Arabian Nights and some Zardozi

Spin me a story and I may never sleep again............or kill you, for that matter.......

THAT was the origin of the 1001 tale of Arabian Nights and well, the Emperor did fall in love with his quick witted and smart Queen eventually........

This necklace has an almost equally enchanting story behind it.......while we were going through Victorian beads at an alarming rate, Preethi expressed a desire to have a set made using those beads. We had made so many Tanjore pieces for her already (Tanjore being the design we were pairing Victorian beads with) that it was foolhardy to attempt yet another one and look/sound repetitive. We begged Preethi to allow us to experiment with a new technique and after a spread of choices was laid out for her, she went for Zardozi! When you mentin Zardozi, the first thought that comes to your head is flowy silks, rich golden embroidery, pearls, precious stones and Princesses!

We have tried to bring that grand vision to 3-dimensions, incorporating the "richest" elements we possessed - Swarovski pearls, Swarovski crystals, high gloss mica powders and of course, our finest skills........The "fish-like" entangled piece takes inspiration from the Japanese shibori ribbons, sans the ribbed texture. We've gone for a more 'fluid silk' texture and given faux-sequinned look using polymer clay and a smattering of aztec gold mica. When it comes to the zardozi look, we can only describe it as self-inflicted pain that we quite enjoyed :D Line by line, the 'threads' were precisely cut, assembled and highlighted. Some serious swarovski crystal embedding later, this has surely become THE creation of all creations for us!

And, of course, when he's asked to "dress properly" he dresses like a band-baaje wala :D AND loves photobombing Mumma's photos :D

Fifth Anniversary - Tutorial and review for waterproofing quilled jhumkas

Hello All,

Thank you so much for all the love you people have showered on us for past 5 years! It has been a roller coaster of a ride but what is life without some adventure thrown in!! Just like every year, we celebrate this anniversary with some love of sharing.........

All the crafters who make quilling jewellery groan (inwardly or otherwise) when their jewellery is compared with readymade, mass manufactured and impersonal alloy jewellery (most of it Made in China). We know the pain! Waterproofing of quilled jewellery has been its Achilles' Heel for a long time and most crafters struggle with answering the question: Will this jewellery get ruined when water falls on it?

We saw the problem for what it was. The customers want to make sure their money is worth it and the cost (of handmade jewellery) is justified too! So, we experimented with a host of resins and coating materials. The wall we kept hitting was: Importing the resin! Most resins available in India either had a short shelf like, or yellowed after some time! Since resin is susceptible to fire, it's transported via ships and that meant long waiting periods!

When Itsy Bitsy announced its line of resin (Lil Birdie: https://goo.gl/2EacL3 ), we seized the opportunity to try it on our quilled jhumkas..........we were a bit apprehensive as the reviews we had received so far said that the resin had a lot of bubbles upon mixing. We have worked around that problem and this video demonstrates how to use the resin on quilled jhumkas....

Hope the Tutorial/Review helps........

Pritesh (on behalf of Art'zire Team)

Tiniest inspiration - huge leap

Hello All,

As is very well known, we have been making quilled jhumkas for quite a while (3.5 years, to be precise). The quilled jhumka has had its evolution cycle, but we never ventured into polymer clay (dome shaped) jhumkas so far for two reasons, one, our aversion to overcrowded spaces (too many people were making them), two, every idea we got was just too easy/ordinary.

So, we waited, and we waited.......for a year and a half. Sometimes, tiniest of incidents can bring about sea changes in one's thoughts. Meeting ace artist Ajay Gulati , whose curator, Bhargavi is a personal friend, turned out to be that one stroke of inspiration we were waiting for............a tranquil evening spent admiring Ajay's paintings made a gazillion neural connections in our brains......and the result? The idea for polymer clay jhumka lurking in the corners of our minds came to the fore. It took a little while for us to get a concrete plan for executing it and when we did, we realized we were lacking in a few things needed for getting a desired effect. Almost an hour long discussion ensued and then, a frenzy of shopping! Whenever there is a new "line" being launched at Art'zire, the scene is similar.........ideas presented, fine-tuned, scrapped (if they don't meet our standards), fine-tuning some more and then, trials.......

Most times, we are able to foresee and rule out mistakes. Sometimes, we aren't that lucky. This time, a silicone mold we didn't realize was so big (until we finished the jhumka) came all the way from US (oh boy! Are we thankful for amazing friends or what????). We ruthlessly cut it up to meet our need and then resulted a jhumka (utilizing the first idea we got) which didn't quite make the cut. It looked gorgeous, but a tad bit too big........

Since the basic idea was in place, we fine-tuned the second trial onward as a breakneck pace. And in the third one, we finally made it! A jhumka that wasn't too big, had the right shape and the right weight :)

Now, since there was an order hanging about in the corner, we even got the opportunity to experiment within it. A neck-piece was a natural extension and this was one incidence when Art'zire Team rose to its full potential. One of the things we had been waiting to lay our hands on was jewellery tubes (so often used by a lot of jewellery makers in necklaces). They look oh-so-tempting, but then, they can't be customised to our needs. If you know how much we fuss over having things our way, using readymade metal tubes would be ruled out before it was even as much as uttered. Hence, we decided to break our heads with our own! And well, the OLD enemy - Symmetry!!!!!!

Speak to any hand-made jewellery maker and you'd hear tales of how nightmarish symmetry can be to execute. But the Team never succumbed to pessimism or to the hurdles that faced us. We happily (okay, not so happily, but with tons of effort!) jumped over them and here is the full set :) Art'zire Team does it yet again..............brainstorming till we have THAT one idea that not only impresses but inspires every single member..........

Once we had done the main parts, it was time for the rest of the material to complement our hard work. In such times, we rely on the innovation and beauty that's commonly called Swarovski ;) They never let us down and now, we are beginning to believe that we are the only ones in India who obsess so much over their pearls :D These pearls are just paint gorgeous and those crystals! There's a reason one takes the name Swarovski with a lot of respect :) They are a jewellery-designer's dream-come-true............and ours do, every single time we look at the box we have assigned for them.......

Stringing in Swarovskis, embedding some in the central pendant and voila! We are good to go!!!!

A special thanks to Suma, for her order and to Richa, for being that steady rock whose ideas and constructive criticism help us stay rooted.......and well, Bindu (like always), for being our shoulder to lean on...........for pretty much everything! Lots and lots of love..........

Thank you for reading through.......

- Art'zire Team

PS: We don't take kindly to copying of our designs. If you are inspired, please be, by all means. Just don't forget to mention that it's not your design (no thanks, we don't want too much credit!)........

Cuteness overload - Overnight - Literally............

Hello All,

When this order landed in our kitty, we were already hard-pressed for time! The time was less, the order elaborate and criteria, almost limiting........

But well, a challenge or two is fodder for our creativity............so, we set off on this journey. Just shy of banning of Rs. 500 and 1000 notes, we purchased the steel glasses (Thank God!) and started! And within less than 24 hours (and a sleepless night), we had the glasses going.............just so a little boy can have his birthday return gifts by Sunday!

 Happy drinking in customized glasses :D

- Art'zire