Tell us something about your background?
I was raised in East London where I completed my education. I come from a traditional Indian family consisting of my Mother, Father, elder Brother and Grand Parents with whom I’m still very close.
When did you start designing jewellery?
Although I went on to qualify in health and social care I always knew that my calling was in fashion and beauty. As time went by I found myself becoming engrossed in everyday life, which involved running a busy home as both a mother and wife.
Over the years I met my mentor and this was quite by chance. He plays a very big part in the creative design and process at Ka-vivá Jewels but also for the direction of each and every project. He helped me through this journey. This has also in no small part been through the hard work of my Husband, Kumar Banerjee who is a lawyer by background and also one of company leads. The name Ka-vivá is derived from the names of my two children. My Son Vivaan 6 and Daughter Kaveesha 4. This was always very important to me as at heart we cherish what is most dear and important to us. As I live and breathe my young family I felt it was important to draw out that emotional connection.
Who is your biggest mentor in this field?
We launched Ka-vivá Jewels in May 2017 and have since gone on to be involved in 4 fashion shows and a multitude of other events and collaborations. Each event involved supporting major UK Charities such as the British heart foundation and Cancer research UK. One of the Fashion shows involved my presiding over the contestants as a Judge at the Miss Continental UK 2017 awards. This was held at a hotel in London. I was also involved in an event supporting awareness of Punjabi girl’s through acharity in India. It was there that I met the Punjabiartist and singer Lehmbar Hussainpuri. It is the likes of such humble and grounded icons that have helped me to navigate large events and shows. It has also given me the faith in my own abilities to rise to
big occasions not to mention events. These people continue to support and assist our brand and it’s very much a part of our culture working with not only the best but also helping to develop rising stars. Also this connection was possible with the assistance of yet another star Amrit Saab who is rising quickly as a mainstream Bhangra artist also in Bollywood. It was also our pleasure and honourto meet the very lovely Sushmita Sen (ex Miss Universe). I personally found her to be a grounded,inspiring and charismatic individual. For me it is people like this who inspire me to continue with the work I do and also helping to become positive role models for people coming through in Fashion and design today.
What is you favorite part of being designer?
We have also participated in various exhibitions most notably the English wedding fair at the heart of Pall Mall, London. We have had the opportunity to work closely with models who have gone on to grace Formula 1 and other red carpets. We were involved in the Miss Supranational UK event and our jewellery was worn by the finalists Miss England, Scotland and Wales at the Grand Finals in Poland, which was televised worldwide.
So far which turn out to be your best exhibition?
We wanted to create 3 different looks for our collections and therefore set upon three sets of photo shoots, which would be ground breaking shoots. Our first photo shoot was for our Grand Heritage range, which we shot at the Savoy hotel in London. We chose this particular hotel as a landmark location in order to create a real feeling of timelessness and classical quality. The collection is a range of elegant and also understated jewellery, which is more for the discerning person who wants to think highbrow, gala or red carpets. We had a long applications and selections process only settling for the best models for our range, including make up artists. We also had to call on an extremely versatile photographer who was able to execute the shoot down to the last detail. This resulted in a really powerful portfolio of photographs of our jewellery. Our models both later went on to win Miss motors F1 titles for the UK.
What are your future plans?
Our future plans now are to create some new and fresh pieces for 2018 and also to expand our audience. I feel that this year is most definitely going to be a good one for us as we have had a good response to our current designs. The most valuable lesson I have learnt in my life has been from my Grandmother who rests in heaven now who showed me just how hard work which starts from home is a character builder. Having respect for other styles cultures and beliefs are also such an important part of life, something I feel has graced London in the last two decades.
On a final personal note I believe that as humans we all come into this world empty handed and we shall leave it empty handed. So be humble and thankful for what you have and to create good karma so that you can be a good human being. Be humble and realize that materialistic things don’t matter, as they will all be left behind. Hopefully I can continue to instil these values into my children certainly as they are the namesake and future of the brand I have worked so hard to build.
