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THE ALCHEMY OF JEWELLERY
StarMag, Dec 18, 2005
A Frenchwoman shares with BRIGITTE ROZARIO how she weaves her magic to create works of art that can be worn.
MARTINE Harraca sounds chirpy over the phone. Her shop in Paris is just opening its doors at 11am, while this writer is calling it a day in Malaysia at 6pm.
Her French-accented voice flutters through the receiver as she briefly talks about the night before when her eponymous shop had a “fantastic inauguration” in the city’s prestigious Place des Vosges.
The conversation with her is all too brief, though, for she soon passes the phone to her husband and partner in business, Charles Roehl, who goes on to confirm that they will answer all my questions by e-mail as they had had a long night and, besides, “international calls are not cheap!”
Much like their phone conversation, Harraca and Roehl work together on their art and jewellery in a seamless fashion.
“We work very closely together for all our creations – furniture, table art, jewellery. It is difficult to say who does what,” explains Harraca.
Although the couple designs different items, including a line of furniture, jewellery remains the main fabrication.
Art and jewellery
Harraca says she has always loved jewellery. As a child she used to make necklaces and bracelets using seeds and candy. But then she developed a love for art.
She started out as an artist, painting with watercolours and oils at first before proceeding to work with other materials, such as copper and aluminium. She even produced some huge murals for banks and industrialists in France.
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Harraca with Japanese broadcaster Eriko Nakamura. |
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“I went into jewellery, as (post-Impressionist artist) Cézanne would have said, 'by chance' but found very quickly a huge satisfaction in being able to transpose large sculptures and paintings to small objects that women could wear,” says Harraca.
This is when she met Charles Roehl, an American chemist with an artistic bent, and the couple started to create new materials. Their jewellery business started in 1980.
As a painter and designer, Harraca says she is always very innovative in the search for new materials. Indeed, she has the reputation for being something of an alchemist.
For Harraca, there is a fine line between art and jewellery. “I still paint, and the jewellery underlies my constant research for new paintings and inspiration. It is difficult to separate the two – each discipline is married, one to the other,” she explains.
Workers they have personally trained produce Harraca jewellery at the couple’s workshops in Paris and Normandy.
“I not only supervise the fabrication; for some jewellery, like the sculpted and painted ‘palette’ line, I am also involved in their realisation. My life and my workshop are very much inseparable,” says Harraca.
It’s all art
For Roehl and Harraca, their jewellery is very much the same as a piece of art. “Size is the only difference,” explains Harraca.
The couple works a lot with a base of resin. According to Harraca, they create resin with an incorporation of different elements – gold powder, sand, paints and aluminium. This is where the notion of alchemy comes into play.
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Harraca's designs are heavily influenced by nature. |
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As with her paintings, her jewellery is heavily influenced by nature. In fact, she says, nature lies at the heart of her creations.
“Nature is the foundation of my creations – the shapes of shells, seaweed, clouds or waves,” says Harraca.
This is obviously reflected in her jewellery designs where stones of all colours are embedded in resin that comes in different colours and texture.
Exploring her jewellery is like taking a walk on the beach; you never know what you are going to find embedded in the surface.
But it’s a business, too
Today, Harraca has shops in Tokyo, Paris (Place des Vosges), Singapore and Honolulu, Hawaii. Her jewellery is also sold in shops in Britain, the United States and, now, Malaysia.
“It is difficult to say who our best clients are – the Japanese, American, English or French. It is also difficult to define the ‘Harraca woman.’
“I can just say that women who love our jewellery wear them constantly and once they fall in love with our jewellery, they wear them almost exclusively. Very rich women love to wear them, because they are just different, beautiful and close to nature. The Harraca women are universal in age, profession and standing,” explains Harraca.
Among her famous customers are Japanese broadcaster Eriko Nakamura, Princess Reem Al Faisal of Saudi Arabia and Italian movie star Claudia Cardinal.
The best-selling items at Harraca are the rings, followed by the bracelets and the brooches. Prices range from 50 euro to 900 euro (RM225 to RM4,050).
Harraca jewellery is available at the Maya Boutique at Hotel Maya, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur (03-2711 8866 ext 210). There is a 10% discount on all Harraca jewellery until Dec 31.
Copyright Star Publications (M) Bhd
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