The Hindu Business Line : Semi-precious shimmer

Asha Kamal Modi, who owns the Art Karat brand of semi-precious jewellery, is required to work extra hours to ensure she is a cut above the rest. Asha starts her day early, at 8 in the morning, to take calls from clients and the media. Wearing a green suit and seated at her drawing-room, she exudes a simplicity that belies her achievements as an entrepreneur.

“I am tired of holding a number of exhibitions,” she whispers softly; she has had shows at several fashionable places in London and the US. “I do not want my children to suffer,” she adds.

A qualified gemologist, Asha has been designing semi-precious jewellery for more than a decade. Her creations inspired by age-old traditions and natural forms are today part of the wardrobes of several famous personalities. Her venture has also helped provide jobs to more than 600 talented craftsmen and even won accolades from experts and the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council. Besides wedding jewellery, Art Karat designs include jewellery for casual and exclusive occasions.

Asha’s entrepreneurial journey began over 20 years ago. “I was inspired by the temples of Khajuraho, Rajasthani and Mughal art as well as fashion trends in Indian cinema,” she says. Recalling her early days in the business, Asha says she was always fond of jewellery and that influenced her decision to set up the venture.

“I had only Rs 3,000 with me and invested that to make a beginning. But getting into semi-precious jewellery was a self-made decision and nobody forced me to do this. I saw that in India semi-precious jewellery is not available so, I thought, I will get into this line.”

Combinations of pure silver, 22-carat gold coating, precious and semi-precious gemstones and real Kundan feature in her creations. The styles vary from traditional to Victorian, ethnic to contemporary. Explaining that the manufacture of semi-precious jewellery is an art form, she says that it is a slow process because of all the detailing involved.

“The Art Karat collection addresses the needs of today’s discerning woman and fulfils every woman’s innermost desire to look beautiful. The collection is a style statement,” she says.

“Holding exhibitions in India or abroad does not make any difference to me because abroad the canvas becomes bigger and in India my scale becomes smaller. But overall, the response is the same and human beings are the same everywhere.”Today she works with nearly 800 artisans at various workshops all over the country. “But it is not a one (wo)man show, my whole family is involved in this. My husband, Kamal Modi, looks after the marketing department, my daughter Shivani looks after the gold jewellery section and my son Saket works from the United States. Saket is the one who introduced online sale of Art Karat. He spends most of his time promoting Art Karat. And I am proud of being his mother. Moreover, Art Karat is well known internationally by now,” says Asha.

ASHA KAMAL MODI

She plans to set up stores countrywide, including outlets at the DLF Grand Mall in Gurgaon, DLF Courtyard at Saket in Delhi, Queen’s Road in Bangalore, Cross River Mall at Shahadra in Delhi and Atria Millennium Mall at Worli in Mumbai.

“I do have some passion for myself. I love reading books. I am not into Mills and Boons. I have read a lot of books but now I prefer reading some serious books, say books on meditation or yoga and I love to listen to any kind of semi-classical music. I go on vacations with my family whenever I have time.”

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