|*{{A graduate in textile and fashion design, Smriti was content with her designer boutique until she recognised her calling for jewellery designing. Winner of the ABN-AMRO Solitaire Awards in the Daily Wear category and in the Couture category, besides a few others, she is the Creative Director of Jewels Emporium, Jaipur. Nandita Kumar talks to Smriti Bohra to understand the designer and the inspiration behind her award winning designs.}}*|%% Smriti is a warm yet shy person. Since she avoids the media, it naturally takes her time to open up and get into the rhythm of the conversation. If you try and trace back to when it all began, Smriti gives a wry laugh and confesses that she used to visit their Jewels Emporium showroom only when there was a piece to be redone or when she and husband Anup, who runs the jewellery business, had to go somewhere together. On her part, having trained in textile and fashion designing she was content to operate a fashion boutique. Then one day all that changed. %% It so happened, way back then, she had a piece of jewellery, and she wanted a particular type of enameling done on it. She brought the piece to the Jewels Emporium MI Road showroom, to have it recoloured. This is what marked the beginning of a new journey. The small desire was the fork in the road; she didn’t know at that time she was taking the other path. More than a year’s persistent effort finally achieved the desired effect, and for the calling to establish itself more firmly. During this time, Smriti was intrigued by a piece of amethyst that was lying in the stocks of Jewels Emporium. The piece had a unisexual face carved in the gem. Smriti created a neckpiece out of it, and its sale to a German lady buyer sealed the direction of her career. %% Speaking of her change of direction, she says that fashion hasn’t entirely grown off her. For, when she finishes designing a piece, she feels ever so inclined to suggest what kind of outfit it ought to be worn with, down to the details of how to carry oneself to optimise the effect of the piece. %% Almost all of Smriti’s designs draw upon Nature for inspiration. It’s evident that Nature has a special place in her heart – she designs a lot of pieces with different birds, fishes, creatures, while flowers remain an all time favourite. The famed Peacock Collection has no known parallels, and has inspired many imitation collections by others. %% The Lotus Eloquence collection is renowned for interpretation of the flower in varying patterns and colours, each designed to appeal to a particular type of personality. One of the most fascinating pieces in this collection is the necklace which has a lotus as pendant, and while the flower lies cradled, faceted gemstones swirl around it, appearing to float around the flower. As it is, Smriti has always been a very ‘colour-sensitive’ person. She ‘feels’ colours and seeks the harmony and contrasts inherent in their coming together, and highlights this in her designs at all times. Every colour, every shade and tone is a language that embellishes the designs that have her very own watermark.

Her designing team coordinates with her, and one of the foremost aspects that strikes one is that the entire team is drawn from diverse backgrounds. What unites them and what she looks for in her team members is creativity. Being trained in jewellery designing is usually the last thing she asks of the prospective applicants. “The designing schools actually do more harm than good,” insists Smriti with a smile. “If at all I take on someone who has been formally trained in designing, the first thing I tell them is – unlearn everything they taught you at the school. And if they manage to overthrow those shackles of ‘training’, and come forth with ‘out-of-the-box’ ideas, we know they are part of our team from there on.” Smriti’s designing is very disciplined, and there is a lot of effort that goes into it. As she says, “When I begin, the designs keep going back and forth on my table. Till there is complete synchronization between what is in the mind and on paper, the process keeps going on. There is no saying how long a design will take to finish. And even after I finish, I know that there is one person for that design and wonder if they will actually come to pick up the final piece. And, as it invariably happens, no matter how starkly dissimilar from earlier designs the new piece is, the right wearer of it does come along! It is immensely satisfying to see months of effort not just appreciated but also complementing the personality of the person who wears the design that ultimately evolved.” %% Of materials, Smriti knows no limitations, and neither is her choice of what she uses in her pieces limited by their monetary worth. Their value to her is immeasurable only in the fact that they are the perfect embellishment to her design. The thirst for innovation has led her to travel extensively all over the globe, in search of that something which uplifts everything she creates. Sometimes she has picked up lava drips to be used as centerpieces in a set; in others exquisitely shaped natural wood pieces have been transformed into unique bracelets. As long as the finished piece meets with her aesthetic sensibility, she is willing to pick up anything, however humble. As she puts it, “The ultimate effect is what I strive for, and just because a gemstone or some other material is not of a high value, I will never eliminate it from my designs.” %% It is this unique sensibility and touch which distinguish Smriti’s designs and Jewels Emporium jewellery from all others.

