W
orking from Los Angeles, designer Camille Beinhorn takes an immersive approach to the design process. To fuel her creativity, she spends a lot of time in nature and looking at art, especially paintings, absorbing colors, textures and contrasts of light. She also takes inspiration from being in close proximity to the materials with which she works. Understanding where her gemstones come from by personally sourcing them and closely nurturing her relationships with the artisans who bring her vision to life infuses her work with a sense of intimacy and romance. Which is how we find Camille in Jaipur for this Day in the Life feature, during one of her frequent gem adventures.
Understanding where her gemstones come from by personally sourcing them and closely nurturing her relationships with the artisans who bring her vision to life, infuses her work with a sense of intimacy and romance.
Image courtesy of Camille Beinhorn
8:30am: Lassi for breakfast from Jaipur’s iconic Lassiwala on M.I. Road. Lots of people love going to this shop, but having it delivered home is such a nice treat. It comes in the traditional handmade clay cup wrapped with this printed paper.
Image courtesy of Camille Beinhorn
11:00am: First production meeting. Love to see all these new Gemini earrings lined up! We have a mix of antique diamonds, Mahenge spinel, and some mismatched unheated sapphires.
Image courtesy of Camille Beinhorn
12:30pm: Second production meeting to review new necklaces and handwoven chains before setting. Every link is handmade and woven in 22k gold according to the ancient pinched loop in loop technique. You can also see our signature ‘Rawa’ bails on the chains, each one is comprised of little spheres of gold hand applied to the necklaces.
Image courtesy of Camille Beinhorn
2:00pm: Lunch at home followed by deliciously sweet and tangy Safeda mangoes! My favorite time to be in India is mango season after the rains have started.
Image courtesy of Camille Beinhorn
3:30pm: Heading to meetings in the old city and I can’t help but admire all the different facades of Johari Bazaar, the jewelry district, along the way. These are haveli entrances, or large courtyard houses of noble families mostly dating to the early 1800s. Inside are shops or businesses on different floors. I never tire of cusped arches! Note the figure of Lord Ganesha above the door, original marble ramp for cycles and carved sandstone seating areas for visiting guests to wait (now primarily resting spots for street doggies).
Image courtesy of Camille Beinhorn
3:45pm: Time to look for emeralds! Jaipur is the world’s largest trading hub for emeralds, with about 80-90% of the world’s rough emeralds being processed and cut here. Jaipur is renowned for emeralds because the city’s ruler invited master cutters and artisans from all over India and Persia to settle here in the 1700s. The intuitive as opposed to strictly mathematical techniques necessary to cut emeralds have been passed down generations in the centuries since.
Image courtesy of Camille Beinhorn
5:30pm: Central Park walk. I love coming to Central Park for a walk in the evenings right before the peacocks start roosting. The bird sounds are incredible at dusk.
Image courtesy of Camille Beinhorn
7:30pm: Dinner at Rambagh Palace, pulling up here never ceases to take my breath away.
You May Also Like
-
Day in the Life of Jade Ruzzo
Creating jewelry that “whispers instead of yells,” designer Jade Ruzzo seeks to showcase the permanence of fine jewelry in her work. After studying at FIT and spending a decade in fashion and...
Read Now 2 Min Read -
A Day in the Life of Maria Kotsoni
6:00a.m.: A new day begins! Getting up before everybody else does to enjoy a bit of quiet time, review new designs and organize my thoughts for the day...
Read Now 2 Min Read -
A Day in the Life of Tini Courtney of HOWL
Born in New York City, raised in Miami, Tini Courtney, the designer behind HOWL, currently lives in Los Angeles. Juggling being a mom, an artist and an entrepreneur,...
Read Now 2 Min Read