Metalsmith Aalia Mujtaba, founder of Metaalia Jewelry, has been creating unique jewelry for nearly 20 
years, and says it has impacted her in more ways she can describe. She refers to the tools she’s been using for decades as extensions of herself and like old friends. Creating her designs out of a “dusty and cobwebby” studio, it’s where her creative juices flourish and grow.
While leveraging the elasticity, permanence, and luster of the metals she uses, Mujtaba creates pieces such as big and small earrings, cufflinks, rings, and more.
Here, CommonCreativ talks with the Atlanta-based artist about her new line in the works, her design influences, and why she’s not one to just “wing it.”
CC: What are some of your favorite jewelry pieces to make?
AM: I love making big earrings. For a couple years, it was all I was designing. I’ve had to scale back a bit, because smaller earrings sell better. Cufflinks are fun to make too. I wish more men wore them.
CC: What are your favorite materials to work with?
AM: The metal! I mostly work with gold, sterling, copper and brass.
CC: How would you describe your work’s aesthetic in one sentence?
AM: My designs attempt to bridge the gap between the floral ornamentation in traditional South Asian art and the crisp, graphic patterns in Native American art.
CC: Are you self-taught?
AM: Not really. I’ve certainly learned a lot from making and experimenting in my studio, but I’ve taken a lot of classes and workshops at art centers such as Spruill, Chastain, Penland and Peters Valley. I now teach a beginner-to-intermediate metalsmithing class at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center.
CC: What’s your creative process?
AM: It just takes me sitting down with my sketchbook for memories of pattern, shape, and line to come out, stream-of-consciousness style. I use natural gemstones in my work and they lend nice parameters when designing. Designs tend to take shape after several drafts and require many minute tweaks in detail before I’m satisfied. I rarely “wing it” and like to outline exactly how a piece will be constructed before I begin to cut into the metal. During fabrication I might make slight adjustments to a design (especially if I mess something up!). If I get stuck creatively, design exercises in asymmetry and balance always help.
The artist // Photo by Figure & Ground ATL
CC: What is it about jewelry-making that you find most fulfilling?
AM: It’s all of it. Problem-solving the fabrication of a piece often translates into fixing other things in my life. The metal has high expectations of me. I need to respect it or it’ll betray me. It keeps me sharp and on my toes.
CC: How do you promote yourself? Do you have advice for others looking to do the same?
AM: Well, I have a part-time job and I’m a mom, so building an inventory to supply stock list and do shows has been a struggle. As a result, I’ve relied heavily on Facebook, Instagram and Etsy to promote the business and sell work. I post a lot about my jewelry, what inspires it, and how I make it. Some clients have followed along on my Instagram feed and watched the day-to-day progress of their custom order. Process is everything in fine craft. The more you communicate the skill, care and thought you put into your work, the more people will want it — and pay for it. Be honest, be yourself. Be a person, not a brand.
CC: What inspires you?
AM: Everything! Seeing and talking about art and art making inspires me. Watching my friends make, build, grow, and change things, or just be good, hardworking people, inspires me. Observing light and shadow gets the juices flowing. Great style and good-looking necks and hands make me want to get in the studio.
CC: Who are some of your favorite artists?
AM: My mother, Sabiha Mujtaba, is a studio furniture maker, a true master woodworker, and she’s my favorite artist. Michael Boyd is my current favorite jeweler. Zaha Hadid was an incredible architect, and her buildings were great inspiration during my early making years. I love Frida Kahlo’s work, but I find her life even more inspiring. Harriet Powers’ quilts are amazing.
CC: Where can locals find your stuff?
AM: Online! Find Metaalia Jewelry on Etsy, Instagram and Facebook. I’m expanding my Atlanta show schedule [this year] and will post about that on my feeds. I’ll be in the Ormewood Park Makers Festival on Saturday, March 24. It’s a one-day event showcasing local makers and offers workshops and demos on a variety of crafts throughout the day. There’s also live music, food vendors, beer, and fun stuff for kids.
CC: What else do you have in the works?
AM: This year I’m expanding my lower price point jewelry line called the “Wedge and Crescent” series. The X and [check-mark] enameled earrings are a diffusion line I’m working on this spring. They’re very different from my usual work in concept, style, and materials. I’d like to develop the idea behind them further and get more comfortable with simple enameling this year. I see men being a little more brave about accessorizing, and I want to make more stuff for them too. I’ve long wanted to collaborate with a leather worker to develop some ideas for bolos and belt buckles.
CC: What do you think about the current creative scene in Atlanta?
AM: The metalsmithing community in Atlanta is generous, vibrant and quickly growing. It has supported and encouraged me from the very beginning. In 1994, I went to JFF Jewelry Supply on Buford Highway for a high school art project. I still go there and leave not only with the tool I came for but invaluable tips and advice on everything jewelry related. Just a few years ago, a block away from JFF, the Metal Arts Guild of Georgia opened up a co-op studio space [that] hosts classes and workshops.
We’re lucky to have the Atlanta Contemporary Jewelry Show in November, which recently celebrated its 11th successful year. I have waiting lists for my classes at Callanwolde, and my current students are super talented and productive. I think the recent trending of handmade things has educated consumers on craft and craftsmanship, and my customer base is growing because of it. If this is any indication of the creative scene in general, I’d say it’s thriving.
See more of Aalia’s work on her portfolio site, Instagram, Etsy and Facebook.
