I thought hard and long about how to title this post and “Introducing Sayuri” seemed to be the most intriguing of the lot. “Sayuri Women and Sayuri Women” came next. Most of you know what Sayuri is – A Handmade jewellery brand that focuses on creating one of a kind mixed media thematic designs. Do read my About me page to know more about me and my brand. But who is Sayuri?
Many (including friends, family, and strangers I meet) have asked who Sayuri is. Some have wondered if she has something to do with Nitta Sayuri of “Memoirs of Geisha” while many others (who don’t know me) have assumed that Sayuri is, in fact, my name. Many have also asked me why I chose a Japanese name and not an Indian one when my brand so clearly focuses on Contemporary Indian jewellery.
It has been in the back of my head, for the past many years to give form to this fictional character with metaphorical meanings of life, creativity, passion, and achievement. Though I have doodled avatars, I never really like any of them. That is until I went to Coorg.
Earlier this year near the Bylakuppe monastery (a large Tibetan settlement) near Coorg, I found a few stores selling Japanese lady paintings, patchwork, and dolls. It was the patchwork that caught my attention first, followed by the bamboo paintings as my mom used to make them when I was a kid. She would spend hours working on the patterns, fabrics, their folds and passed on her love for Japanese culture to me. This was the time when Oshin, a super popular Japanese TV series was telecasted in India and wherever I went people thought that I looked like the child actresses from Oshin. I guess that answers the “why Japanese” question as it was the first culture that I was exposed to apart from Tamil Culture.
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| Bylakuppe monastery |
Coming back to Bylakuppe, when my mom and I looked at the Japenese geisha dolls, we turned to each other and grinned and she said “Hey look…” and I completed the sentence with “Sayuri”. We decided to buy one. There were many of them clad in bold colors and ostentatious patterns – red, black, orange, Fuschia and blue. Some played the flute, while others had fans or flowers in their hand. Some had very elaborate hairdos and decorative clothing. Normally I would have picked one of them, but I wasn’t happy and my eyes kept darting back to this simple figure wearing blue and pink and reading a note. Light blue and pink are colors I usually dislike and this figure was plain – a simple Kimono, a basic obi, and a small fan on her head. But she felt right – She felt like Sayuri and here she is.
Once I brought her home, I dressed up her a bit. I added ribbon roses and Kanzasi flowers on her her head along with a butterfly and head pins to act as hair sticks. I added a ribbon belt and a flower to her Obi and placed a fan I bought at the Sa Paper Handicrafts in Chiang Mai. I made her travel ready with a handmade match box suitcase (that I originally made for my Navratri kolu in 2015) and a guide book with a customised bird cover.
So who is Sayuri? She is a mixture of who I am, and who I want to be. She could be any and all of you. She is fair (in every sense of the term), well read, well travelled and very comfortable with who she is. She has eclectic tastes and her heritage is what paves way for her modern thinking. She is independent, industrious, strong and sensible. She loves standing out of the crowd, is quiet, yet shows no hesitation when it comes to making friends. And yes, she could be my ideal client (PS: you do not have to be Japanese to wear my creations, though Japanese clients are definetly welcome!!).
My aim is to gather as many Sayuri Women (like her) as possible. They would be my tribe; united through a love for contemporary wearable art jewellery. Would you like to be a part of us?
I hope you found it interesting
Cheers
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