designing to WIN Indiana

Entering design competitions is an excellent and engaging exercise for any jewelry designer. It is an opportunity to solve specific design issues and an exercise to see if you can stand up to the challenges posed with design flexibility and innovation.

Competitions are a great way to find out if you have the ability, knowledge, and passion to drive the idea through to conclusion. Besides, if the result is favorable and your idea stands out among thousands of your peers, it is quite gratifying and encouraging. Winning a competition can fortify your position and ability to read trends, lead through design, and inspire.

International competitions have always looked for pieces that are extraordinary, original, innovative, and inspiring. The idea is to creatively feature materials like Tahitian cultured pearls and diamonds in a unique and thought-provoking way.

There are quite a few international competitions that really influence future trends. If you follow jewelry trends closely, it is quite obvious how these creations create a trickledown effect into mainstream jewelry. For example, Baggins and I are working now on a more market appropriate collection based on my award-winning Tahitian cultured pearl neckpiece. We are hoping to unveil this collection during the upcoming Las Vegas show this June.

INSPIRATION IS WORK

Contrary to the popular misconception that creative solutions happen in a flash of inspiration, design is a conscious decision making process, armed with information, investigation, and investment. Entering a design competition takes a significant time commitment. If your work is selected, it can take anywhere between six to eight months. It also depends on the complexity of your idea and the fabrication methods involved.

Your creative process should start by considering the theme of the competition you want to enter. There are multiple methods one can apply to interpret a theme. I agree with what I read somewhere that theme is the envelope in which concept is sent. It is the tone of a piece, its emotional appeal, and style of presentation. I try to make sure that each of the elements within the piece points toward the specified theme to maximize its connection with the audience.

While interpreting a theme, I try to look for the obvious but also for the unpredictable while exploring subtle ways of thematically enforcing the message of the design. It is always my intention to keep my audience in mind. In this regard, designers have to be careful not to design only to please themselves, but consider how others would see the same theme.

The recent Tahitian Pearl Trophy competition challenged artists to interpret the theme "The Song of the Stars," while emphasizing Tahitian pearls. The competition is an initiative of Perles de Tahiti, the official cultured pearl promotional organization for French Polynesia.

My design for the competition is inspired by the Pleiades star cluster also known as the Seven Sisters in Greek mythology. A cluster of hundreds of stars, they are the first stars to be mentioned in literature, appearing in Chinese annals, and also appear in Homer's Odyssey. I focused on the curves of the body to come up with a sensuous and rhythmic composition, as if stirred into motion—defying gravity, yet striking a formidable balance between fluidity and poise.

Multicolored Tahitian pearls are surrounded by smaller spheres encrusted with black and white diamonds to give a glistening effect and to emulate a star cluster. The main framework is crafted in mirror-finish 18k white gold that is defined, unembellished, and clean, so that the Tahitian pearls are highlighted. The neckpiece is prominent in both front and back, suggesting the all encompassing stars in space.

Another innovative feature is the use of sophisticated internal spring-loaded mechanisms, which open and close the piece comfortably. The necklace is hinged for flexibility and follows the body contours elegantly. The gallery is delicately worked-on to finish the underside with star symbol cut-outs. I wanted to incorporate the play of light, shadow, and color to accentuate the neckpiece's rhythmic interconnected shapes, contrasting with the negative space visible within and around the piece.

GIVING SHAPE TO THE CONCEPT

Once my neckpiece sketch was selected by the competition, it was time to give shape to my concept. At this stage of a contest, a designer needs to find a partner to help with the materials and fabrication. If you work for a retailer or manufacturer, your employer might be the sponsor. In this case, I needed to work with a pearl company who not only shared my vision but had the resources and ability to bring it to fruition. The finished piece would not have been remotely possible without the collaboration of my sponsors, Baggins & Chodhari.

The final piece, "Ethereal Rhapsody," is a result of countless hours of sketching, prototype and model making, proportion explorations, meticulous fabrication, and pearl selection. The precise measurements, weight calculation, hinging and internal mechanisms all had to be worked out with great attention to detail and extreme care in order to complete a piece of this magnitude. I worked on multiple technical drawings, dimensioning, and paper models to make sure that we did not make any mistakes during the actual making of the piece. This was extremely important, because if a small mistake was made during the planning stage, then the resulting problem would be costly.

I remember sorting pearls with Anil Maloo of Baggins in Los Angeles. We took two entire days, working way into late nights. On the work table, Maloo brought thousands of lustrous Tahitian pearls to choose from. We worked out countless permutation and combinations for the placement of each natural color Tahitian cultured pearl. We wanted to make sure that the color scheme complemented the visual flow of the entire necklace form, provided movement, and made a dynamic statement.

Since winning the North American division of the Tahitian Pearl Trophy, the neckpiece will now compete on the international level. It is rewarding enough in itself to accompany an idea from its inception to completion. I am pleased that I was able to achieve what I had envisioned with this piece.

Reena Ahluwalia has won numerous design competitions, including the HRD Awards 2007, De Beers Diamonds International Awards, Gold Virtuosi International Awards by World Gold Council, Samshin International Diamond Design Awards in Korea, and the Swarnanjali Awards by WGC. Her 2000 Diamonds International award-winning piece was featured by Alexander McQueen in the New York runway show for his spring/summer 2000 collection. She is the creative force behind some of the most recognized international jewelry brands.