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| Indian jewellery designer Eina Ahluwalia |
One week has passed by in a wink. I’ve gone from getting lost to discovering shortcuts, from knowing exactly two people in the city to having a hectic social diary, from shock to a meditative state at my jewellery bench at school.
I decided to take a much-needed break and moved to Florence for an intensive two-month training at Alchimia Contemporary Jewellery School. After eight years of designing contemporary jewellery in India, I was beginning to feel limited in my design vocabulary as I was confined to playing with the traditional skills of the craftspeople I worked with. I needed a new language because I had so much more to say. I also needed to hone my bench skills for a smooth flow between my thoughts and my hands, without the loss in translation with the craftsman in the middle.
The other reason I’m here is to build a better context to my work. I work with conceptual art jewellery, something that is a niche in the world market, and non-existent in India. It is jewellery where the concept or the message is primary to the material and technique, and usually viewed and valued as art. It is personal and strongly individualistic, and worn more as a statement rather than ornamentation. At Alchimia, artistic direction is parallel to the technical training, and it is great to be in an environment where I am implicitly understood, and spend time with people who speak my language.
The great part about Alchimia is that the students, whether they are here for short-term courses or three-year graduate programme – all belong to one big seamless space. Watching the process, material, experimentation and evolution of other students is a lesson in itself. Ideas are sparked off, questions asked, notes exchanged, and growth happens.
Just after first few days into the course, I realised that working on each piece with my own hands is a painstaking, creative process; it requires patience, precision, a calm spirit and a quiet soul. And mistakes, in fact, open up new possibilities. The process is exciting, and I can’t wait to play with new and unexpected materials. Even though I am just a week into my two-month training, I am already thinking of exciting ways to integrate new techniques, materials and lessons with the traditional skills to create unexpected, surprising pieces. I also can’t wait to get back to India and set up my own bench, playing with my hands, thoughts, feelings, and turning them into jewellery.
Jewellery designer Eina Ahluwalia’s work in silver is evocative and provocative, and initiates a dialogue between the jewellery, the wearer and the viewer. Through her brand, Breathing Space she conceptualises, researches and executes her jewellery pieces outside the limits of conventions, tradition or techniques. Her last collection showcased at Lakme Fashion Week was titled, Love, Respect, Protect, and took a stand against domestic violence.
 Alchimia Contemporary Jewellery School in Florence  Alchimia Contemporary Jewellery School in Florence  One of student's work at Alchimia Contemporary Jewellery School in Florence  Eina Ahluwalia at Alchimia workshop  | |
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| Love, Respect, Protect earrings from Eina Ahluwalia's Fall/Winter 2011 collection. She took a stand against domestic violence through her bold jewellery pieces |
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| Neckpiece from Containment Collection, based on the perfect relationship where one feels accepted, understood and loved, i.e. contained in the other person with all one’s complexities |
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