When I started Anisha Parmar London in 2015, I was a deer in headlights. I took on every opportunity that came my way. I worked at a hundred miles an hour and said yes to everything, but never had an eye on the bigger picture or, more importantly, my own wellbeing.
Fast forward to today and my perspective has evolved a lot, and with it, my vision and mission for my brand. I’ve been on a real journey of healing and self-discovery to dig into what’s at the heart of my creative practice, and what my purpose is.
And I think I’ve found my answer:
My work is rooted in the idea of adornment as a gateway to connection.
This clarity of thought has allowed me to take a step back and look at all the work I do beyond making jewellery to sell. Until now I’ve been running various streams of work in silo, but really, they’re all parts of the same whole. And they’re united under this umbrella of “adornment as a gateway to connection”.
In looking at my work holistically, I realised that my role is not jewellery designer alone. I curate. I collaborate. I nurture impactful conversations. I teach. I drive change.
My jewellery business has propelled me into these new roles like lecturing and curating. It’s the narrative embedded in my brand that has opened doors to do other work that deepens the meaning and purpose of my work.
Just how my ancestral roots are crucial to my work, my brand’s roots as Anisha Parmar London have been crucial for its growth. But the ‘London’ in Anisha Parmar London isn’t fully representative of what I do anymore. And that’s not just because my home and studio are in Derby, but because my work is global - something I couldn’t have imagined when first starting out! My diaspora inspiration and journey will always be rooted in the nostalgia of growing up as a British-Gujarati girl in Wembley. I’ll always be a London girl at heart.
But my brand needed to shift a little to better reflect who I am and what I do today.
So, say hello to Anisha Parmar Studio.
Anisha Parmar Studio is the home of my jewellery and accessory design business, and the hub for my creative practice which spans across curation, creative direction, community engagement and cultural consultancy. Delve into my artistic practice work here.
The Anisha of 2015 had a fearless naivety about her. And while there was a beauty in that fearlessness that I miss (and hope to bring back in some ways), today’s Anisha is more grounded. I’ve got a better work-life balance, more diverse experiences, and a clear purpose: to foster conversations around adornment and its role in areas like empowerment, beauty, and feminism, while honouring my hybrid heritage that began in India.
But some things remain constant: I still love vivid colour. I still love making products myself. I still get that rush of joy seeing someone adorning themselves in my pieces.
And I’m still as starry-eyed about being able to live my dream as I was all those years ago.
My passion hasn’t changed one bit.
I’ve just been doing half of the work in the shadows, and now I’m stepping out to fully shine a light on all that I create and am part of.
Thank you for joining me for the ride so far. I can’t wait to take you on the journey of Anisha Parmar Studio too.
