DANGEROUSLY DELICATE

Kavya Potluri's attention to minute detail is what sets her intricate and unconventional jewelry apart

What were the first signs of your creative bent?

KP: As a child, I was insanely creative. My weekends were my favorite part of my growing years because that was the only time my mother would let me sketch for hours and create crazy things with all the waste beads and threads I collected. I was terrible at academics - as a compulsive daydreamer, I found it hard to concentrate in any class. My favorite thing in the whole world back then was drawing. I was very clear in my head that I would do something in the Arts field. In fact, I initially saw myself as a clothing designer. The thought of jewelry happened much later because my mother had noticed my childhood interests. I had a massive bead station when I was probably eight years old, and that madness continued for a very long time, but I never took it so seriously. I was in the tenth standard, struggling to pass my exams, when my mom planted that seed in my head, and here I am today.

After the 12th standard, I studied Design at Raffles School of Design for two years. After that, I studied Gemology, Design, and Manufacturing at The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) Carlsbad & New York for almost three years.

How did you come up with your own label?