The 33-year-old is the owner of Deeper than Fashion, an online business that sells exquisite handmade earrings with vibrant colours and unique designs. Harmini describes her pieces as “wearable art” and proudly showcases them on their Instagram page.
“It’s very easy to say it’s just a piece of jewellery, but there’s actually a lot of thought that goes into each original idea and colour selection. For me, it’s more like art,” she tells FMT.
She generally creates only one of each design but sometimes makes up to five replicas, depending on the demand and her supply of materials.
Customers can send her a message via Instagram to order the piece they want. Once it’s sold, the Instagram post is deleted immediately.
“I hate it when I scroll through a page and fall in love with a piece, only to find out it is no longer available,” she explains.
Harmini also accepts custom orders. “It’s also more fun for me so I can try new things.”
Her clients come from Malaysia, Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, the United States, and France. While the price of her earrings starts at RM30, sales depend on her customers’ budgets as shipping is expensive.
“Many people reach out to me, but then realise the price of shipping and delivery is a problem,” she says.
‘Beauty in everything’
So, where does she get her inspiration from? Mostly from her travels and nature.
“I do a lot of ocean-inspired pieces,” she says, citing, as an example, the beautiful colours of sunsets. “There is beauty all around us, and a lot of times we don’t appreciate it in the smallest things.”
Harmini’s journey as an artist started at a young age. Apart from the jewellery, she also does watercolour and acrylic paintings.
“When I was about six or seven, I made Barbie-doll clothes out of sweet wrappers,” she recalls with a laugh. “My parents were always very supportive. If I needed any supplies, they would get them for me.”
She shares the unexpected reason for starting her business 12 years ago: “I wanted money to go to a concert, but my parents said no.” This motivated the self-described “artrepreneur” to start a blog to sell her work.
Harmini then added an Instagram account for her business, which has since amassed more than 30,000 followers.
Creative breaks
Having done this for over a decade, she has learnt to not let the pressure of being noticed on social media get to her.
“Today, you’re expected to post new content almost on a daily basis. That is really taxing,” she reflects.
“I’ve come to a point where it doesn’t matter to me because it’s something I can’t control.
“I’ve realised I need to take breaks, and that’s okay. I used to feel guilty when I did, but I was not producing the best pieces under pressure because I was creating for the sake of it, instead of feeling excited about it.”
These days, Harmini has found a balance between creating to earn a living and to express herself.
As for what she loves about earrings? “They make the difference in any outfit,” she says. “Plus, it’s one-size-fits-all!”
View more of Harmini’s masterpieces at Deeper than Fashion’s Instagram profile.