La Maison Syr by Chennai-based Rashi Jain has luxury cufflinks in classic patterns and offbeat designs

Rashi Jain
| Picture Credit score: RAVINDRAN R

It was a pair of cufflinks within the type of a martini glass and a cocktail shaker — a generational piece handed down from her husband’s household — that impressed Rashi Jain to create her personal line of cufflinks. The form and uniqueness of the design intrigued her. She began out designing items for her husband. This was in 2009, when she moved to Paris after marriage. As she explored the town, she imbibed all of the inventive creations she noticed there.

“We moved round fairly a bit. We stayed in South Korea, Qatar, the UK. The enterprise began taking form in Doha. It was 2015, and the town was preparing for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. We drove round seeing stadiums being constructed and all of the work that went into them. It was lovely to see how issues had been shaping up. I additionally used to go to the souks and met pearl divers. All these influences got here collectively in my creations,” says Rashi.

Nilgiri tahr cufflinks
| Picture Credit score:
Particular Association

“In Qatar, the boys who put on the thobe (Qatari nationwide garment), put on cufflinks with it. So, I created a number of for a clientele there,” says Rashi, who then moved again to Chennai together with her household earlier this yr. The formal launch of the model occurred final week within the metropolis. The model known as La Maison Syr, a nod to her time in France and all the things she learnt there. “’Syr’ in French means ‘gods’. And it appeared excellent because it additionally brings collectively my husband, daughter and my title — Saurabh, Yashica, and Rashi,” she explains.

The gathering now has 20-odd items. These embody basic patterns and offbeat designs like Nilgiri tahrs in tailcoats (one holding a Champagne bucket and one, a tray of glasses); the solar and moon; masula boats; a make up field and a poker-faced girl; a hibiscus with a screw on stigma and filament the place you’ll be able to retailer a little bit of lipstick or kumkum. All of the creations are primarily in platinum, gold, and white gold, with sapphire, emerald, ruby and diamond detailing. “I additionally do bespoke cufflinks; these depict my shopper’s story and character,” she says.

Masula boats
| Picture Credit score:
RAVINDRAN R

The glowing items are all showcased at Kanakavalli at Kingsley, Ahalya’s (founding father of Kanakavalli) charming boutique that homes superbly curated saris and jewelry. “That is the primary time I’m doing a show. I’m nervous,” admits Rashi, including, “Ahalya believed in me and that’s the way it began.”

Rashi comes from a finance background however quickly realised that artwork was her calling. “I did a course at Van Cleef &Arpels – L’Ecole Faculty of Jewellery Arts in Paris, and Lao – Le Arti Oraffe in Florence, Italy, and learnt lots about jewelry making together with how gouache works, the way to give form to an thought on paper, and rework that to wax and be taught fabrication challenges earlier than the idea goes in for metallic casting, hearth enamelling. I even went to the British Academy of Jewelry for drawing programs,” she provides.

A basic design on show
| Picture Credit score:
RAVINDRAN R

Now, the designer is engaged on a Him and Hers assortment which may have interchangeable items that can be utilized each by women and men as cufflinks and earrings. This concept got here to her one New 12 months’s Eve in Good. “We had forgotten to pack my husband’s cufflinks. So I sewed my solitaire earrings into the shirt’s cuffs,” she smiles.

Whereas most consider cufflinks as a bit of jewelry, Rashi sees it it as a bond. “A cufflink holds two items of cloth collectively. It creates a connection,” she smiles. Her days are actually crammed with ideating, a number of drawing and extra erasing. “On a regular basis is a college day and I’m studying one thing new.”

Obtainable at Kanakavalli at Kingsley, Spur Tank Highway. Costs begin at ₹ 2 lakhs.

| Picture Credit score:
RAVINDRAN R