Desert inspirations

The desert and the sand dunes, the sea and its rolling waves, the rich natural beauty and richer culture of the region ... Azza Al Qubaisi, the first UAE national jewellery maker and designer, captures all these elements in her fabulous collections.

Azza Al Qubaisi is the first UAE national jewellery maker and designer, as well as the founder and owner of the
brand Arjmst - the Arabian Workshop for Jewellery and Gemstones in Abu Dhabi.

"The desert, sea and nature are a huge source of inspiration for me … not to mention our wealthy UAE heritage and culture. I do feel that I have a responsibility to present it in very contemporary and up-to-the-minute designs that go positively with the look of a modern lifestyle," says Azza, jewellery designer and maker.

"In short, each collection has its own message. I attempt through it to direct the attention of people towards critical environmental issues and to raise awareness of them.

"My mission and slogan are about caring and focusing on quality, not quantity. I work hard … to be recognised as a unique artist. This is my ultimate goal in life.''

Azza says she studies jewellery design more from an artistic point of view rather than just a commercial piece. Though she always had a passion for art, "My interest was not taken seriously at first by those closest to me.

"Therefore I decided to take it to the next level, improve my skills and broaden my knowledge professionally. When I finished high school, I enrolled at university and selected a major that helped me transform my life.

"I recall telling my father that I wanted to study art and design but he did not take it seriously [but] said 'go ahead'. I think he was pretty certain that I would get bored and change my opinion and follow his idea by taking up math or biology.''

But if he had thought so, he was mistaken.

"He found me determined to prove myself in the major and in the end, he accepted it, especially when I invited him to attend my first exhibition. He was truly impressed and supportive because he wants the best for me. I consider myself lucky to have such an understanding family.''

On the future of local jewellery makers and designers

"I am sure it will be very promising ... I'm predicting that based upon my experience in this particular field,'' says Azza.

"When I look back at when I had just started (in 1997), I remember people would laugh at the idea of me wanting to have my own workshop after completing my degree. There was an obvious question mark which was accompanied by shock as they pondered on how I would earn any money.''

Initially, says Azza, people assumed that she would never make a living as a jewellery artist. "Their opinion was that I should bring workers and pay them cheap wages to do the work instead of wasting my time. In short, they did not accept the idea at all at that time."

Promising future
"The future for newcomers and UAE designers and jewellery makers is very bright. Due to the limited number of people [who enter this field] and with each having their own thoughts, creativity and concepts everyone will try to reach their goal in a unique way,'' she says.

"A designer is a person who creates a design that is based more on commercial prospects and specific measurements and standards and not according to what he/she personally likes or prefers.

"A (jewellery) maker on the other hand is a person who works independently and shapes his own ideas and converts them into reality according to his own measurements and standards and is not governed by specific numbers. It is up to the maker to produce a unique piece or mass produce it.''

So making and designing is very different?

"Speaking from my interest, study and background in the field, I can say I successfully managed to practise both of them and truly find them an integral part of each other. I cannot separate between making and designing, because each stage complements the other.

"The most important thing is that when you design a piece of jewellery and you are the maker (of it) at the same time, then the process of producing is easy, especially due to your previous knowledge on whether the drawn piece can be made in the first place or not. The maker can also evaluate the possibility of producing mass quantity.''

No repetition
An artist digs deep [into her imagination] to create and to be recognised, says Azza.

"That is why I always seek to be unique and not repeat my designs. My collection is primarily of limited editions or pieces ordered by someone. I prefer to keep my pieces rare and distinguished.

"I like it when someone owns my unique piece and says that it is designed by an Emirati artist and it has not been seen elsewhere before. Visibility and availability are not my primary concerns, but being unique is.''

A lot of people advised her to find a regular job "and quit wasting my time making profitless art", she says.

"I faced a lot of criticism in the beginning, because [this field] is not familiar yet in society. Not to mention that they were saying art work is neither worthwhile nor is it a guaranteed source of income which can be considered a full-time job. I didn't pay attention to them.

"When I started out, what I needed was forward thinking, and a positive push to enhance my self-confidence.''

Today, Azza has many high profile clients like DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) for instance. "They are not just my clients. They are more than that because they hosted my two exhibitions ... I was the first artist who participated under their sponsorship [in 2006]. My second exhibition with them took place in the summer of 2007.

"I got the right support from the right people, but believe me, it is not a fairytale because it did not happen overnight and it did not come easily. It took sincerity, hard work and constant effort to prove my talent.''

Dealing with individual clients
"We negotiate everything before I start. For instance, certain measurements have to be considered and done based on mutual agreement.

The budget is set by the client, the quality as well as how much gold should be included in the piece of art that they seek to have. Therefore, I make and design the sought-after piece based on the client's requirements and their specific details.''

Art is the language of any society
"Our art should be made and designed by UAE nationals only,'' she feels.

"We are the only ones who are entitled to tell the whole world and educate them about our art work. We are the genuine example and the real source of it. On top of that, we are responsible to develop it, transfer it and present it among other cultures.''

At the moment, Azza has two stores in Abu Dhabi - one of them at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation and the other at the Hilton. They are called Made in the UAE Souvenirs.

"I'm planning to open more shops in Abu Dhabi depending on the demand I perceive,'' she says.

"The third will be at Marina Mall and the fourth at the airport. I will franchise them all over the UAE. The idea is that I buy from women who work at home and I sell them through my shops. All that I have is made totally by UAE nationals.''

Unexplored talents
"We have very talented UAE nationals in art and crafts, but unfortunately no one knows about their natural talents,'' says Azza.

"The most common story I hear is that they don't know how to start and who they should seek for consultation and guidance. I simply advise them that if they have genuine talent then they should believe in themselves and whatever difficulties they face are not reason enough to give up on the dream of their life.

"They should be patient and work hard and this comes from a person who has been through many ups and downs but never gave up on her dream.

"On the contrary, I gave it all my time and when my family and society saw my sincere determination, they did not hesitate to help me and support my art.''