My Event Display: Mayaani Jewellery embraces elegance and practicality

Do you remember the early days of your business? When you were just trying to get through your first events? Megha has been on her artisan journey the last few years. Like so many artisan businesses, her unique designs didn’t easily lend themselves to a straightforward business playbook. She had a distinct vision for her products, which emerged after much experimentation. Mayaani Jewellery is a brand rooted in tradition, reimagined for modern life.

I first interviewed Megha for the Now What Show podcast. She shares her relatable backstory on creating a unique and niche product here: How I’m iterating and learning to refine my target market with Megha Mundandishe Her enthusiasm for the wonder of the journey will make you smile and fondly remember your early days of the business.

She’s recently started doing events, and I thought it would be wonderful to check in and see how the business is progressing. She shares the challenges of creating an elegant display on a budget, on that that reflects her values while still showcasing her beautiful products. Her products were even displayed as part of the fashion show on the catwalk!

I knew right from the beginning I did not want my craft fair display to look like a copy and paste job. The kind where you see what one person has done and simply go ahead and adapt it slightly so it does not look like an exact copy. What my authentic version of my craft display would look like I did not know but, after a series of online searches spanning a few weeks, an image began to form in my mind.

I knew I wanted to create a high end look and feel incorporating my brand colours to create a very strong brand identity which felt luxurious but not overly indulgent echoing sustainability. The experience of my display was important to me and  I did not want a very cluttered set-up. Displays which are too busy, in my mind are very distracting and on some level might even communicate a lack of confidence in the product being showcased.

With all of this in mind, it was equally important for me to invest only in new materials where necessary both due to my personal commitment to ensure my brand is as eco-conscious as possible and due to budgetary constraints. So, I got creative and it is surprising how with a bit of imagination and ingenuity you can achieve an authentic look which makes your display a part of your signature. 

I’ve never publicly displayed my work before. The design I developed was, from the outset, created with my target audience and event in mind. I was invited to showcase my work for two high end luxury Asian Shows, one which fell through (The Asian Wedding Show Bluewater) and one which I am happy to report actually went ahead (The Asiana Lifestyle Show)! When designing my display I always kept the long term functionality of my display in mind, opting for materials I knew I would be able to adapt or reuse within my home or business if I changed my setup in future.

Being able to achieve different looks to suit different events and venues whilst still communicating a strong brand identity across all looks was a key focus for me. I had the opportunity to test out my display setup at a small eco-conscious wedding fair which took place between the two wedding shows. This reassured me my display design was adaptable and was a very helpful exercise to undertake before I invested in finishing touches ahead of the Asiana Lifestyle Show.

It was clear to me from the beginning I did not want to go down the stereotypical path of displaying my luxury handcrafted Indian jewellery on velvet display stands. Displays which frequently showcase luxury jewellery created through the destruction of ecosystems and designed for an overly indulgent and grotesque display of wealth.

My jewellery is far from stereotypical and it felt important to present it in a way which felt authentic to me and my brand. Hello hemp rope busts! I immediately loved the texture and look of hemp rope busts and opted for these alongside unfinished hexagonal wood display trays and hexagonal base gold t-bar jewellery stands. The hexagonal shape has always been a favourite of mine so taking the decision to go with this shape was easy for me.

Rather than sitting my pieces inside the wood trays, I turned them upside down choosing to use them like miniature plinths. I hand painted each of my display stands which worked well for me because I had very particular shades in mind all of which interestingly I was using to paint my home! Alongside this, my husband repurposed a wooden palette for me, turning it into a plinth to raise the entire level of my display and bring everything up to a more comfortable viewing height. I incorporated two of my mum’s old saris which echoed my brand colours perfectly and paired these with sustainably produced cheesecloth table runners, artificial silk leaf ribbon and a pair of burgundy curtains intended for use in my home!