|*{{A graduate in textile and fashion design, Smriti was content with her designer boutique until she recognised her calling for jewellery designing. Winner of the ABN-AMRO Solitaire Awards in the Daily Wear category and in the Couture category, besides a few others, she is the Creative Director of Jewels Emporium, Jaipur. Nandita Kumar talks to Smriti Bohra to understand the designer and the inspiration behind her award winning designs.}}*|%% Smriti is a warm yet shy person. Since she avoids the media, it naturally takes her time to open up and get into the rhythm of the conversation. If you try and trace back to when it all began, Smriti gives a wry laugh and confesses that she used to visit their Jewels Emporium showroom only when there was a piece to be redone or when she and husband Anup, who runs the jewellery business, had to go somewhere together. On her part, having trained in textile and fashion designing she was content to operate a fashion boutique. Then one day all that changed. %% It so happened, way back then, she had a piece of jewellery, and she wanted a particular type of enameling done on it. She brought the piece to the Jewels Emporium MI Road showroom, to have it recoloured. This is what marked the beginning of a new journey. The small desire was the fork in the road; she didn’t know at that time she was taking the other path. More than a year’s persistent effort finally achieved the desired effect, and for the calling to establish itself more firmly. During this time, Smriti was intrigued by a piece of amethyst that was lying in the stocks of Jewels Emporium. The piece had a unisexual face carved in the gem. Smriti created a neckpiece out of it, and its sale to a German lady buyer sealed the direction of her career. %% Speaking of her change of direction, she says that fashion hasn’t entirely grown off her. For, when she finishes designing a piece, she feels ever so inclined to suggest what kind of outfit it ought to be worn with, down to the details of how to carry oneself to optimise the effect of the piece. %% Almost all of Smriti’s designs draw upon Nature for inspiration. It’s evident that Nature has a special place in her heart – she designs a lot of pieces with different birds, fishes, creatures, while flowers remain an all time favourite. The famed Peacock Collection has no known parallels, and has inspired many imitation collections by others. %% The Lotus Eloquence collection is renowned for interpretation of the flower in varying patterns and colours, each designed to appeal to a particular type of personality. One of the most fascinating pieces in this collection is the necklace which has a lotus as pendant, and while the flower lies cradled, faceted gemstones swirl around it, appearing to float around the flower. As it is, Smriti has always been a very ‘colour-sensitive’ person. She ‘feels’ colours and seeks the harmony and contrasts inherent in their coming together, and highlights this in her designs at all times. Every colour, every shade and tone is a language that embellishes the designs that have her very own watermark.

Her designing team coordinates with her, and one of the foremost aspects that strikes one is that the entire team is drawn from diverse backgrounds. What unites them and what she looks for in her team members is creativity. Being trained in jewellery designing is usually the last thing she asks of the prospective applicants. “The designing schools actually do more harm than good,” insists Smriti with a smile. “If at all I take on someone who has been formally trained in designing, the first thing I tell them is – unlearn everything they taught you at the school. And if they manage to overthrow those shackles of ‘training’, and come forth with ‘out-of-the-box’ ideas, we know they are part of our team from there on.” Smriti’s designing is very disciplined, and there is a lot of effort that goes into it. As she says, “When I begin, the designs keep going back and forth on my table. Till there is complete synchronization between what is in the mind and on paper, the process keeps going on. There is no saying how long a design will take to finish. And even after I finish, I know that there is one person for that design and wonder if they will actually come to pick up the final piece. And, as it invariably happens, no matter how starkly dissimilar from earlier designs the new piece is, the right wearer of it does come along! It is immensely satisfying to see months of effort not just appreciated but also complementing the personality of the person who wears the design that ultimately evolved.” %% Of materials, Smriti knows no limitations, and neither is her choice of what she uses in her pieces limited by their monetary worth. Their value to her is immeasurable only in the fact that they are the perfect embellishment to her design. The thirst for innovation has led her to travel extensively all over the globe, in search of that something which uplifts everything she creates. Sometimes she has picked up lava drips to be used as centerpieces in a set; in others exquisitely shaped natural wood pieces have been transformed into unique bracelets. As long as the finished piece meets with her aesthetic sensibility, she is willing to pick up anything, however humble. As she puts it, “The ultimate effect is what I strive for, and just because a gemstone or some other material is not of a high value, I will never eliminate it from my designs.” %% It is this unique sensibility and touch which distinguish Smriti’s designs and Jewels Emporium jewellery from all others.

