Rayane Chami – or Ray Makes Thing – features in our gift guide. Working out of her home studio in Bermondsey, Ray makes beautiful pearly jewellery. We sit down with the maker to discuss pearls, designing and SE1…
Bermondsey Biscuit: How did Ray Makes Things start?
Ray Makes Things: I moved to the UK from my home in Lebanon for my doctorate degree in Psychology in 2016. Halfway through my PhD, I received a two-week suspected cancer referral from the NHS and was asked to schedule a biopsy. My parents insisted I return home for the tests. Soon after travelling home, I had the biopsy and surgical removal of the lump. I could not focus on my PhD responsibilities; my mind had been preoccupied. My mum was a pearl jeweller, so we always had a lot of jewellery-making material lying around the house. I started making in an attempt to calm my mind.
After discovering my lump was benign, I flew back to the UK to resume my PhD, but this time brought back some of my mum’s materials with me. Three and a half years and one doctorate later, I still make jewellery every single day. It brings me so much joy, in a way that I still find hard to describe.
BB: Why did you choose to work with pearls?
RMT: It’s all thanks to my mum.
BB: How do you want customers to feel when wearing your designs?
RMT: I want them to feel like they’ve found just the thing they were searching for, and to find comfort in knowing they’ve supported a person’s livelihood by purchasing high-quality jewellery that didn’t cost a fortune.
BB: What do you love about Bermondsey?
RMT: I enjoy mindful walks to Burgess Park, the Friday flea market in Bermondsey Square, afternoon jogs along the Thames with a picturesque view of Tower Bridge, and nights out discovering quirky restaurants on Bermondsey Street.
I also appreciate there are parts of Bermondsey unscathed by gentrification, where you can find many independent, family-owned hospitality venues that have been around for decades.
BB: What is your design process?
RMT: I’m quite impulsive with my designs and find that I always design as I go along! I have ADHD and think that the reason I find handmaking jewellery so enjoyable is because I can enjoy the spontaneity of the creative process, without having to plan.
BB: Do you offer custom pieces?
RMT: Yes! I’m always happy to work on custom orders and have often helped people upcycle pieces they already own, or have inherited, into pieces they are more likely to wear.
www.raymakesthings.co.uk
