New talent on the block

There’s a star waiting to get discovered inside every one of us. For Juhee Bokhale, it was her fascination with natural rock crystals and a fortunate knack of sketching that led her to find the calling of her heart in jewelry designing.

Rock Tales
Collecting rock crystals and stones of varying sizes, colors and shapes was as much a hobby as a passion for Juhee. “I’m an outdoor person and whenever I’d go for treks I’d bring home different stones. I had a collection of attractive rock crystals in variations of color and shapes,” she informs. “When my mother saw a fashion show on television that comprised of excerpts of interviews from jewelry designers, she figured that jewelry designing would be a good option for my unusual incline towards stones,” recalls the budding designer about her humble beginnings. She had appeared for her twelfth board exams from Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce in Pune along with intermediate exams in drawing in 2002. There were many career options post her class 12th that lured her. “I wanted to join J J School of Fine Arts, I considered architecture with much interest, interior designing was an exciting challenge, but my heart’s calling lay some place else. 

After her ten plus two education, Juhee registered for a course on gemology and diamond grading at Jagannath Rathi Vocational Guidance and Training Institute of Deccan Education Society, Pune. “My mother advised me to pursue my innate knack for appreciating stones and develop it into a full fledged career option. At the institute I was besotted with the diamonds and colored stones that I was exposed to. Appreciating jewelry design and designing came naturally to me,” asserts Juhee. After the successful completion of the course on gemology, she registered at the Jasani Institute of Jewellery Design and Manufacture, Mumbai. At the end of the course she won the overall collection award for the designs that she had conceived for Inspiration 2006, the institute’s annual design competition.

Art Smart
Juhee hails from a family that is inclined towards the arts. “Both my parents are painters. As a child I’d see them working with oil colors on a canvas while I would use water colors,” she recalls. Their dedication and involvement would initially bug me, but then as I grew up, I started enjoying the process myself. I found self expression in the art form,” she reveals. One would wonder if her parents were the sole influence towards the shaping of her career and influencing her art. “My father serves the Indian Armed Forces (army) and our family had to shift base quiet often. I’m lucky to have had diverse influences from different types of cultures, foods and exotic locales that have stayed with me and to this day inspire me. I find inspiration in nature and anything that appears in front of me. The sun’s rays that filter through a tree could inspire me. Inspiration comes about if you have a perspective and a keen observation,” says Juhee.  

“I like non-regular patterns,” she says and believes that designs cannot originate from detached pieces, as is the norm. “One cannot collect a bunch of motifs and collate them to make a collage of a jewelry piece. When a jewelry piece is designed it has to be complete and not a compilation of disconnected illustrations.” Among international designer jewelry brands, Juhee appreciates Anna Maria Carrie’s jewelry designs for the quality of their designs. Some brands, unknowingly or maybe for effect, focus on one aspect of the design, be it a diamond or colored stone and in the final output they compromise on the value of the design. She also appreciates Van Clees & Arpels for “they try different silhouettes and concentrate on the look of the jewelry, not singular aspects. For instance, they use color stones in a casual manner that lends beauty to the whole piece of jewelry and not distract attention to the jewels by themselves,” she substantiates.

Learning Right
Juhee is currently employed with Ganjam Nagappa & Son Pvt. Ltd, as a designer. Her previous assignments include internships with Nayaab Jewels and Vishwanath Neelkanth Godbole Jewellers and Exporters. Her list of projects during her training days too are interesting, particularly her projects on Harry Winston, Orra and D’damas’ Nizam Collection. 

Juhee Bokhale, represents the new generation of talent in the Indian industry that has the right training, exposure and opportunity at hand. What remains is to see how generation next makes the best of what they have. With the right kind of exposure to grow and flourish at Ganjam, she’s sure to make a mark in the fine sands of time. “Everyday is a lesson and I want to learn more,” she says enthusiastically. Juhee’s also considering further education at a European destination — either Italy or France — but only after a span of six to seven years. 

Though special in her own way, Juhee comes across just as the girl-next-door. She’s a movie buff, loves traveling, hangs out with friends and is a calm person. “My strength,” she says is that “I do not get hassled with huge responsibilities. I’m glad to have found my heart’s calling and this is just the beginning….”

Just like Robert Frost said:
“The woods are lovely dark and deep 
But I have promises to keep 
And miles to go before I sleep 
And miles to go before I sleep”