Jamaican resident, Gianna Fakhourie, is overjoyed at her success as a well-known jewelry designer, not only in her homeland but, also on social media platforms.
Fakhourie said she always loved jewelry, because of her artsy nature. But as faith would have it, her profession as a jewelry designer, only came to fusion, after she found herself reaching for a way to heal an illness that became resistant to medication, prescribed by her doctor.
“I started this collection in September, 2015, after an illness that caused neurological complications,” said Fakhourie, whose neurologist she noted, basically, couldn’t heal her because of the adverse reactions her body had to prescribed medications.
The cheerful young woman spoke to Caribbean Life on the sideline of the recent 8th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference in Kingston, Jamaica, of overcoming her health struggles through natural healing.
Due to this unfortunate circumstance, Fakhourie decided she would seek alternative treatment to heal herself. This different path led to therapeutic remedies, such as the use of gemstones, which she discovered during research towards wellness.
“I bought gemstones and made a few bracelets to heal my illness, and people started buying them basically over off my hand.”
“I tripled my money, from the first investment, and that is when I decided to start a collection using semi-precious and other stones in the collection.”
“The name of the company, ‘The Original Arm Candy,’ is basically a candy store concept, so you can mix and match, and choose what you like, stack, and be you, with the brand,” she explained.
“The very first inspiration for the collection, which maintains today, is our signature collection, inspired by Jamaica, land of wood and water. The first design was a wooden bracelet completed with a single Turquoise stone.”
“We quickly expanded that collection to include stones such as, Cranite, Amethyst, and Rose Quarts.”
The Original Arm Candy by Gianna Fakourie has become a well-known brand. The pieces, by scores of jewelry lover, including, children and men who could wear the colorful beaded bracelets, stacked on the hand.
The designer brings a wealth of world styles, which she incorporates into each design. Her recent sojourn took her to five countries in Africa. She experienced, the versatility of Morocco, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, and Ethiopia.
From this adventure, came a limited edition called the Wakanda collection. “I was in search of Wakanda to see where is this perfect place, especially for people of color, and to see if it actually exists,” said the jeweler, referring the fictional country in the movie, “Black Panther.”
“While searching, for this place, I realized that Wakanda is anywhere we decide to be excellent and to achieve, because that is what Wakanda is about, it is the best, it showed us the best of everything. We could create wherever we are,” explained the deep thinking designer.
“I went off to create my Wakanda collection and I decided to put everything of me into it. I designed earrings, necklaces, handbags, bangles, African Kente cloth creations, and other African inspired trinkets made with care and attention to detail.”
“This was me, putting my excellence into my work, reaching to where I hadn’t before to do the best I could. It’s Wakanda for me, but it’s you experiencing Wakanda too when you are wearing the jewelry,” she added.
The pieces start at USD$18 and the semi-precious creations are USD$75.00 and more.
The collection is available at www.theor
