Snakefruit Seeds

I collected seeds in Sumatra and brought them back to the stone workshop as references, and fell in love with the shape of the Snakefruit seed, or Salak. It’s smooth, heavy, and a perfectly-imperfect tumble. I wanted to make a collection centered on the pure pleasure of gemstone color, spanning a wide range of price points.

The Snakefruit form held across every material and size. Fat and opaque in onyx. Luminous in rock crystal. Jawbreakers in all colored gemstone. The collection spans earrings, cord necklaces, chokers, rings, and pendants, in both 22kt and 18kt gold.

I designed the cord necklaces, now my best-sellers, to be easy to travel with. They are made in hand-twisted cotton and silk, with an adjustable length, minimal gold, and a single carved stone. I incorporated knotwork closures drawn from traditional Indian armlets. I pushed the color combinations across sixteen gemstones and added tassels. This is my most accessible collection in price and wearability. I wanted to make something that was purely about the pleasure of color and the beauty of the stone, without requiring a large gold investment. As gold prices rise, that decision has become even more relevant.

Snakefruit Seeds is Iaia's best-selling collection. It has been featured in Harper's Bazaar, New York Magazine, and Town and Country, and is currently stocked at Nordstrom flagship, Muse NYC, Barneys Tokyo, More Than This in Greece, Ecru in Kuwait, and The Palace Atelier in India.

∙ Primary research and material collection (seeds gathered in Sumatra)
∙ Original concept development
∙ Form development from natural seed reference to carved bead
∙ Collection design across multiple formats: earrings, cord necklaces, chokers, rings, pendants, totes
∙ Stone selection and color combination development across 16 gemstones
∙ Textile research and integration (Indian armlet knotwork applied to necklace closures)
∙ Designing for commercial accessibility and price-point strategy
∙ Managing production in India
∙ Wholesale development and retail placement across international stockists