Reviews of

Designer Jewelry

The Working Woman

Saturday’s supplement to Al Iqtisadiya – Riyadh

12.6.2004 – issue no. 3897

The Arab designer Fadwa Al Qasem to The Working Woman:

In addition to her exceptional jewelry design abilities and her creativity in mixing colors and choosing stones so that whoever sees her designs feels that they are abstract works of art that weave human cultures, she has also manages to breakdown boundaries & barriers through the World Wide Web. She also aspires to create another site in Arabic and to provide online payment. 

The designer, Fadwa Al Qasem, holds a BA in English Literature from Britain, and currently resides in Dubai, stated to “The Working Woman” that “every woman must free herself from international fashion dictatorship, learn more about herself and should wear what she feels suits her best.” We had this conversation with her:

• When did Fadwa Al Qasem start designing jewelry?

I started designing about nine years ago, when I was living in Canada, when my mother introduced me to handmade glass beads & semiprecious stones, and I started to use these stones to “paint”, rather than design, jewelry.

• What were the factors that helped you develop your talent .. and did you re-enforce your talent by studying?

The most important motivation for me was that jewelry design is a reflection of the contents of my spirit, an extension of my interests, and perhaps a compensation for my poor drawing skills, which are not up to my aspirations. “My motivation also comes from the beauty of the stones themselves, my desire to create a piece that is something between an abstract piece of art & a piece of jewelry that will be worn by a woman, and mixing other crafts with the stones, in particular crochet, embroidery & macramé. I am greatly inspired by the feel of the stones, by their nature & their colors, shapes & sizes. In other words, it is my love for this art itself that pushes me forward.” For this reason I also studied the history of semiprecious stones, handmade glass beads & other beads, and I discovered that they for an important part of human history in terms of trade & economy, and they possess a history no less auspicious than that of silk & spices. I feel that beads carry social & creative fingerprints, and they have secrets & stories to tell.

I enrolled in several design & jewelry courses in Canada & the UK, and I widened my knowledge through reading specialized books, magazines & the Internet, and by participating in seminars & workshops.

• Do you have any other interests other than jewelry design?

I have many interests. I write short stories, many of which were published in literary magazines & newspapers in the UAE, Egypt & Lebanon. I am also very interested in handicrafts such as traditional Palestinian embroidery, I like to create new embroidery designs, I also crochet, knit, engrave on glass, do macramé, to name but a few.

I also love photography, and I often use the pictures I take for inspiration. I love music and I play the piano modestly. Actually I feel that all my interests pour into one pool with many facets, like sunrays passing through a prism and reflecting a rainbow of colors on my palm.

• The designs I saw on your site on the Internet seem to reflect a combinations of traditional & contemporary spirits, is that in fact your  design methodology and why?

I don’t know why I also move away from categorization, perhaps because I do not like to place limitations on my work. I like to work in open horizons to create new pieces, each with its own identity.

• Are you influences by Arab or foreign designers? And how is this reflected in your designs?

Of course there is an influence, nothing can be created from a vacuum. But I am not necessarily influenced only by jewelry designers. This influence manifests itself in the way it takes me back to basics, back to the beginning, where I stand at the edge to reflect and to start all over again each time, hoping to create something new. When I see the work created by others I am mesmerized, I am amazed at the endless capabilities & possibilities, and fresh horizons come into view which help to design. It is a positive sense of restlessness & continued motion.

• What the steps for executing your designs? And are you influenced by international fashion trends?

Of course I am aware of international fashion trends, but I find them restrictive, and I am always looking for ways in which to free my designs from restrictions, and to encourage the woman who knows herself, who trusts her taste & understands her body, to choose only what she feels suits her best, no matter what international fashion dictates.

The most important factor for me when executing my designs is inspiration. This could come from a picture I took, from a thought, a historical figure, legends or scenes from nature. The idea comes and I gather up the stones. I place them in various arrangements, mixing the colors, textures, shapes & sizes. I study the possibilities of executing the design so that it reflects my idea, and also so that it becomes a wearable piece of jewelry that is elegant, traces a woman’s neck and is easy to wear.

• Once the designs are executed, do you sell them and how?

My designs are sold through my website www.fadwa.com on the Internet. I consider my site to be a virtual gallery for my designs.

• Do you have a shop?

At the moment my shop is my website. There are possibilities of displaying my pieces at well known shops in Riyadh.

• How useful is your website, particularly in introducing your designs to the Arab region & the rest of the world?

My website is like a virtual gallery for my designs which is open day & night, everywhere in the world. But this is not enough to introduce my designs, marketing is necessary, as well as participating in exhibitions and personal interaction with customers.

• Which stones do you use most in your designs?

My personal favorite is the Amethyst, but when I design, I have no favorites, because as I explained to you, I am interested in the overall harmony of the design, the colors & the textures of the stones, & the way in which this will come together to express my ideas.

• Do you face problems concerning others copying your designs?

This is a risk taken by anyone who has the courage to express his ideas, be they words, opinions, pictures, paintings, writing, etc., so I do not dwell on this issue too much.

• Did you participate in exhibitions in the Arab region or internationally? And did you receive any awards?

I participated in many exhibitions, in the UK particularly, as well as other countries inside & outside the Arab world, but I did not receive any awards till now.

I have a certain point of view when it comes to awards. Awards are without a doubt a way in which to honor creativity, if the awarding organization is academic & independent somehow, I would be greatly honored to receive such recognition if my work deserves it. But the majority of awards these days are marketing  or promotional awards which I do not seek receiving.

• Are you in touch with Saudi or GCC designers?

At the moment no. I wish for such communications and welcome it. I welcome any communication with designers from all over the world. I believe this to be a positive experience and one which encourages everyone to continue, to move forward & to cooperate in an effort to raise the overall quality of our work.

• What are your plans for the future?

To further develop my designs, to further study my craft, to make new discoveries in technique, to increase creativity, to increase contact with other designers & with customers, to participate in more exhibitions, seminars & workshops, to develop an Arabic language version of my website and to introduce online payment.