Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Midlife crisis can be a life-changing experience for many. For Bahrain resident Sulaf Zakharia, a former finance professional with the Economic Development Board, it has resulted in connecting with her creative self and launching into a completely new career path as a jewellery maker and designer.
In the coming few months she plans to launch her line of jewellery called Sulaf and will begin retailing her fashion accessories through open houses, coffee mornings, private commissions and local exhibitions.
The journey towards this new career path began two years ago when the mother of two sons, Marc, 11, and Alex, nine, and MBA in finance, decided to quit the corporate world to be closer to her children.
Sulaf, 40, from Gufool, said: "I was ready when I quit my job. I worked in economic research and it got to be very stressful ... I used to work late, weekends and began getting less and less satisfied with what I was doing.
"My kids were growing up and I realised one afternoon at a restaurant that I didn't know my children's likes and dislikes. Once you have a good job, giving it up is not easy, but I had to make the decision.
"And, all of a sudden my time went from a highly stressful structured day to one in which I could do anything I wanted to do with all the time in the world. I am doing this because I am enjoying it and having a lot of fun. Although I am most happy to say that I am looking after two kids, to a lot of people I tell them that this is a product of my mid-life crisis!"
Passionate about jewellery to the extent that she wears her clothes around her choice of neckpiece or bracelet, Sulaf trained on the technical aspects of creating jewellery.
Her energies flowed into making numerous pieces that her friends encouraged her into exhibiting at a Christmas sale. This was followed by another successful open house, which gave Sulaf the confidence to launch her work formally and take it on as a part-time profession.
Sulaf said: "A lot of this is driven by what I am going through in terms of my own personal evolution. To me jewellery is not an accessory; it is an expression of self, of who you are.
"People can be very conservative but then their wild side can be displayed by a big, loud piece of jewellery. My tastes were not getting more sophisticated ... they were getting louder and happier. I like to keep it natural complete with its defects, cracks and imperfections as they are part of the ornament's character.
"Even though I was creative I did not have the courage to go out and express myself. It took me a lot of convincing to put out a Christmas sale. And, it was only close friends and the funny thing was that it was those pieces that were rougher and had a bolder use of materials and media that got picked.
"Pieces that another friend of mine called safe and was priced for a sale never moved. I then organised another open house that went very well. That is when I decided that this is what I want to be doing. It is not going to make me rich and I am not going to be selling all the pieces, but it's not so much about selling as it is about the fun of creating.
"It is a lot of trying and experimenting and with the attitude of 'anything goes'. This is me sharing with everyone this passion."
Sulaf's pieces are far from conventional and can be asymmetrical with lots of red and turquoise colours. It has everything from an interesting lump of clay to Kashmiri doorknobs, chunks of lava, coral from Australia, silver from Yemen and Oman, red stone, sandstone, fresh water pearls, jade and Tibetan prayers and are strung together by different things including suede, strings and beads.
Her experimental work includes making a gag, an eye patch and handcuffs for a fashion show. She believes her work is most attractive to women in their 30s. For further details contact Sulaf at sulaf_zakharia@yahoo.com
