Speaking with designer Ilka Harrigan

I began making jewelry as a business in 2007, I called my business Empress Designz but the name later changed to Nanichi in 2009. What some people do not know is that I have always been doing craft and I excelled in that area; some of my teachers in high school expected that I would continue to study craft in college but I chose another field of study. A year after moving to the United States I decided to continue doing pottery and was encouraged to participate in craft shows/displays.

I began to focus on jewelry in 2007 when I came across a reliable place from which I could purchase materials, it was something that I could do while studying or walking around as I am a full time student with a job I found this craft very convenient and relaxing. I began making jewelry for myself, a lot of red, gold and green pieces. I find myself constructing pieces when I am most stressed, in the middle of studying for an exam or simply bored.  I was even more inspired to continue focusing on jewelry when I could make others feel fantastic; I can easily say that I’m not into this for the money but rather the emotion tied to seeing people happy. When I’m doing fashion shows I like to make sure that my models are ok with wearing the piece that I chose for them and most times they’ll ask why am I concerned about their comfort level.  As a female I like to feel well dressed or else my confidence tends to drop a notch, it’s normal.

When I started promoting my jewelry, I definitely encountered many obstacles, especially people who found negative things to say. I also faced many turn downs and learned a thing or two about the business. Nothing stopped me though; in fact I got better the second time around.

I remember when I became confident in my work and that was the day when I really read my catch phrase and took it seriously “The love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art.” I found that other people started to take me seriously as well, since my dedication, drive and confidence became more pronounced. And from there everything is history.