Chasing Dreams… Hanadi Keane

According to a study, it is noted that seven out of 10 people have entrepreneurial dreams and aspirations but only about two or three of them have the courage to pursue it. Starting your venture is no doubt a thought that leads to sleepless nights and days full of fears but once one overcomes these emotional hurdles, what awaits you is a path of success fueled by your own passion. One such jewellery designer that we met at this year’s BaselWorld is Hanadi Keane. Working at a good position at a multi-national company, Hanadi would make optimum use of her lunch break by researching about pursuing her passion of jewellery making. “I used to work in a multinational company before deciding to switch completely to jewellery design. I had to learn everything about the business from the start. I enrolled for GIA courses and took night classes to learn how to work with the wax and metal to make my designs. Buying jewellery tools was a very challenging and exciting experience for me. I used to go every day during my lunch break to a shop that sold all kind of jewellery tools. I spent hours checking the tools and asking the sales people a bazillion questions about the how to use each one and to create . . . what? It was a lot of fun and very challenging. When I was asked what I was doing, I used to tell the sales person that I am a jewellery designer developing my first jewellery line that one day will be worn by very unique, special, ambitiousand courageous women. The salesman used to laugh, probably thinking I was crazy, telling me that he had never seen someone entering his store not knowing what sheneeded to buy to create a piece of jewellery she had designed,” shares the ace designer.

Design is something that one is born with. It can be honed and polished but the passion for it needs to be innate. Hanadi was also born with strong love for design and jewels. This passion used to rear its pretty head out since her childhood. “It began with a childhood passion for gold and jewels that has endured my entire life. After many years and a wide variety of experiences, I launched my brand in 2009 in Geneva designing and creating jewellery for a very selective private clientele. The big launch at an international level happened this year at BaselWorld 2015,” explains Hanadi.

A designer is incomplete without his/her muse or inspirations and to be constantly inspired to create beautiful collections each season is no easy feat but Hanadi has found the right balance as she is perpetually inspired by life, women and everyday scenic things. “The women of today and their lifestyle inspire me. My inspiration also comes from all the things that touch my life. They can be found in nature, shapes, shadows or monuments – anything that strikes my sense of beauty and proportion. I am very much in contact with everything that surrounds me and I always look at the details of the things that catch my eye. I am always curious to discover what it is about certain things that arouse my sense of wonder. This discovery process takes time and patience, but it is always rewarding.”

These observations of details play a big part in her designing process. She uses many innovative techniques to bring her imagination to life. When asked to dwell on the unique techniques, she says, “There is always something unique in the way each piece is created. It may be mathematically oriented, or a small, simple innovation that may go unnoticed by the casual observer. Including certain design elements can also require extra time and attention to detail to execute perfectly, but I don’t approach designing from this angle. I usually imagine the design, draw it and then I start looking at the mounting process. Some of the pieces I have created have needed extensive time and prototypes to figure out the best way to mount them without harming the final look or feel.”

Talking more about the designing process, she articulates, “All of my collections are conceived and created by me with the help of professional jewellers who execute my ideas. I just finished working on one of my new collections that reveals an extraordinary freshness and a soft mixture of gold and precious stones. Conception takes a lot of time; it starts by processing all my inspirational images that I have been collecting subconsciously. It is amazing how suddenly those images narrow down into one specific idea and a design. When you reach this stage you know that the concept you’ve been working on has reached the point of creation. The best part of designing is when you wake up and the idea is clear and neat and you have no doubt about its future success.”

When asked to describe the most unique or difficult jewellery piece she has created, pat-comesthe- reply, “The Marquise ring has been quite unique and challenging to make. It represents beautiful leaves that have fallen and are lying peacefully in harmony. I love the tranquility of this ring, the dome shape and the way the leaves have fallen onto each other. The challenge was in the way I mounted the ten leaves together without suffocating them. Respecting the way each leaf touches the others was the key driver that helped me create a fluid and soft connection between the individual components of the ring.”

The Hanadi Keane brand has come under the spotlight and was well accepted at the BaselWorld show in a short span of time. With cutthroat competition and endless string of designers coming up, we wondered how did she manage this success. To this she explains, “My USP is a real life story based on the everyday experiences of real women. My life is much like that of millions of women around the world who aren’t Hollywood stars, jet setters or household names, but who are vitally important to the people around them, whether colleagues, friends or family. My designs are inspired by the beauty of everyday objects and experiences, but are always created with an intimate understanding of the need of my clients for high-quality, versatile and beautiful jewellery that serves a multitude of purposes. Very few designers have this unique, personal insight into what these women – my clients – want to wear and why. My brand is important to them because of the values it represents, but it isn’t the reason why they wear my jewellery. That’s important.”

It was clear in our conversation that everyday women and their lifestyles are Hanadi’s greatest inspirations. Thus we asked her to describe the woman who wears a Hanadi Keane jewel. She shares, “She’s ambitious, courageous and caring. She loves and knows what real luxury is. She’s confident in every situation and knows how to manage the multiple facets of her life. She knows how to remind herself everyday of her own values and never forgets to embrace everything that happens to her as an experience that plays a part of her own journey through life.”

We then requested her to describe her personal style mantra.
“A fresh and classy look is a must for today’s modern women. I have to feel comfortable and confident in what I am wearing. In terms of jewellery, I like pieces that never overshadow my attire, or me but work in harmony with everything to create a total look and feel. I am not into overpowering ‘bling’ pieces and neither are my clients,” she answers.

From all about jewels and gems, we moved on to know more of Hanadi’s personal life and daily schedule. She tells us, “I wake up between 6 and 7am. I spend an hour thinking and planning my day, and also working on my plans for the future. Then I love sharing my morning coffee with my husband before I leave for work. A typical day never ends before 10pm.”

“I love traveling and exploring some of the most undiscovered parts of the world. I also love listening to jazz and classical music. Jogging and yoga are on my agenda every week. And the best part is helping an elderly person that I volunteer to take care of once a week,” she says when asked about interests and hobbies.

Hanadi is a firm believer of family values and respects her family’s support to the maximum. When asked to share something about her family, she says with a smile, “My family is my foundation. As humans, we all need the same basic things: acceptance, love, attention and caring. I reflected these universal values in my SIGANTURE collection, which ‘symbolises the many paths of our lives. All lead us in different directions, yet each allows a way to return home, gently reminding us that strong roots are the key to a harmonious life.’ For me, that says it all.”

Time was running out and we had to know her favourite jeweller that inspires her. “I have always admired Chopard designs and the way they integrate a long tradition with modernity. It’s a hard thing to do without losing relevance in a constantly changing world. In the end, beautiful, thoughtful designs that have a deep meaning and fit with my own personal aesthetic are what attract me and the women for whom I design jewellery,” she answers.

As Hanadi rushes to another meeting, she wraps up the conversation with an advice for budding designers. “Never let go of your dreams and believe. Persist during hard times and always remind yourself where you started, see the progress you made and realise where you are today,” she signs off.