Ania Geerts: Q&A Thursday
Ania Geerts is the creative force behind Zahara Jewellery. For her complete story, click here.
She answered our many questions.
OCS: Who are your style icons?
AG: I have yet to see Gwen Stefani wear something she can’t pull off.
OCS: What’s on your bedside table?
AG: My favourite antique silver necklace from India, empty wine glass, a hand-carved wood jewelry box.
OCS: Best home accessory?
AG: I have a collection of three antique rice-harvesting machetes from Indonesia mounted on my wall. Love.
OCS: Best recent fashion find?
AG: I’m torn between the perfect vintage brown corduroy jacket, and the ultimate pair of nude boot-sandals.
OCS: Whom would you invite for dinner if you could choose anyone in the world?
AG: Eva Peron and Che Guevara
OCS: You can see the debut of any piece of music in history. What would it be?
AG: I have a strong childhood affiliation with Richie Valens, La Bamba. I’d say, above everything else, this is the one I really wish I could have been there for live.
OCS: What’s your earliest memory?
AG: Racing my pet turtle at my village’s annual turtle race.
OCS: Your biggest fashion faux-pas, when, where and how?
AG: The baggy jean overalls with one strap hanging down and painted peace signs on the legs in grade seven definitely stands out.
OCS: Proudest moments?
AG: The very first piece of jewelry I sold, on a small market table, six years ago.
OCS: Favorite piece of furniture?
AG: My hammock
OCS: Qualities you most admire in a person?
AG: Sincerity, humility, and confidence. Especially when you find them all in one.
OCS: For whom would you most like to design jewelry?
AG: I wish I had the means to design and create jewelry for all the mothers, in all the favelas (Brazilian shanty-towns) in the world. I wish I could create them each the piece of jewelry of their dreams, and make them feel as wonderful, strong, beautiful, special and remarkable as any good mother deserves to feel.
OCS: Describe a perfect day off (it can be anywhere in the world).
AG: Sailboat off the coast of Belize. Snorkel in the morning; dive in the afternoon; fishing in the evening. Fresh barbecue snapper on the beach for dinner; wine at sunset. I had this day once … and I’ve been trying to re-create it ever since.
OCS: Favourite visual artist, living or dead?
AG: I am currently enamoured with the work of Edward Burtynsky.
OCS: Favourite local artist?
AG: I have great respect and admiration for Alexandra Jay and Michaela Wolfert. I dream of what their hands can do that mine can’t.
OCS: Best book you read in the past year?
AG: I recently re-read (Michel) Foucault’s, The Order of Things. It’s as much a mouthful as it is a mind full.
OCS: Favourite food?
AG: Mexican.
OCS: Most-oft-played song on your iPod or MP3 player?
AG: Anything Bossa Nova…
OCS: Wine, beer or both?
AG: Seems a good Pinot Noir is the theme of the year.
OCS: Mac or PC?
AG: PC. I am not nearly daring enough with technology to even contemplate a Mac.
OCS: Fine dining or plain old diners?
AG: I’m equally as happy with foie gras as I am with a baguette and cheese in the park.
OCS: Best restaurant in Ottawa?
AG: Tacos de Mauro. Definitely not the definition of fine dining, but by far the finest Mexican tacos in the city.
OCS: Person, place or thing that makes you proudest/happiest that you live in Ottawa?
AG: The fact that we have a Louise Bourgeois statue in the centre of our city is truly extraordinary. She encompasses everything remarkable, on so many levels.
OCS: Fave blog or website?
AG: www.shopgreyarea.com, www.ted.com
OCS: Twitter, Facebook or both?
AG: Facebook.
OCS: What’s your guilty pleasure?
AG: Chocolate-covered mangoes for breakfast
OCS: Favourite place to spend time?
AG: In the sun — anywhere in the sun.
OCS: How would you like the world to remember you? What would your eulogist ideally say?
AG: I consumed my time daydreaming, and spent my life making (dreams) a reality.
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