Mind over Bauble
This young Bengalurean's affordable line of jewellery is making heads turn.
Even as you see her play with tassles, rhinestones and antique silver, fashioning them into pieces of the classic or boho chic variety, you can tell that Anjalli Sukumaran has the world in her eyes but her country, at heart. This 25-year-old is now being sought out for her jewellery, not only because it’s affordable, but because it’s one of a kind.
A corporate lawyer by profession with no formal training in jewellery design, Anjalli confesses that she’s always been a bauble belle. “While in college, I developed a fascination for super long drop down earrings, bohemian rings and oxidised silver and gold jewellery. I’d always get asked where I got my jewellery from and that sparked the idea,” she tells us. Her eponymous label Anjalli is her own ideas brought to life as well as a careful curation of pieces from across India.
“While my passion for jewellery and entrepreneurship were some of the reasons I started out, the other most important one was to help small time artisans. I work with jewelers and manufacturers from remote parts of the country as it gives them an opportunity to earn a regular income,” she explains.
Impulsively following trends isn’t her style. But timeless classics are. Even if she decides to give fads a shot, she makes sure, there’s always a twist. Know the regular black velvet and suede chokers that are everyone’s wearing? Now think of an antique gold ghungroo choker, one with pearls and rhinestones or a string of intricately lined up silver hearts, ranging from Rs 400 to Rs 1,800. That’s her vision at work.
Anjalli started out in September this year, and you wouldn’t miss the number of followers she’s amassed – 10,000 and counting. “The most challenging part was to quit a steady paying job to start something that could have an uncertain future. The best thing to do is not over think it and get blinded by other’s ‘free advice’,” she smiles.
As she charts out her plan – a new website and more trinkets, we ask her what else she enjoys doing. “I love watching movies, reading non-fiction and indulging in photography. I’m also a major foodie and love trying out different cuisines,” she says, drawing inspiration from wherever she can find it.