Meet Edura Berrini

Today we’d like to introduce you to Edura Berrini.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I moved to Chicago from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2001. My mother worked for the Malaysian Ministry of Education and had taken assignment in Evanston, IL. My Mother, an educator let me know early-on college was my path. A traditional, “stable” career in math or science awaited she insisted, but not art. I chose math. Twelve years later I found myself burnt out and unfulfilled working in corporate consulting. So I quit.

After taking time to focus on family, I found myself scrolling through online career pages grudgingly returning to what I felt I “had to do.” My husband then asked me what I would do if I could choose? When I said jewelry and metalsmithing, he responded “well, why don’t you?”

That day I finally gave myself permission try to be what I truly wanted to become. Now 2 years later I run my own jewelry and gemstone business. I probably put in more hours than I ever did as a consultant, but every day I feel energized to create and provide beautiful handcrafted jewelry and gemstones for my clients.

Please tell us about your art.
As a metalsmith and jeweler, I spend a lot of my time on very small details. The gemstones I choose to use in my pieces being one of them. When I was first beginning, I became quite frustrated locating gemstones that I was confident in. It was either sifting through thousands at a trade show or scrolling online for hours and taking a hopeful shot on one. After speaking to other jewelers I found many felt the same. So I started Laku Gems.

Now I source and curate a collection of high quality semi-precious and precious gemstones to offer jewelers of all levels. My goal is to take away the intimidation factor. Whether that be in the purchasing setting or the purchase itself. I want jewelers to be inspired to try working with gemstones they wouldn’t otherwise try and provide the access, information, and support needed to be confident in the materials they are choosing to display in their art. Art I can now be part of through the gems themselves.

Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
Artists create, but too often we are the biggest barriers to our own creations. Hoarding our ideas to guard against what others may think of our work. Shelving designs until they are “perfect.”

The piece of advice I would give is to reject perfection. Imperfection is our greatest gift. A human hand cannot make the same exact piece twice, while a machine can do so a 1,000 times over. That ability to keep everything unique is a superpower reserved for the artist.

The second piece of advice I would give is that when you finish a piece and release it into the world, allow the world to own it. You cannot protect against opinion. No matter what, some will love it, some will hate it, and most will be indifferent. Embrace all three, especially the criticism. That’s where you will learn the most.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
People can find me on Instagram @lakugems. There, people can view what I am currently working on as well as get information on where I will be setting up my pop-up retail experience next. They can also message me to set up an appointment for a gem consultation or to place an order.

For my jewelry, I currently make only custom orders though do plan to launch a ready to wear line in the next year. Having access to a lot of gemstones, my clients can select the gems they wish to appear in their piece making for a really fun creative collaboration between jeweler and buyer.

Contact Info:

• Email: lakugems@gmail.com
• Instagram: lakugems

Image Credit:
All photos are my own.

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