. One could not drag me away from the jewellery display windows until I had gazed at them to my heart’s content,” she adds.
Soon she graduated from poring over them to making jewellery. Using common materials like thread, needle, beads, stones, kundan and waste paper, she makes uncommon pieces that can be customised to any shape and colour. “If someone asks me to make something, I usually talk to them for an hour or so, trying to understand their preferences and passions, figuring out what will they like,” she elaborates.
Having experimented with statement pieces like big danglers and necklaces like choker, princess necklace and opera necklace, she has now set plans on making ones with dried flowers and paper.
Bright colours are her main focus and even though she loves shades of pink, purple, red and gold, she doesn’t limit herself to those. “Many visual details and experiences influence my work. I am inspired because I am attracted to certain things but that doesn’t mean that I want to emulate them. I have used beads in geometric forms. I also play around with colour, texture and finishing. I introduce some asymmetry because I love something a little unexpected. But elegance is the primary principle of design. My work is never too heavy or too light. It is all about getting the proportion right.”
Urvashi initially had a tough time convincing her family that she wanted to be a designer, and not an engineer or a doctor. But with an aim to show everyone that her choice was indeed the right one, she has her whole plan sorted out. “One day I would like to have my own designing studio but that will take a couple of years. Till then, I need to work and learn more about jewellery designing. This is what my plan is but as of now, it’s time for peace; a time to celebrate myself and my hobbies.”
It seems and sounds like a lot of work and Urvashi agrees. Then what is her motivation? “I have designed many sets for my friends and relatives though I don’t sell yet. I have gifted these to people for their weddings and I really love it when they wear those and share their selfies with me. It gives me tremendous satisfaction; in fact, it is a great honour. And these moments make up for everything else,” she says, with a smile.