|*{{A graduate in textile and fashion design, Smriti was content with her designer boutique until she recognised her calling for jewellery designing. Winner of the ABN-AMRO Solitaire Awards in the Daily Wear category and in the Couture category, besides a few others, she is the Creative Director of Jewels Emporium, Jaipur. Nandita Kumar talks to Smriti Bohra to understand the designer and the inspiration behind her award winning designs.}}*|%% Smriti is a warm yet shy person. Since she avoids the media, it naturally takes her time to open up and get into the rhythm of the conversation. If you try and trace back to when it all began, Smriti gives a wry laugh and confesses that she used to visit their Jewels Emporium showroom only when there was a piece to be redone or when she and husband Anup, who runs the jewellery business, had to go somewhere together. On her part, having trained in textile and fashion designing she was content to operate a fashion boutique. Then one day all that changed. %% It so happened, way back then, she had a piece of jewellery, and she wanted a particular type of enameling done on it. She brought the piece to the Jewels Emporium MI Road showroom, to have it recoloured. This is what marked the beginning of a new journey. The small desire was the fork in the road; she didn’t know at that time she was taking the other path. More than a year’s persistent effort finally achieved the desired effect, and for the calling to establish itself more firmly. During this time, Smriti was intrigued by a piece of amethyst that was lying in the stocks of Jewels Emporium. The piece had a unisexual face carved in the gem. Smriti created a neckpiece out of it, and its sale to a German lady buyer sealed the direction of her career. %% Speaking of her change of direction, she says that fashion hasn’t entirely grown off her. For, when she finishes designing a piece, she feels ever so inclined to suggest what kind of outfit it ought to be worn with, down to the details of how to carry oneself to optimise the effect of the piece. %% Almost all of Smriti’s designs draw upon Nature for inspiration. It’s evident that Nature has a special place in her heart – she designs a lot of pieces with different birds, fishes, creatures, while flowers remain an all time favourite. The famed Peacock Collection has no known parallels, and has inspired many imitation collections by others. %% The Lotus Eloquence collection is renowned for interpretation of the flower in varying patterns and colours, each designed to appeal to a particular type of personality. One of the most fascinating pieces in this collection is the necklace which has a lotus as pendant, and while the flower lies cradled, faceted gemstones swirl around it, appearing to float around the flower. As it is, Smriti has always been a very ‘colour-sensitive’ person. She ‘feels’ colours and seeks the harmony and contrasts inherent in their coming together, and highlights this in her designs at all times. Every colour, every shade and tone is a language that embellishes the designs that have her very own watermark.

Her designing team coordinates with her, and one of the foremost aspects that strikes one is that the entire team is drawn from diverse backgrounds. What unites them and what she looks for in her team members is creativity. Being trained in jewellery designing is usually the last thing she asks of the prospective applicants. “The designing schools actually do more harm than good,” insists Smriti with a smile. “If at all I take on someone who has been formally trained in designing, the first thing I tell them is – unlearn everything they taught you at the school. And if they manage to overthrow those shackles of ‘training’, and come forth with ‘out-of-the-box’ ideas, we know they are part of our team from there on.” Smriti’s designing is very disciplined, and there is a lot of effort that goes into it. As she says, “When I begin, the designs keep going back and forth on my table. Till there is complete synchronization between what is in the mind and on paper, the process keeps going on. There is no saying how long a design will take to finish. And even after I finish, I know that there is one person for that design and wonder if they will actually come to pick up the final piece. And, as it invariably happens, no matter how starkly dissimilar from earlier designs the new piece is, the right wearer of it does come along! It is immensely satisfying to see months of effort not just appreciated but also complementing the personality of the person who wears the design that ultimately evolved.” %% Of materials, Smriti knows no limitations, and neither is her choice of what she uses in her pieces limited by their monetary worth. Their value to her is immeasurable only in the fact that they are the perfect embellishment to her design. The thirst for innovation has led her to travel extensively all over the globe, in search of that something which uplifts everything she creates. Sometimes she has picked up lava drips to be used as centerpieces in a set; in others exquisitely shaped natural wood pieces have been transformed into unique bracelets. As long as the finished piece meets with her aesthetic sensibility, she is willing to pick up anything, however humble. As she puts it, “The ultimate effect is what I strive for, and just because a gemstone or some other material is not of a high value, I will never eliminate it from my designs.” %% It is this unique sensibility and touch which distinguish Smriti’s designs and Jewels Emporium jewellery from all others.