Sometimes tragedies give birth to success stories. Which is exactly the case with Poonam Thimmiah, whose meteoric rise to fame (since she launched her jewellery label in 2019), resulting in hit showings at both New York and Paris Fashion Weeks this year, stems from personal loss—a miscarriage—that compelled her to head home to Mysuru from New York to recuperate.
“After my miscarriage some four years ago, I decided to come to India to get a grip on my emotions. Looking for something to do, I dropped by at my alma mater, JC College of Engineering, to check if they had any courses in jewellery making. The college offered a special course for differently-abled kids, which I decided to take up. Working with these kids, I created my first collection, a batch of jewellery made with clay, tassels and lambani work,” she recollects.
Thimmiah soon realised she had found her peace and her calling. However, she returned to New York to take up a job with JP Morgan. But fate continued to play cat and mouse games with her. She got pregnant again in 2018, but had a second miscarriage in the 36th week. “That was deeply shattering. I was so unprepared for it. I was allowed to take three to four months off from work, and that’s when I decided to venture into jewellery designing as a therapeutic way to keep myself occupied.”
During her previous trip to India, Thimmiah says she had bought jewellery from a few women, who she decided to contact again. “One of these ladies was a sculptor, Shruti Mascarenhas, from Goa, who makes the clay part of the jewellery I design. During a trip to Jaipur, I met Tanu Kala, who was in the family metal business, and she now does my metal work. Likewise, Soniya Aravind does my polymer clay work. I discovered her while reading about how she started working with this medium to escape from crippling anxiety,” Thimmiah explains.
Soon, fate smiled on her again as she got pregnant just three months after her miscarriage. “My mind was so disturbed and throughout my pregnancy I was restless. I continued working with JP, but also started this business of jewellery designing. I used to work till 6 pm, come back home and start working on my collection,” she recalls.
In February 2019, Maalicious (coined from the word ‘maal’ and given a delicious twist), was officially launched on Instagram. A month later, her son Vivaan was born. A year later, her second son, Yuv, was born this August. “A month after his birth, I was a part of both New York Fashion Week in September and Paris Fashion Week in October. It has been crazy but exciting. And I have formed an amazing group of talented Indian women who worked with me even in the middle of the pandemic to deliver for both the fashion weeks,” she says,
Not to forget, her supportive husband who’s been on baby duty all this while. “None of this would have been possible without his constant hands-on support with the kids. To let you in on a secret, I haven’t changed a single diaper of Yuv’s until now,” she reveals.
So, how did New York Fashion Week happen? “I started to retail with a store called Flying Solo in Manhattan, whose owner, Elizabeth Solomeina, selected my jewellery for her annual show. A lot of prominent fashion stylists attend her shows and that is how I got selected. The whole concept was so new to me. Till I was a part of NYFW, I did not feel like a proper designer,” adds Thimmiah. Paris Fashion Week followed suit a month later. “I could not attend it due to the pandemic but watched the show online. I hope I get selected again next year so I can attend in person,” she says, crossing her fingers.
Moving forward, Thimmiah nurtures big dreams. “I want to bring back traditional artisanship into jewellery, create beautiful handmade products, and take them to the western world. As a women-only firm, I also want to build a strong community of marginalised women to help build this dream while enabling their sustenance and empowering their workmanship,” she signs off.