ViaLuxe Interview: Guy Bedarida of John Hardy Discusses Sustainable Luxury

BIOGRAPHY: For Guy Bedarida, Creative Director and Head Designer for John Hardy jewelry, an appreciation of beauty and artistic expression was integral to his formative years. Growing up in Paris and Florence, Italy, Bedarida was naturally surrounded by fine culture, a circumstance which heightened his own natural inclinations to create and explore. Invariably, this energy propelled a young Bedarida into the realm of jewelry design where his talents brought him recognition among the most prestigious houses, including Van Cleef & Arpels, where he eventually attained the coveted position of head designer.

Since joining John Hardy more than a decade ago, Guy Bedarida has become an inseparable part of the brand's dynamic vision for "sustainable luxury"--a creative concept distinguished by a deep respect for the cultures and environments in which luxury goods are crafted. He continually channels his love for silver, gold, and semi-precious stones into world-renowned jewelry designs inspired by ancient Balinese metalworking traditions.

When not in Bali with his dedicated team of goldsmiths and jewelers, Guy Bedarida spends much of his time traveling. The designer enjoys experiencing cultures around the world, and gaining inspiration from the people he meets during his journeys.

ViaLuxe recently had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Bedarida to get a preview of the latest collections and to talk about the John Hardy design process.

VIALUXE:
Hi Guy, thanks so much for spending time with us. Can you tell us a little bit about the John Hardy Brand?

GUY BEDARIDA:
The John Hardy brand is a very exciting brand because it’s an authentic brand.

John went about 25 years ago to Indonesia. He was just on a tour of the world and he loved the island and people so much, he never came back. He started to make jewelry with the local artisans. About 10 years ago I was living in New York designing jewelry for a very established and big traditional company - very high end.

VIALUXE:
So how did you get involved with John Hardy?

GUY BEDARIDA:
He was looking for a designer and he offered to bring me to Bali and I was very surprised because I couldn't imagine that in Bali there was a possibility to do anything at the level of what we were doing. But I went - and I really fell in love with the people first, their talent and the island of Bali as well. I moved there - I resigned from my job in New York and I started to develop the design that you can see now which is more liberated and more high end with beautiful gems and stones and we started to grow - and we grew immensely - and that’s where we are now.

VIALUXE:
What does the John Hardy brand stand for?

GUY BEDARIDA:
We believe that the way we are creating and manufacturing jewelry should also be in harmony with the people that make it and with the environment where we are doing it. So, consequently we take care of our workers. We have about 800 people working for us in Bali and we grow food for them - organic food - all around our compound - we eat all together and we also protect the environment and we learn ourselves and then we teach everybody to do it also. So for instance the walls are mudwall and the roof is in straw. We believe that there is a way to create jewelry and beautiful things in a way that respects people and the environment.

VIALUXE:
Talk to me about your design process.

GUY BEDARIDA:
I generally design directly with drawing and then I make it with the local artisan in Bali. And that’s why our jewelry really has a soul. Everything is made by hand. The philosophy is really to create beautiful things with a real process like it was 200 years ago where the machine is almost nonexistent and everything is made by hand.

It’s a great process because it starts with a drawing - first a quick sketch and then a beautiful, beautiful rendering and for that I have to say that I have an amazing team. When I arrived in Bali - I started to train local designers and I have to say that they are probably better than me now because they make some incredible renderings. The rendering is very important because from the rendering - you can see exactly how the jewelry will look. We then bring the drawing to a wax carver. The Balinese are incredible carvers. They can carve with stones and wood. They learn to do the carving this size - but so perfect. And that’s where the jewelry starts to become three dimensional. From there we go to the casting in wax and it becomes like art. We have some goldsmiths that do incredible work refining the metal and then we do all the details by hand on the metal. Then we polish and then the piece will travel to the US and here we are.

There is a real inspiration in the design behind every piece. But then there is the amazing part that it was made in the hands of an artisan. That’s why I love to call my jewelry - "jewelry with soul".

VIALUXE:
What are the key elements to your designs?

GUY BEDARIDA:
We love our customers and I always design jewelry that has to really bring a few different elements. One is definitely the design part. Another one is the technical part - they have to be very well made. And then I want my jewelry to be very comfortable. My jewelry has to be your companion for a woman wearing them or for a man also because we have a very beautiful men’s line. And that’s really what brings us something special more than other brands I believe.

VIALUXE:
Is there one collection that is more special to you then others?

GUY BEDARIDA:
All my collections they are like my babies. They are like my children and like a father or mother - I love them all.

VIALUXE:
What is your definition of the word luxury?

GUY BEDARIDA:
Luxury I believe in this particular moment of the world is everything that is exclusive. Everything that is rare. Everything that is custom made for you - so it really makes you feel special, different and unique - this is really luxury.

VIALUXE:
Can you give us a preview of something new for this year?

GUY BEDARIDA:
Probably the most powerful collection that I introduced this year is "Naga" and "Naga" is very important in Bali because he is the cosmic dragon in Bali who is also a symbol of prosperity - and we love prosperity - especially in this particular environment. And this is the most powerful and beautiful piece in the collection. It’s an incredibly precious item. It is a 114 carat aquamarine. It is extremely rare and the color is totally unique. It’s two dragons that are holding the aquamarine. So this is part of this new idea of how I create the collection like a pyramid - where I have on the top - a very important piece - unique - one of a kind - and of course very expensive also because it’s unique and the stone is incredible. And then from there - I make a different style that is more accessible to everybody and this is the new collection called "Naga". Accessibility comes in the new woven chain. This is a very important introduction. This is completely hand-made - the whole chain. We had our traditional woven chain for about fifteen years and today I introduced a new designed woven chain. It’s a big revolution at John Hardy and it’s very interesting. The pattern is the same like a mermaid - and it brings you back to the dragon idea with the dragon that opens its mouth to close the chain. It’s the same like my bracelet - they are pretty incredible – It’s a unique style with a mouth that opens. It’s just a simple pattern - no more figurativeness - just a graphic pattern. This is a very interesting collection that we are going to launch this year and so far the response is amazing. It’s incredible.

VIALUXE:
What are your hopes for this new collection?

GUY BEDARIDA:
I really want my jewelry to bring happiness to people - and then as I said before - I really want my jewelry to be a companion to the person who wears it.

READER’S COMMENTS

Sarah Mcquire

I just looooove jOHN HARDY, great designs.I wish to own every piece they create :( There are great sites out there i can buy online like nordstorm or John Hardy but i would also like to see some walk in shops in my area. I live in wisconsin and i's love to see them right here. !!

Wednesday, November 04, 2009 at 9:43 PM

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