A Little Design Trip to India

It was a surreal meeting and I left thinking ‘I’ve got a job with them haven’t I?’   It was still unclear, but my head was spinning with the possibilities of new designs using gemstones. After a week, I contacted them to say what concepts I had come up with, and a few designs that were drawn up. The email I got back took me by surprise! “Could you go to India next week?”

As you can imagine my head started spinning. Yes I could go, but I had plans in the diary, commissions, meetings, and not forgetting a nearly two year old, whose birthday I couldn’t miss and that had to have childcare!

But I managed to organize everything (including my husband – no mean feat!!) And flew off to India. I don’t think I have ever experienced so many emotions before in my life. I was so excited and proud of myself – after all they want me – yes me, and my designs!! I have never been to India before, what an experience!   The food, the culture, the heat, everything was so different to what I am used to. I was anxious, thrilled, scared – I knew no one there, only had one meeting with TJC in the UK, and I was travelling all alone. There was part of me which was pretty happy to have a bit of time to myself on my own adventure, but also so sad to leave Evie, screaming ‘Mummy’ as I left in the taxi! I saw this quote before I left and it pretty much summed things up.

I arrived in India, pretty exhausted after a night flight. I was met by a driver and taken to the hotel, which was lovely. I had a little sunbathe and some gorgeous Indian food and went to bed. In the morning I went to the office and met the design team I was working with. We then had a tour of their factories and started choosing Gemstones to match my mood boards. It was so incredible; I was like a kid in a sweetie shop! So many colours, and such amazing quality stones.

Then spent the next few long days coming up with new designs and working with the Indian design team. It was a hard process, the language barrier didn’t help, and they were not used to working with a designer like me, and weren’t very flexible at first, wanting designs similar to what they were used to. It was hard to stand my ground and explain ‘that’s what I am here for!’

But we managed to get the designs on paper and after many Chinese whispers and amendments we got to a near end result.

For two days I had the chance to tour of Jaipur and come up with a collection inspired by India, as it it TJC’s 10^th birthday, and being an Indian company we thought it would be a great idea.

Well what I can I say? India is a crazy, dirty, disorganized, beautiful, chaotic, friendly, mad place!   Travelling anywhere takes an age as no one obeys the rules of the road and they all just go for it, beeping horns, which I think it is now just habit! But I got to see the Hawa Mahal, the Amer Fort, City Palace, Jal Mahal, Albert Hall Museum. Here are a few pictures.