Exploring a pot of gold
Shafaq Habib discusses tryst with designing jewellery and the inspiration behind latest exhibit
Habib’s new collection is inspired by her travels to Turkey, Italy and Japan. PHOTO: PUBLICITY
KARACHI:
“Real gold jewellery emits emotional and financial strength,” asserts jewellery designer Shafaq Habib, who is currently exhibiting her collection at a local hotel. On an economic note, an investment in gold is a personal choice. “People who want to wear gold will wear it, no matter what. However, I urge my clients to not cross their budget limit and remain within their boundaries,” she states.
For Habib, gold pieces are equivalent to lifetime assets that can be passed down to generations. “Artificial jewellery isn’t cheap either these days but you certainly can’t gift it to your young ones. Gold pieces, on the other hand, serve the purpose of an heirloom.” She goes on to add, “You should have less gold but a diverse collection of it.”
Habib, who’s based in Lahore, is currently visiting Karachi for her ornaments exhibition. On pairing traditional gold jewellery designs to customary bridal joras she says, “Jewellery can be worn several times repeatedly and no one will point out that it’s a dated piece. However, you can’t repeat a bridal jora, the second time round, ever,” she confesses.
On choosing to delve into the gold jewellery business, she spontaneously explains, “I had a passion to do something related to gold. She claims, she came into fame in 1982 when Lord & Taylor on Fifth Avenue began showcasing her pieces with her name initialled on the designs. “Business exceeded the demand and that’s when I realised that talent and hard work is always appreciated in a civilised world.” On her sense of inspiration, Habib says, “Primarily, my travels have inspired me. I travel a lot and hence I get the time to design while I’m at it.”
Bringing her creative ornaments into tête-à-tête, she denotes that she acquired stimulation from three countries for her current exhibit. “My new collection is justly inspired by my sojourn to Istanbul, from the Turkish inspired calligraphy, which you see in my pieces. The gold and pearls pieces are inspired from my travels to Japan, hence the geometric shapes in the jewellery. Lastly, I took cues from Italy — gaining stimulation from their weaves and fine thread-work”. Besides these, some Cartier inspired Maharajah of India’s Victorian enthused pieces are also part of her assorted collection.
Recalling the time when she moved back to Pakistan, she catered to an exclusive set of clientele, she reveals, “Initially, when I came back in 1990, I was designing for the elite of Pakistan. Hina Rabbani Khar and Sherry Rehman picked what they liked best for themselves. Later, General Musharraf’s family members bought some pieces and then the entire clan of Yousuf Raza Gilani became part of my avid clientele.” Recently, the designer crafted Samina and Usman Peerzada’s daughter’s wedding trousseau jewellery. It can take up to a month or two to deliver the final products to customers, she says.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 14th, 2015.
“Real gold jewellery emits emotional and financial strength,” asserts jewellery designer Shafaq Habib, who is currently exhibiting her collection at a local hotel. On an economic note, an investment in gold is a personal choice. “People who want to wear gold will wear it, no matter what. However, I urge my clients to not cross their budget limit and remain within their boundaries,” she states.
For Habib, gold pieces are equivalent to lifetime assets that can be passed down to generations. “Artificial jewellery isn’t cheap either these days but you certainly can’t gift it to your young ones. Gold pieces, on the other hand, serve the purpose of an heirloom.” She goes on to add, “You should have less gold but a diverse collection of it.”
Habib, who’s based in Lahore, is currently visiting Karachi for her ornaments exhibition. On pairing traditional gold jewellery designs to customary bridal joras she says, “Jewellery can be worn several times repeatedly and no one will point out that it’s a dated piece. However, you can’t repeat a bridal jora, the second time round, ever,” she confesses.
On choosing to delve into the gold jewellery business, she spontaneously explains, “I had a passion to do something related to gold. She claims, she came into fame in 1982 when Lord & Taylor on Fifth Avenue began showcasing her pieces with her name initialled on the designs. “Business exceeded the demand and that’s when I realised that talent and hard work is always appreciated in a civilised world.” On her sense of inspiration, Habib says, “Primarily, my travels have inspired me. I travel a lot and hence I get the time to design while I’m at it.”
Bringing her creative ornaments into tête-à-tête, she denotes that she acquired stimulation from three countries for her current exhibit. “My new collection is justly inspired by my sojourn to Istanbul, from the Turkish inspired calligraphy, which you see in my pieces. The gold and pearls pieces are inspired from my travels to Japan, hence the geometric shapes in the jewellery. Lastly, I took cues from Italy — gaining stimulation from their weaves and fine thread-work”. Besides these, some Cartier inspired Maharajah of India’s Victorian enthused pieces are also part of her assorted collection.
Recalling the time when she moved back to Pakistan, she catered to an exclusive set of clientele, she reveals, “Initially, when I came back in 1990, I was designing for the elite of Pakistan. Hina Rabbani Khar and Sherry Rehman picked what they liked best for themselves. Later, General Musharraf’s family members bought some pieces and then the entire clan of Yousuf Raza Gilani became part of my avid clientele.” Recently, the designer crafted Samina and Usman Peerzada’s daughter’s wedding trousseau jewellery. It can take up to a month or two to deliver the final products to customers, she says.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 14th, 2015.