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Mika’s Sister is Your New Favorite Jewelry Designer

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Jewelry designer Zuleika Penniman in her studio. Photographed by Djinane AlSuwayeh.

Among the design studios at Tashkeel, you’ll find the Dubai-based fine jewelry designer Zuleika Penniman’s atelier. The sun washed interior complete with a tree that acts like an umbrella guarding over her workstation is where her precious metal work comes to life. “I refuse to work anywhere else but under this tree,” shares Penniman with Vogue Arabia. “It’s high maintenance to upkeep, since it’s meant to be an outdoor plant, but it inspires me. Autumn leaves fall on my studio desk this time of year, and in spring, it’s covered with blooms.”

Born in Paris to a Lebanese mother and an American father, Penniman’s name might ring a bell as she’s also the sister of singer Mika. Raised in London, after high school she moved to Beijing to learn Mandarin Chinese and study old-fashion French pattern cutting, tailoring, drapery, and the art of corsetry.

She then moved back to London to complete her degree in jewelry design at Central Saint Martins. Thanks to stints at London-based jewelers Hannah Martin and Alice Cicolini as well as working for Christian Louboutin on the lipstick pendant necklace for his beauty line campaign, her understanding of the industry is wide reaching. It was the spirit of optimism and enthusiasm in Dubai that incited her to pack her bags once again and she moved to the UAE to found her eponymous brand.

Set to launch soon, Penniman describes her jewelry as, “Relevant, courageous, sensitive, and empowering.” For her debut collection named Hereafter, Penniman took the idea of a talisman and inverted it. “It began with a trip to Nepal where I became fascinated by the overlapping of jewelry and ceremony rituals. There, jewelry took on a new dimension for me. Suddenly I realized its profound importance in society, community, and its ability to elevate the status of everyday tasks,” she remarks.

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Necklace from Zuleika Penniman’s Hereafter collection. Photographed by Djinane AlSuwayeh.

Crafted from precious metals and stones, and experiments with gold and silk fibers, each piece from the collection comes with an element of wonder. Multifunctional components lie at the heart of each design. To wit: rings open and close to form a pendant, while necklaces can double in size to reveal an explosion of detailed motifs. “I like to explore the dualistic nature of jewelry. Take the amulet, on one hand, it is extremely personal, and on the other, it is displayed for the whole world to see,” she says.

As for her design aesthetic, Penniman shares, “I have an acute sense for harmony and balance. I’ll deliberate over a curve for a long time if it’s not speaking to me. The same goes for visual noise—less is more.” At first glance, this might come as a surprise as her designs are intertwined with intricate details and mechanical movements that demand a double take. “Ironically, they often look complex, but if you isolate the individual elements, each piece is extremely simple and essential,” she adds.

Penniman is determined to build a successful brand, and she’s counting on her regional friends to help her, “I’m lucky to be surrounded by stylish men and women, and I design with them in mind. If I make something that doesn’t make the cut among those immediately around me, there’s no way I’m taking it into production,” she states.

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