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DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?

: The main inspiration of this work was the stained glass. The colors of stained glass in this masterpiece architecture come together in harmony to create a sense of spirituality and serenity. I wanted to create a piece of jewelry that translate a macro masterpiece such as architecture to a micro piece of wearable art.

DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?

: I wanted to show the world in today's geo-political situation, that our country Iran (Ancient Persia) is full of beauty and deep history and culture that has been overlooked by media focusing only on the negatives. There are so much artistic talent that needs to be discovered by the west.

DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?

: I would like to make this collection a commercial success as well as a a symbol of the undiscovered talent.

DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?

: it took one and a half year to develop design and samples for the entire collection (20 pieces)

DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?

: The design was developed to show my passion for art, architecture and jewelry.

DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?

: I intend to produce my work and offer to retailors

DI: What made you design this particular type of work?

: I have much education and experience in jewelry design having worked for international companies such as MontBlanc, Tiffany&Co and Maison Birks

DI: Who is the target customer for his design?

: Open minded women between ages of 30-50 who are well traveled and open to new cultures

DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?

: Each gemstone stone is specially selected and hand cut with special faceting technique to fit the pieces of jewelry which makes the piece very unique

DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?

: The name Kashan is taken from the ancient city of Kashan. I took this name because my original inspiration was the dome of the bazaar in this city

DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?

: 3d programing and printing, casting, hand cutting stones, hand setting gemstones and diamonds and a combination of technology with traditional jewelry making techniques.

DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?

: Stone cutters, jewelers, setters, photographer, etc

DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?

: I combined technology with old techniques to bring this design to life. For example the piece was designed by 3d modeling and wax printing instead of technique of wax carving to see all aspects of the design first. After 3d printing more traditional techniques such as hand cutting and hand setting was used to make each pieces that are high quality.

DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?

: Cutting each stone to the exact size was extremely difficult and many stones were broken in the process. Also setting the piece without any visible prongs in the front and back was rejected by many jewelers as its a very new way. We finally managed to come up with a solution to create the piece that looks beautiful in the front and back.

DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?

: I have been wanting to submit designs to A design award for many year and finally decided this year we have the perfect product that combines aesthetics, history, culture, technology, uniqueness and traditional craftsmanship which would give the piece much advantage over other competitors.