It was touchdown Kolkata for Sussanne Khan to introduce her new jewellery line Bind Runes, created in collaboration with Pure Facets, to the city. The line was launched in Kolkata at Sawansukha Jewellers’ flagship store recently. It is Sussanne’s first venture into jewellery designing and creatively headed by her, the collection is contemporary, vibrant and intricately crafted with precious stones, enamel detailing and diamonds to give an edgy appeal to each piece. Comprising pieces like stackable bracelets, earrings, chains and rings, it is designed for the women of today to make them feel empowered from within.
A chat with Sussanne Khan:
Designing is something you take pleasure in. What does it mean to you?
Design to me is creating an emotion, creating a concept that makes a person feel something. So people who see my design, whether it is in interiors or whether it is in wearable art, the concept when I am creating a space... I think it is very important for them to feel a certain kind of joy, inspiration and motivation. I design it so that when people look at it they feel motivated, they feel joyful. It is my motivation to make people feel that. Not to praise myself or to showcase that I am like this. I feel anybody who appreciates design has a little understanding of what I am doing and then they love what I do.
When and how did your love affair with designing start and how did you nurture it over the years?
As a little girl, I used to see my mother bring these architectural magazines from the US. In those days they used to not have Indian magazines. It used to come by mail and I used to open the mail and look at these houses and designers and I used to tell my mom that I want to do this. I want to create homes, I want to design spaces and I want to design products. I was very young to engage in it back then. My mother was an interior designer in her thirties. All these put together really inspired me. My father is a very creative man, extremely passionate about all he does. We grew up in a family where there is a lot of passion. My sisters and brothers are all very creative in everything they do. My sister is an exceptional jewellery designer. I feel motivated by my family. My family also helps me to do better.
You have so many creative streaks in you, does one complement or inspire the other?
Yeah. All of them are interlinked with each other and that is making me a wholesome person. I believe in emotion and intuition, and that works for me I feel.
How did the collaboration with Bind Runes happen?
Ateet Gandhi and Pavitra Gandhi are very dear friends for a long time and they have a huge jewellery manufacturing unit where they used to manufacture for a lot of people. They wanted to create their own brand Pure Facets. And they said that they wanted a creative head for Pure Facets who would think in a different language. That’s when they came to me and asked if I would be interested to create for them and that’s what took me aback because I never thought of creating a jewellery design. But I told them that I have this one concept which is Bind Runes. And Bind Runes is this secret Viking language of symbols and the warriors used to wear these symbols and go off to war and feel empowered and all of that. What if we create a line from those symbols and make it into something like a talisman for people to wear and that is when we started.
How would you define the overall aesthetic of the line?
I would say it is extremely edgy and empowering and it is for the warrior princess in you.
What was the idea behind bringing it to Kolkata with Sawansukha?
I think Sawansukha is a very forward-thinking brand. So it was an apt collaboration to bring it here because this is something so different to what they have. Siddharthaa and Niki were loving what Ateet and Pavi were doing and I think that whole thing brought us together.
(L-r) Niki Sawansukha, Pavitra Gandhi, Sussanne Khan and Siddharthaa Sawansukha. “We are into jewellery and she (Sussanne) is into interiors. The idea was to get two arts together. When we get two arts together, there is obviously something unique we create. Which is what we hope we got with the Bind Runes collection. The family has been into diamonds for three generations. Obviously, their expertise in manufacturing and quality comes together. So, it was like two strengths coming together — her design, aesthetic and concept and our know-how with the entire industry, manufacturing and designing. We launched in Mumbai and met Siddharthaa and Niki Sawansukha and they loved it,” said Pavitra Gandhi, co-owner, Pure Facets. “I believe jewellery is luxurious. We have been selling jewellery with gold and diamond. But I believe it is high time when we tag it and say it is a luxury art. That is what we named it also. I believe everything has a start. Everything is changing now, from art to how people are moving around. It is changing from the traditional take. I believe it is a long way to go ahead,” said Siddharthaa Sawansukha, director, Sawansukha Jewellers.
A glimpse from the collection display at Sawansukha Jewellers.
As the creative head, which part of the process did you enjoy most?
I think when we first started sketching from nothing and seeing that sketches come into real.
Bind Runes is an ancient concept. How did you incorporate contemporary choices in the techniques?
So we brought in techniques of how the clasp should be, how the weight should be, how the geometry should be so that it doesn’t hurt the body. There was a lot of trial and error, research and development that went in the dummies to understand how the design will work.
What kind of a person do you see channelling the Bind Runes vibe right?
I see a person who is not scared of being in their own shoes and chasing their dreams of what they want to do without any fear.
Do you have a personal favourite in the collection?
Our bracelets. Each of it gives empowerment to have a good day with messages like enchantress, good luck etc.
How do you plan to give wings to your creativity further?
I have a lot of plans. You have to wait and watch... (Laughs)