HE's known as the king of 'jewels for the home', but Jay Strongwater only fell into home furnishing design by accident. Originally a jewellery designer, his foray into the world of home furnishings was established in 1994 when he designed a filigree picture frame as a personal gift to friends, fashion editors and buyers for the holiday season.
The positive response - and seeing the potential demand in home accessories - spurred him in this new direction. 'Home accessories was a terrific chance for me to bring the glamour, beauty and colour of crystals and enamel to larger more sculptural items that people can live with,' says the designer who was recently in town. 'What you can make for the home as decorative objects is relative endless.'
It was not until 2007 that he started to dabble in his first love, jewellery, and taking the road less travelled paid off for him. These days, his glamourous pieces of work that are known for bringing out the best in crystals, jewels and enamel are regular fixtures in magazines in the US like InStyle and People and have won over a legion of celebrity fans like Oprah Winfrey, Halle Berry and Elton John.
His beauty collection that comprises perfume atomisers, mirrored compacts and lipstick cases in 2002 was even included in the highly coveted gift bag for the Academy Awards.
Having conquered the West, he decided it was time to make his way further Eastwards after successful launches in Japan and India. His work - including photo frames and charm bracelets - range between $50 for a collar pin to $1,600 for a photo frame and is currently available at Takashimaya.
Four of his ranges are available for sale here: Tuscany that is inspired by the mood and feel of Italy; Amore that is inspired by love; Fiji that evokes the mystique of tropical islands and the Duchess collection that is graceful, immaculate looking and fit for royalty.
Says Mr Strongwater: 'We always felt that Singapore would be a great market for us, and with Takashimaya as our partner I feel really optimistic that our launch will be successful. 'There is such an appreciation here for well-made luxurious items so we fall right in step with what the consumer wants.'
Luxury Haven Pte Ltd that distributes Jay Strongwater in Singapore believes that the collection will do well here. Says its director Logan Wong: 'Jay Strongwater has a very distinctive style and his products are truly one of a kind. The old world charm of his products is a strong selling point. 'It is reassuring to know that the brand is doing exceptionally well in trend-setting cities such as New York and London, where customers are highly sophisticated and spoilt for choice, very much like Singapore.'
Likewise, Mr Strongwater is confident that he can offer something special to Singaporean consumers. 'I think what makes our collections so unique is that we approach the design and development of each piece as a work of art,' he says. Design is definitely the driving force behind what we do, and that means giving the proper attention to detail that is needed for each item.'
