Coming from a family involved into export of fashion jewellery, Radhika Chitalia learnt the nuances of the jewellery industry quite early. Thus, her journey that began as a way to enjoy her free time soon turned into her full-time passion and profession, which is now known by her jewellery label ‘Joules by Radhika’. Talking about her journey, Radhika says “I used to work a lot with the designers then and very soon started designing myself a few pieces and with little encouragement from family it was undertaken for manufacturing also. Later, in order to polish my skills, I completed a jewellery designing course. Post that I did full-fledged designing for export market which included interacting with the customers and knowing their taste and preference. I was blessed to have such an amazing exposure at an early stage of my career. I also wanted to diversify and so entered into retailing in India and opened a factory outlet. Then I started participating in exhibitions all over India. In a span of a year, we started our online store also www.shopjbr.com and touchwood the response has been very encouraging.”

Designs and Collections

Radhika’s jewellery pieces are distinctive in nature and give wearer sense of individuality. She specializes in stylish earrings and semi-precious neck pieces, allowing women to intensify their silhouettes through traditional and western designer jewellery.

Radhika’s ‘Beads and Tassels’ collection is romantic in appeal and is distinctive in nature. With shades of blue, purple, green, white and reds, the collection is a perfect match for every stunning outfit. Every piece of jewellery is handcrafted with high quality of semi-precious stones, combined with fresh water and baroque pearls with animal figures.

In her latest Summer collection, Radhika has used various bright colour gemstones, tassels and beads and metal chains which are best for casual daily wear and casual parties.

Creative Process

With immense knowledge and passion about the variety of raw materials and coloured stone jewels, each piece of necklace and earring of ‘Joules by Radhika’ is crafted with the highest quality and precision. A deep understanding of the aesthetics of jewellery making gives her a unique designing approach. Most of her creations are awe-inspiring with a touch of her personality.

From concept to creation, each piece of ‘Joules by Radhika’ involves extensive travelling, sourcing raw materials from various parts of the world, conceptualising the jewellery, making a rough sketch, assembling the raw materials for the same, having a rough first look of the piece and if satisfied giving it for manufacturing.

As mentioned earlier, Radhika’s every creation is distinctive and individualistic in nature so it was quite obvious to get curious about her inspiration for the designs. When asked, she elaborates “My biggest inspiration is the feedbacks I receive from the clients. They keep me updated about their likes and preferences which help me to understand and design novel products for them. It’s my passion. I always wanted to create jewellery. So for me, it is about pursuing my passion rather than just doing a task. Fashion jewellery is very vast and there is no particular rules one can follow for merchandising. I usually follow the future trends in ancillary products mainly clothing which gives me insights about the future colour preference, cuts and other fine details. This helps me to design the jewellery accordingly using preferred colours.

Also, I follow the seasons. In summers we do a lot of lightweight jewellery, close to the onset of wedding season we start with our Kundan jewellery and also for various functions for brides, friends and family. Also, I closely follow international trends for which I travel a lot for various fashion exhibitions for sourcing of raw materials and updating with trends.”

Muses and Icons

Talking about her muse, Radhika says “All my customers are my muse .Every women is a style icon if she believes in herself. I want all of these style icons wearing my creation.”

For an urban woman, Radhika suggests cocktail semi-precious jewellery. Ask her why? She says “Now-a-days, the Indian Urban women are too way forward. They have their own taste for fashion. We try to come up as per their needs, which is visible in our designs.”

For an urban woman, Radhika suggests cocktail semi-precious jewellery. Ask her why? She says “Now-a-days, the Indian Urban women are too way forward. They have their own taste for fashion. We try to come up as per their needs, which is visible in our designs.”

prefers her beads and tassels collection along with some western outfit. For a formal function, her statement pieces are just the right ones to wear teamed with formal wear and for a wedding, she would wear something from her bridal collection both in terms of jewellery and clothes.

Lessons Learnt

Talking about the journey so far, Radhika points out “I have learned that my biggest challenge is my biggest achievement. Success of any luxury segment product is based on two principles: first and the most important is the TRUST in your brand and second is the AESTHETICS of the
product.”

Online Retail

‘Joules by Radhika’ is available on her online retail store www.shopjbr. com. Within a year of her entering into online retailing, Radhika’s jewellery has garnered immense response. “For any online transaction to actually happen requires a lot of trust in the brand & looking at the response to my online store. I feel proud that we as a brand have been able to develop trust in
people for our brand,” shares Radhika about her experience in e-biz.