HYDERABAD: “Now, visualise the branches of a tree. There is the primary branch and from it grow several small secondary branches. How far apart is one tiny branch from the other? Think, and gently yet firmly twist the golden brass wire to create these branches. But be careful as the wire’s ends are sharp,” instructs Aaisha Tohel Chini, fashion and jewellery designer.
But we aren’t just twisting brass wires to create some chaotic design. Sitting at our circular table-cum-workstation in Lifafa Cafe and Bistro in Secunderabad, we are here to make our own pearl chokers and earrings.
And oh my, what beautiful imitation pearls — ivory white, cream, rose gold, and crystal — of various sizes and with small holes on either side. Aaisha picks up the ‘heavy machinery’, the cutter and pakkad (plier), as we look on, mortified yet amused.
She draws the wire from its coil and cuts it when satisfied with the length. After bending the wire in an equidistant manner, she starts twisting together the wire on the left and right to create the primary branch. After a few twists, she stops and says, “The pakkad will help tighten the twisted parts of the wire. Now take one pearl of your choice and pass one side of the wire through it.”
The pearls rebelliously try to slip away to gravity but Aaisha teaches us to twist the wire in such a way that we contain the pearls and create smaller branches on either side.
Et voila, we go on and on, passing the wire through pearls in combinations of three and five, which resemble shamrocks and five-petalled flowers respectively. Jewellery making — something which intimidates many — suddenly feels so simple and we just go on passing, twisting, and plying.
Curious eyes soon surround us and people join, including precocious little Anagha. The eight-year-old tells Aaisha that she would like to make pearl earrings for herself and her mama.
Aaisha happily obliges, taking even more care as she guides the little girl, who reveals, “I want to start my own jewellery business. I like pearls because they are very, very pretty,” she chirps. The earrings are far easier to make because of the small size and minimal twists. Aaisha tells us to be careful while attaching the hook to the earring.
But to make the choker, we need to somehow connect both the ends of our long, pearl-adorned branch. How? Aaisha takes a cotton sarafa thread and helps us attach it to either end. The choker is also adjustable, thanks to a large, moveable bead enclosing the sarafa thread.
Aaisha tells CE that her love for jewellery goes hand in hand with her passion for fashion. “As a fashion designer, I will say one thing: Accessories enhance your outfit. Pearl jewellery has been a hot favourite in both the West and the East, simply because it goes with every outfit and adds that element of class. I am proud to say that I crafted my own wedding jewellery,” she adds.
Indeed, the feeling of crafting something for oneself carries an unparalleled sense of pride, satisfaction, and therapeutic peace. And we, young and old, show all our pearly whites as we proudly model our pearly creations. We go home feeling glamorous, chic, and shimmery.
