The art of jewelry design is something that I find quite fascinating…

I’m not referring to simply stringing some beads together, but true artistic jewelry design.

The pieces are more complex, beautifully composed and often look more like delicate pieces of wearable art. Fashionist as need not look further than Neeta Gupta for an exquisite example of this.

An artist by trade, Gupta began designing jewelry first for family and friends, but through encouragement from teachers, colleagues and loved ones her one-time hobby turned into a creative career.

“I’ve been into artistic pursuit since I was in my childhood,” says Gupta. “It’s certainly been a long, long time since I’ve designing jewelry, but I’d say my friends and family pushed me into designing jewelry professionally when they saw me wearing my own designs.”

Gupta, who became a certified jewelry artist three years ago, owns and operates Neeta Gupta. Her flagship store – quite artistically designed I might add – is in the heart of downtown on 250 Portage Ave.

Like many a fabulous jewelry designer, Gupta is inspired by her world travels and the unique beauty of places such as Cape Town, Mauritius, Goa and the Gold Coast, to name a few of the exotic destinations she has visited.

Each of her creations is a fusion of various pearls and stones in irregular shapes and forms that she has collected from her travels over the years – artistically crafted and cast in sterling silver to form her Rocks and Gems collection, which has an almost organic feel.

“Nature has been my greatest inspiration. I love to travel and the vast and varied landscapes ignite my imagination to create something natural,” says Gupta.

While each Neeta Gupta piece is unique, the designer explains she prefers to shy away from doing custom work for clients. Instead, she designs by letting her creativity shine through in her work.

“I create with all my heart, inspired by nature and its beauty. Every woman has a passion to own and wear something exclusive and I create one-of-a-kind pieces. I feel the need for custom thus gets diminished,” says Gupta.

Neeta Gupta is located at 250 Portage Ave. or you can check out her jewelry collection online at www.neetagupta.ca.