Imagine a riot of colourful flowers or detailed relief works of your favourite deity for jewellery. That’s precisely what Aditi Chakraborty makes — stunning pieces of art that you can flaunt as accessories. Specialising in chunky, thematic neckpieces and earrings, Aditi’s label, Anki Bunki Aditi, has been making arty jewellery for the past six years now. Starting off as an amateur designer, who used to make unique matchstick jewellery for friends, Aditi now specialises in ceramic clay jewellery and employs around a dozen workers.
“It’s very difficult to make fine jewellery with intricate details out of ceramic clay, because it dries up fast. Also, all the pieces are handmade from scratch, and I use no moulds for any of the accessories. I learnt and relearnt the process through trial-and-error method over the years, and now have almost perfected the art,” says Aditi, whose chunky handmade neckpieces with floral relief work or faces of deities like Durga and Shiva are immensely popular among youngsters, for their very smart yet ethnic appeal.
In fact, we really loved the earpieces too, especially the very vibrant peacock feathers in clay. But Aditi has not stopped at playing with clay forms alone, and liberally uses brass and fabrics too for her creations. “I also love fusing materials, and often meld clay with brass and silk threads to create something unique,” adds the 42-year-old, who is also an Odissi dancer. Until so far, she has created more than 4,000 designs with her Durga 2018 collection, continuing to get an overwhelming number of orders, besides the ones with bird and lotus motifs.
“I have always stressed on creating statement pieces and apart from my Durga collection, we also have an equally popular range displaying the city’s skyline and eternal symbols like the rickshaws and trams. I believe in making individual pieces since wearing sets can make you look clumsy and overbearing. Wearing either a pendant or earring lets the character of that piece to emerge,” offers Aditi.
But Aditi has not restricted her creative instincts to jewellery alone, as she also designs equally artistic garments, and primarily works with handwoven khadi. There are funky anti-fit one-piece dresses, crop-tops and two-piece dresses primarily in shades of white, ash, beige, navy blue, red and mustard yellow to choose from. “The saris have exquisitely detailed works screen-printed on them, with all of them telling a story. We have done sadhus on saris for Makar Sankranti and there are nine yards depicting the elaborate Bengali wedding rituals, besides the ones with trams and floral motifs. We also have jamdani work on khadi,” says the couturier.
Aditi, who primarily retails through her Instagram and Facebook pages, also has her products for sale on the upscale and eco-friendly online retail site, Novica, supported by National Geographic. Her jewellery can also be spotted at any of the Biswa Bangla stores in the city.
Jewellery from Rs 1,500 to Rs 4,500 and apparel from Rs 2,000 to Rs 6,000.
sharmishtha.g @newindianexpress.com
@sharmidas