Chennai-based brand Mookuthi reimagines the nose pin as a contemporary symbol of memory and heritage

Sure ornaments carry extra than simply ornamental worth. For Chennai-based designer Sarath Selvanathan, the nostril pin is one such piece. His model, Mookuthi, which is able to showcase its jewelry at a pop-up in Visakhapatnam’s Aarna Boutique, has made the decoration the centrepiece of a recent design observe that’s each intimate and rooted in reminiscence.

Selvanathan’s path to design was removed from predictable. Educated as a mechanical engineer, he started his profession within the vehicle trade earlier than turning to jewelry in 2013. “I discovered myself at a kind of factors in life the place you wander,” he remembers. What started as curiosity quickly changed into a sustained exploration, resulting in the launch of Mookuthi on February 16, 2018.

His background of engineering, he notes, was not wasted. It formed his strategy to precision, organisation and problem-solving, qualities that he discovered unexpectedly beneficial to jewelry design. But the bigger shift from a standard profession to an inventive one required him to depart behind construction and lean into instinct.

The choice to concentrate on nostril pins gave Mookuthi its singular id. For Selvanathan, the decoration’s impression is disproportionate to its measurement. “It’s the smallest decoration that makes probably the most distinction to the wearer,” he observes. This recognition allowed him to make use of the nostril pin as a canvas for frolicsome re-interpretation of reminiscence and heritage. His Kolam assortment, impressed by the ground drawings of South India, is among the many hottest, evoking a way of belonging that’s each visible and emotional.

The title Mookuthi itself appeared virtually inevitable to him. Regardless of experimenting with options, he selected the Tamil phrase for nostril pin as a result of it embodied language, id and cultural resonance. That resonance has additionally formed the best way his patrons join with the model. He factors out that a lot of Mookuthi’s progress has been pushed by community-led discovery and word-of-mouth appreciation and never fleeting developments.

In recent times, the nostril pin has begun to shift from being a standard marker to an on a regular basis accent. Selvanathan believes this modification stems from an growing consolation in private expression. “They’re transferring from being conventional cultural symbols to being deeply private,” he remarks. This, he notes, has allowed nostril pins to maneuver past gendered boundaries and to slowly enter mainstream style exterior India.

Regardless of frequent questions on whether or not Mookuthi will department into different jewelry kinds, Selvanathan is agency. His work stays dedicated to the nostril pin, distilling heritage into kinds and textures that really feel common. “Time will inform,” he says, when requested in regards to the model’s future. For now, the main focus stays regular: a small decoration that holds reminiscence, id and modern relevance in a single.

Date : September 12-14Time : 8pm to 10pm Venue: Aarna BoutiqueBalaji R Sq., Harbour Park StreetPandurangapuram, Visakhapatnam