JEWELRY MAKING NIGHT
—ShaktiRising —
We invite you into a medieval fantasy of metal adornment. At this workshop, we’ll
To coincide with our next epic Ancient-India-inspired adventure (Shakti Rising), Fox&Badge invite you to explore your powers as a creator, inspired by the incredible art of South Asian adornment. At this workshop, we'll be crafting face chains, nose rings, and body jewellery - drawing inspiration from one of the world's oldest and most spiritually rich traditions of adorning the self.
Our prime respectful reference for the evening is the Nath or Nathni - a nose ring often accompanied by a larger hoop and chain, and traditionally worn by some Indian brides, in different forms and circumstances, with variations from Punjab to Bengal, Maharashtra to Rajasthan.
What we'll be making:
For the face: Nose rings and cuffs (no piercing needed)
Face chains connecting nose to ear
Forehead chains and pieces inspired by the Maang Tikka
WE PROVIDE:
All materials (nose cuffs, fine chains, ear hooks, connectors, clasps, teardrop and disc charms, rings, anklet bases)
Tools for assembly
Design guidance and visual reference from South Asian adornment traditions
Support for beginners and experienced makers alike
WHAT TO BRING: Your devotional energy and any small objects you'd like to weave in - charms with meaning, found pieces, or anything that feels like it carries a story.
No piercing needed. No prior experience required - just curiosity, care, and a willingness to adorn.
A Note on the Nath
The Nath is one of the Solah Shringar (which include many items which have become very quotidian, like kohl, bindi, mehndi, bracelets and anklets) - the 16 traditional adornments of a Hindu bride, each carrying deep ritual and spiritual meaning. To wear a Nath is to participate in one of the oldest acts of feminine consecration in the world.
The Nath was probably imported to India via the Mughals in the C16th. In Hindu tradition, the Nath is associated with the Goddess Lashmi - the embodiment of devoted love, creative power, and the sacred feminine. It is worn at the moment a woman steps into one of life's most profound thresholds.
Some traditions suggest that the left nostril piercing connects to the female reproductive system, and eases menstruation and childbirth.
Different communities carry this tradition differently; in Rajasthan, the Nath is vast and ceremonial - a great hoop heavy with pearls and rubies, held by a chain woven into the hair. So large, in some traditions, that it falls across the mouth. The Nath worn across the mouth is the bride at her most adorned - and simultaneously, in some readings, at her most silenced. The most beautiful she has ever been dressed, and the most concealed. It sits alongside the Ghunghat - the veil - as part of a broader tradition of the bride being partially obscured at the threshold of marriage. Present, but not fully revealed. Celebrated, and constrained. Both things, held together.
In contemporary culture, these unique jewellery items - like all jewellery - have evolved and recontextualised to express broader statements of identity. They carry deep cultural significance and reference, but are not sacred objects that need to be confined to a Temple.
At this workshop, we wear the chain by choice, contemplating the hoop’s role and deep expression, and our own relation to the devotion, femininity, ornament, adornment, devotion and surrender. This is jewellery in conversation with that tradition - inspired by its origins, and held in the knowledge of its history and significance; that a chain drawn across the face connects us to something ancient. That ALL adornment can be devotional - & invite in an essence of presence. That the body, dressed with intention, becomes a kind of altar, where we reverentially choose our own important meaning.
We invite you to hold that lightly as you make.
ABOUT Shakti Rising
This workshop is for our next large event on 3rd May at Heaven where we will be humbly exploring the world and wisdom of Ancient India 🔥This event seeks to respectfully learn from the greatest of teachers, unleashing both reverence and ecstasy, dance and devotion in our ongoing pursuit towards transcendence.