SD: When did you start designing jewelry?
Sheela Rayala - Kuukivi.com:Growing up in India, girls get exposed to jewelry quite early in life. My sister and I used to come up with new designs
and color combinations (not actually make them though) as a hobby. A few years ago, a friend of mine who is also a jewelry designer, showed me the basic wire wrapping. After I learned the basics, I was obsessed with getting it perfect and attention to detail and continued doing it as a hobby. Every piece that I gave to anyone as a gift recieved lots of compliments and here I am with Kuukivi.SD: What inspires your jewelry designs?
Sheela Rayala - Kuukivi.com:A lot of things. A beautiful sunset or a tiny little flower in the grass, or a raindrop on a leaf, or grey skies over a lake, or beautiful old Indian jewelry - anything could inspire me, depending on the mood I am in, season of the year, time of the day.
SD: What is your background-where were you born-where did you end up?
Sheela Rayala - Kuukivi.com:I was born and brought up in India, came to the US to do my Masters in WSU. I then moved to the Silicon valley for a job, and lived there for more than a decade. My whole career (before I changed it) was in wireless and my last job was working as a Director of SW Engineering in a wireless startup. After having Manu (our one and a half year old baby boy), I decided to change careers and took a one year break. I did research to see if I could enter the business and started Kuukivi in March 2007. We have been living in Tampere, Finland for the past few months to get to know my other family (my better half is Finnish), and introduce Kuukivi to Europe.
SD: What are your other interests and hobbies?
Sheela Rayala - Kuukivi.com:Organic gardening, flower arrangement, and fusion cooking.
SD: Were you creative as a child?
Sheela Rayala - Kuukivi.com:I never considered myself an artist.
As a child, I was more attentive observer than a creator.
SD: Why have you chosen jewelry design as one means to express your creativity?
Sheela Rayala - Kuukivi.com:With jewelry design, first you have a vision of how the jewelry should look and then that vision is filled with colors, and finally you mold the raw materials into something that you can look, feel, and touch. Every time I look at a design I made, it reminds me of what inspired me to do it.
SD: Do you have a following of people who are collectors of Kuukivi Jewelry?
Sheela Rayala - Kuukivi.com:Yes, across at least four continents so far - Africa, Europe, Asia, and, the United States. It makes me very happy to see people from different countries relate to Kuukivi designs.
SD: What is your favorite jewelry material to work with and why? Do you have a favorite gemstone or precious metal?
Sheela Rayala - Kuukivi.com:I like working with sterling silver slightly more than vermeil or gold-fill but there are always certain designs and color combinations I do in one material but will never reproduce them in the other. Pearls always remain as my favorite while the others change in being a favorite depending on my mood or the season.
SD: Describe for us one of your favorite pieces of jewelry.
Sheela Rayala - Kuukivi.com:One of my favorite pieces is "Tampere Sunset", the one I envisioned while watching a beautiful sunset from our apartment overlooking a lake in Tampere. The sky was orange and the lake reflected the same color with a tinge of light and dark blues. The design formed itself immediately with tiny carnelian teardrops, blue topaz drops, and blue sapphire rondelles cascading to create the reflection of sunset in the lake. I didn't sleep until I finished the necklace that night.
SD: Do you offer custom-made jewelry?
Sheela Rayala - Kuukivi.com: Yes! Recently I designed a necklace for my friend's wedding. This piece will never be reproduced. I love designing with a particular person in mind, especially knowing their likes and dislikes.
SD: Upon placing an order, how long before delivery?
Sheela Rayala - Kuukivi.com:Unless it's a very large order, I can usually ship within one week, or two weeks at most.
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