With holistic sustainability at its core, Baka is a slow-designed, contemporary, sustainable, ethically-handcrafted jewellery brand by Rhizome – India’s first multidisciplinary sustainability design studio also founded by Rebecca.
Moving from jewellery to furniture was merely a re-articulation of space that was porous. In the case of earrings, the ear became her ceiling and the shoulder her floor and Baka became India’s first completely sustainable jewellery brand.
“Baka is loaded with whimsy and nostalgia. It is basically my name which my brother shortened to “Baka” as a toddler, and the name stuck since then. Baka is also a typical Gujarati slang word for “dear” which resonates with us since we are located in Ahmedabad,” founder Rebecca shares with us the story behind the name choice.
Last but not least, Baka in Japanese is foolish. Rebecca admires Japan for its modern minimalism and commitment to tradition. Being a fool is a metaphor that fits her trip since Rebecca was Baka, a fool who didn’t realise that dreaming big, trying to change the world,and doing things that make the heart sing, were all things that are apparently impossible. Therefore, Baka happened simply BECAUSE Rebecca was Baka.
Sustaining livelihoods
The brand’s mission is to provide its clients with products that mainstream sustainability into fashion through excellent design. Each of the brand’s slow-designed products is delicately hand-made with eco-friendly materials. When asked what sustainable jewellery means for Baka, Rebecca lists out her top five points, “Firstly, Baka ensures the pieces are made from clean material. This means we use materials which are up-cycled, repurposed, recyclable and renewable. Our material is ethically-sourced, it is as local as possible, and we source it at a fair rate from small vendors and not from big corporations. This ensures that the money we pay out goes to sending kids to schools,
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