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Clarissa Kwok brings jewelry design to life
In designing jewelry pieces, the creator stays true to her aesthetics, and plans to continue doing so for her forthcoming collections.
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Clarissa Kwok (Courtesy of Clarissa Kwok/-)
Born into a family of jewelers, it was only natural that Clarissa Kwok would get into the business eventually.
But instead of simply viewing the family endeavor as something she had to do, Clarissa embraced the opportunity, making it her passion and establishing her namesake brand in 2013, while she was also moonlighting at a design agency.
The result is some of the country’s most exquisite collections of jewelry; one that is imbued with personality and class atop its luxurious flourish.
Cla, her new brand, expands on the Clarissa Kwok brand through its more “off-the-shelf” character — but one that its creator says, retains an “heirloom quality and workmanship that will stand the test of time”. As such, all of the pieces are handmade to order in 18k gold by local craftsmen.
Cla, which is also its creator’s nickname, was born out of conversations Clarissa had with her current business partners, Timotia Devi and Amanda Simandjuntak. Tia, who worked at a digital media company in Sydney, and Amanda, who was running a local e-commerce consultation business, were obvious choices for partners for the Cla project, which “naturally came together as a brand with quite a strong digital focus”, Clarissa says.
“In terms of how Cla’s pieces are different from the ones I’ve created before — Clarissa Kwok, as a brand, aims to create bespoke items and one-off, wearable objects of creative expression; Cla, on the other hand, is a lot more commercially focused, offering versatile pieces that cater to the wider market”, she explains.
Cla is a result of its creator’s long history with jewelry. Her great-grandfather began the business in the 1940s in the backyard of his house, passing the skills and knowledge down to his children including Clarissa’s father.
As a youngster, the passion and interest all came naturally to Clarissa. Constantly surrounded by it, she later decided to study jewelry-making during her bachelor of arts in jewelry design studies at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia.
It was her fascination with the human body that drove her.
“Every inch and every segment of our body is distinctive on its own, and I think jewelry has the ability to interact and harmonize with these segments, making itself more familiar and less foreign to the body. So, over time, your jewelry can be a part of your identity, regardless of market trends,” she says.
That sense of personality that comes through her pieces evoke Clarissa’s personal touch. Instead of relying on dull templates or succumbing to passing trends, her creations are an extension of who she is as a jewelry artist. It’s a particular vision that shines through her pieces.
“What’s unique about our creation process is that although our designs are quite modern, we still craft our pieces the old school way. I sketch my ideas in my journal,” she says.
“And once I’m ready to explore further I sit down with our team of craftsmen and discuss how we can bring the designs to life. We’ll then go through a trial and error process before finalizing the pieces, which we’ll then use as samples for production. It’s a lengthy process and it takes time and care, but it’s well worth it.”
When it comes to material selection, Clarissa goes for the solid 18k gold primarily for its quality, explaining that it is soft enough to make it easy to work with, but it’s also strong and won’t tarnish as quickly as silver or plated jewellery.
“I also like its visual aesthetics — its shades, whether in yellow, rose or white, contrast beautifully against the human skin. It’s a classic language with a lingering warmth.”
To perfect Cla, Clarrisa observed her environment, with particular focus on the people around her and their habits and personal styles. This adds to the sense that the collection, though classy as always, is welcoming toward people of different backgrounds and preferences.
“I also like the notion of loaded timelessness, so the items tend to have classic shapes, but with thought-out details,” she says.
She also understands the nature of jewelry collection in Indonesia. “Because we’ve had such a long history and local tradition of gifting fine jewelry, I think the Indonesian jewelry scene will continue to grow despite economic uncertainty. We’re hopeful that we’ll one day establish ourselves as a modern jewelry destination that Indonesia can be proud of.”
Though she’s done this for a long while, Clarissa still sees every project as a new learning experience. She isn’t afraid to take a step back and review everything, even if it means starting over from scratch.
“As clichéd as it sounds, Cla has been a learning experience for me. You would think I would know exactly what to do this time round, but as a matter of fact, it has a very different business model to my bespoke brand. But it’s great because it means I’m learning something new every day.”
