I am the Eggman, I am the Waris

Dejour Magazine got an exclusive interview with Waris Ahluwalia. They talked about his movies, breakfast, his jewelry line and the point he realized he might be famous. Check out the full interview at Dejour Magazine, our favorite bits are below…

Hey Waris, lets just start off light. What did you have for breakfast today?
Nothing so far. I’m considering sunny side up eggs and some banana bread, but the thoughts haven’t formulated into action yet.

Any plans for fashion week?
Unfortunately, yes.

Unfortunately?
I’m exhausted. I just landed two days ago from India and just recently Tokyo. I would have much rather landed in a quiet time. I am going to a show at 12 - Yigal Azrouel. My girlfriend is doing a short film backdrop, so I’m going to go to support her.

What were you doing in India?
I was doing production in India. That’s where a large portion of the productions happens.

Let’s get into that. Let’s talk about the jewelry. How did you get into it?
I made some rings for myself. They had diamonds in them. You couldn’t really miss them. They were really supposed to be for a laugh more than anything else.
I was spending to a lot of time in LA, and I walked into a store called Maxfield’s. The sales women said “nice rings” and I said thanks. She said “are they yours?” I said yes. I didn’t know what she meant by that, but then she said “do you want to meet the buyer” and I said yes. Never say no. I didn’t know what they hell to say to a buyer. I didn’t know what I was going to sell them for, if I was going to sell them at all, so that was that. I met with the buyer the following week and they placed an order. And that was the seed of House of Waris.

So first you were making the jewelry yourself?
No, I had them made in the diamond district.

So you design them?
Yes, (making the jewelry) is a whole other craft, a whole other lifetime of skill.

What were you doing before the jewelry?
I don’t really remember life before the jewelry. (Laughs.) Creative projects, working with different companies, with artist, non-profits, connecting people… I spent a few years with a non-profit to take on AIDS in India and South Asia. Lots of projects. Bringing people together to make a little dent. Lots of little projects, some that were completed, some that weren’t. Nothing really stuck with me. I was sort of filtering through lots of ideas and concepts.

House of Waris Collection

So now you are happy with the jewelry and the acting? You’re going to stick with that?
I love it! The jewelry is so complete. I handle every detail of it so it definitely doesn’t leave me bored. I would like it to leave me bored occasionally, but it doesn’t leave me bored at all, between all the traveling and every aspect of it. I design books with a friend of mine who is an incredible artist, Eric Adolfson. He does all the books. We print hardcover linen bound books in India because the printing quality is beautiful there. The boxes are made by this one guy in Delhi, who is an award-winning carpenter. So there are all these different aspects beyond the jewelry, all these aspects beyond the craftsmen that I get to work with who are some of the best craftsmen in India. There are so many levels to it.

You did some jewelry with A.P.C. right?
Yeah.

How did you get in touch with them?
One of the original ideas behind the jewelry was that it was just going to be collaborations - a platform to work with friends. Essentially it’s just metal and stones - raw materials. It’s a chance for me to sit down with friends and say we’ve got these materials - what do you want to make?

Jean (Touitou – founder of APC) was a good friend and he saw one of the collections a few years ago and said, “well why don’t we do something together”, I of course, said, “yes”. Always say yes. None of this stuff is very construed. There aren’t people calling me or setting things up. It’s just friends working together. There aren’t larger corporate hands making decisions. It’s just sitting down with Jean in Paris and saying, “lets do something together”.

I’m very fortunate to have in my life, and in my world, all over the world, incredible creative people who inspire me to keep going, so it’s a chance to work with all of them.

When did you realize you were becoming popular? Any specific point in time?
Oh, I have no idea. It still hasn’t hit me. I’m doing what I love, so I guess when your doing what you love, people appreciate it. And the rest kind of comes easy. Along the way I’m having fun. It’s not just work.