SPAWe are the expression of origin in a contemporary tale. The fusion of cultural symbols that speak about connection and divergence between traditions: the cycle, the spiral, the sun and moon, the trance of dancing, the sound of graphemes. We are the results of constantly observing, listening and heeding the world around us, and of a permanent inquiry about how our ancestors shaped matter into ritual adornment objects.
Our jewels are assertions of collective and individual identities. For those who wear them, to voice who they are. They are bearers of totems from early tribes and celebrations of earthly textures; they are metal, gold, stone; shine, fire, water, shadow. They are the result of a process that upholds, in every stage, our values of sustainability, teamwork, respect, quality and truthfulness.
Aysha Bilgrami
Born to a Colombian mother and a Pakistani father, she incarnates the joyful encounter between these two very rich, yet very different cultures. Pakilombian is the term she coined to talk about her tradition and origins; a term that today signifies the myriad possibilities of bringing traditions together.
From a very young age, Aysha felt the drive to draw and sketch; she saw textures and garments in her head and learnt to sew in order to make them real. The years she spent in Milan studying Fashion Design at the Instituto Marangoni revealed to her, not only how much she needed to be creative in her everyday life, but also how clothes and accessories were powerful means to express oneself.
When she came back to Colombia she worked playing several different roles in the fashion industry but kept feeling a pull towards accessories, a path that she finally set on in 2014 when she launched her first jewelry collection at 8424 Estudio, one of the first multibrand stores for this line of design in Bogotá. Today she has her a flagship store with Colombian brand Atelier Crump in Bogotá, where clients can buy her unique creations and learn, often from her own account, about her source of inspiration and the stories behind each collection.
We have counted for years on the talent of photographer Daniella Benedetti to recreate the universe and aesthetics of each collection which now Cristina Salgar has come on board for a new twist, on product photographer Johan Beltrán who portrays pieces separately. Lina Rincón puts the intention and stories behind our designs into words, Felipe Sánchez designs the physical spaces during fairs in which we sell our pieces, and recently Carlos Murgas designed our new flagship store, a new universe with Colombian clothing brand Atelier Crump.Eida McCoy is website strategist, Jaime Eduardo Zawadzki is our strategic advisor, Margaux Bagur as International Sales Rep, Paula Andrea Melendez our content creator and Daniela Tellez and Felipe Rengifo our of Sales and Customer Service team led by Cristina Uribe our commercial manager. Gloria Gaitán –Aysha’s mother– has an eye and attention to detail and works hand in hand with Aysha Bilgrami on special projects. And last but not least Luz Mery Chaparro our administrative assistant which teams up with Do2 from Medellín to run our back office.
The last link in the chain is, of course, you. Our clients, who interpret, in turn, the pieces they purchase making them part of a new universe, bringing them to life as expressions of themselves.
The Team
Many hands and minds are required to design and craft our unique pieces of jewelry. In the beginning there is cultural expression and tradition, our endless source of inspiration. Then there’s the spark that ignites Aysha’s creativity and prompts her into digging deeper, looking for unseen connections, imagining new shapes and forms. Seasoned jeweler Luis Alfonso Tinjaca skillfully transforms her ideas into tangible pieces using silver recycled by Isabel Cárdenas and semi-precious stones selected and carved by Aureliano Palmeri. Inhouse we then replicate those pieces through the disappearing wax casting technique. Gina Barbosa transforms silver into intricate chain designs. The final touches of gold plating and matte finish are given by Raúl Lozano and Luis Urrego and sons.
