For Indian expat Shazia Shaikh, designing artificial jewellery for her clientele in Qatar has been a pursuit of steady progression and constant evolution. With a consistent effort to come up with something new yet relatable, Shaikh keeps mixing up her designs as she goes along.
 At the third edition of A Passage to India festival at the Museum of Islamic Art Park on Thursday and Friday, Shaikh will be one of the several Indian artists and craftsmen who would put out their collections at individual stalls that will be open from 3pm to 10pm.
 “Earlier, my designs stuck to an ethnic pattern and flavour,” Shaikh says, pointing at her collection encased in brightly-lit display boxes, “My latest designs though have been more of an Indian-Western fusion. The interest in and sales of custom-made artificial jewellery has gone up. We continue to surprise many by how most of our pieces look like real jewellery.”
 It was around four years back that Shaikh returned to Doha from a vacation back home and discovered a businesswoman-cum-designer in her. “A lot of my Pakistani friends here would ask me to get some artificial jewellery whenever I would go on a holiday to Mumbai,” Shaikh says, “So it all started with me getting a box full of finger rings, ear rings, and studs. Everybody liked those a lot.”
 So much so that Shaikh’s friends had her sell the pieces to their friends as well for a small profit and soon Shaikh’s batch of artificial jewellery had begun winning its fans. “I began taking it seriously,” Shaikh says, “Soon my friends and I would host exhibitions featuring these pieces and clothes at homes and the word caught on.”
With the demand for custom-made artificial jewellery soaring among her lady acquaintances, Shaikh leapt into the business. After establishing contact with artificial jewellery manufacturers in Mumbai during her vacations, Shaikh started placing hefty orders after sending them her designs.
 “Since women want specific styles, colours, designs and combinations of jewellery based on the dresses they want to pair it with, I began custom-making designs, adding or removing elements, changing colours and placement of crystals before placing my orders over Whatsapp with the manufacturers in Mumbai,” Shaikh says of her brand Saheli – My Best Friend.
By staying in touch with ladies via a dozen Whatsapp groups, Shaikh is always connected with them about the jewellery designs that have gone into production, and their related specific requirements which she can incorporate into her work. From sketching the designs on paper to providing photos and messaging it to the factories back in India, Shaikh has simplified the communication process on all levels. “The factory executives then make the design on AutoCAD and Whatsapp me back for confirmation before producing it,” explains Shaikh, who has a background in fashion designing.
 Shaikh’s husband Farhan, who she credits with being a great support throughout, admits that they initially had difficulties. “The customs wouldn’t allow parcels to come in. We suffered some losses too. Then, we started our company and things have been fine ever since,” he says.
Last May, they opened a new shop at Wear House on the Old Airport Road, giving considerable attention to radiant interiors and flattering display lights. “We began stocking more items and showing up at fewer exhibitions as we have become more focused on who we want to reach. A Passage to India is a great opportunity to be part of as we will have the Indian community turn up in large numbers there and it will be wonderful to connect with the members of our community.”
From starting off with ear rings and then dabbling with finger rings and necklaces, Shaikh now design everything from kurta buttons to dibla (Arabic rings). While the base is usually made of oxidised metal, brass, and copper, a wide variety of eye-catching crystals put the sparkle into the piece and are sourced from China.
“Of late, I have had more Arabs dropping by at our store; most of them being Qataris. With time, I keep learning what design, patterns and finish do ladies today prefer. The Qatari ladies, for instance, prefer a silver finishing than gold,” Shaikh says, “There are these long Misba chains that look great against their abayas. Ladies from Delhi and Pakistan prefer Punjabi chooda-type bangles.”
When Shaikh isn’t working on Saheli, she is either at office – she works as a secretary in a FMCG company – or handling their three children; Sufya 10, Safaa 6, and Ibrahim 5. “I love doing this. So this never feels like work,” she says.


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