Shana Gulati founder portrait — handmade raw diamond jewelry New York Jaipur
Our Story

From Jackson Heights
to Jaipur.

An immigrant kid from Queens. A wrong turn in Jaipur. A jewelry brand born from both.

This brand didn't start with a business plan. It started with a feeling — a restlessness, a pull toward something more. It's held together by the people around it, built slowly in Jaipur, and designed for women who know exactly what they want to say without saying a word.

"I didn't wander off the path I'd built for myself — the universe just had a different one waiting. Doors weren't opening, so I built my own. And on the other side was a world I made from scratch."

The Founder

I didn't know where I was going. I just knew I had to go.

I was just shy of eight when my family moved from India to Jackson Heights, New York. My parents left behind everything familiar to give my brother and me a better life. They worked without stopping, without complaining. I don't think I'll ever be grateful enough for that.

Growing up, the acceptable paths were Medicine, Engineering, or Law. I chose Law — not because I was pushed into it, but out of genuine respect for what my parents had sacrificed. But it was never my true path, and somewhere underneath all of it, I always knew that.

What I wanted was to feel alive. To travel. To create. In 2012, I made the decision. I stepped away from law, moved back to India, and gave myself over to figuring out what came next.

I had no design education. No knowledge of jewelry or manufacturing. Just a feeling, a stubbornness, and fluency in Hindi — which, as it turned out, was exactly what I needed.

Shana Gulati founder — white kurta Jaipur street handmade jewelry designer
FAQ

Q&A With Shana

Everything and anything inspires me. My ideas come usually from both my daily life living in NYC and my travels, from the trinkets I've picked up to the day to day things I've seen. Having the luxury of living in one of the most amazing, diverse, fashion forward, creative, free spirited, individualistic cities in the world paired with having been born into one of the most colorful and beautiful cultures that physically thrives in a visually stimulating manner (INDIA!!!), it's hard not to be inspired all the time. So it's a blend of my everyday and my gift of being handed a culture that is nothing less than amazing and a creative force.
That's the million dollar question… So far they have been named after my niece; the word for love in Hindi; where I was for my 40th … it's really just about where I am physically and mentally with how the collections came to be. The latest collection is going to be called Zazvata, which derives its root from Urdu to mean continuity. The reason I chose this word is that this particular collection is taking what I have already created and adding to it, to continue the creativity behind each piece to create something new and unique in its own right.
To this day I have been very quick in my trips, as they really have to be focused around work so it would have to be Jaipur. One of my favorite things to do is to make sure to go to the garden to take in the scent of jasmine in the early morning before the day becomes insane and chaotic. I have made myself a promise that I will visit Sikkim (the city I was born in while my Dad was an officer in the Indian Army) and Ladakh in the Kashmir region.
A big glorious ring for sure!!! My thinking is that what can't an accessory do for a woman! It can change her mood; it can give the outfit a whole new look; it can be the centerpiece of what she's wearing; it can be that one piece that catches your eye! Accessories, especially jewelry (because by nature it is feminine) can just make a girl feel that extra whatever she wants to feel. Be it sexy, be it bold and different, be it subtle and understated, be it chic, or be it casual, or just unique without having to say a word. Accessories tend to be conversation starters too!
My spring in New York seems to be different year to year, it's a lot of travel, it's a lot of work to be honest as the Fall collection is underway so it usually involves a trip to India. It's a time to be creative and super assertive to get out a new collection!
How hasn't it changed for me… I used to think so many doors not opening for me in law was a sign that it was a reflection on me. Turns out it was for a bigger reason than I could have imagined at that point in time. It forced me to find a passion and a path that I never knew existed within me and one that would bring me so much happiness and love for both India and the team of people I have pulled together to make it all happen. My life is not only richer and fuller, but it's got purpose and meaning — it's not just jewelry we are creating, it's livelihoods that are being supported, it's giving back in a way to a country that gave me so much.
Designing jewelry involves so many things in life I love. It allows me to be creative, free spirited, colorful (figuratively and literally), it allows me to have a lasting connection with the two places in the world that have helped mold me into who I am (New York and my Indian heritage). It allows me to help make a woman, no matter from what walk of life, to feel feminine — like a princess or like a rock star or like an elegant lady. Jewelry design is my outlet but it allows my connectivity to other women in helping them just love something that's only theirs.
It's not going to be a particular song, but it will be something that will be energetic and get me going!
Turquoise.
Yes, do not focus on the doors that have closed, focus on the ones that are slightly ajar and that you can push your way through, because you can and you will. It's daunting to think about the whole picture in the near future, so don't. Just focus on that moment.
The People Behind It

The people who make
this what it is.

Shana Gulati Jewelry exists because of the people who showed up, stayed, and gave this brand more than their time. Each one of them brings something to this work that no job description could have found.

Shana Gulati with Anil manufacturer Jaipur — handcrafted diamond jewelry
The Foundation
Anil
Manufacturer · Mentor · Co-Architect

Without Anil, there is no Shana Gulati Jewelry. Simple as that.

He was there at the very beginning — not just as the person who made the first pieces, but as the one who believed it was possible when almost no one else did. He is manufacturer, mentor, and advisor all at once.

The craft, the quality, the standards this brand holds itself to — all of it runs through him.

The Team

The people who show up every day.

Shana Gulati team — Ashish Surya Pushpak Jaipur handmade jewelry makers
Ashish
Photographer
Every image you've seen of these pieces — the light, the texture, the feeling of holding something real — that's Ashish. He doesn't photograph jewelry. He photographs what it means.
Pushpak
Quality Control
Every piece that leaves Jaipur has passed through Pushpak's hands. He's the last line — the one who ensures that what reaches you is exactly what it should be. No compromises. No shortcuts.
Surya
Head of Production
Surya keeps everything moving — overseeing production from start to finish, making sure every piece is where it needs to be, when it needs to be there. She's been part of this from the very start, and the work shows it.
Jaipur

One wrong turn.
One half-asleep security guard.
Everything changed.

When I first arrived in Jaipur, I thought I had finally figured it all out. Instead, for months, I wandered through alleys full of stone shops and manufacturing units that refused to listen to me, and artisans who said they could implement my ideas when they really couldn't.

I did not give up. And then — one wrong turn, a factory gate, and a conversation with a half-asleep security guard. He became my guide. He led me, without knowing it, to the very people who helped me begin. I went back in June 2012 and made my very first pieces.

That team — with a few removals and additions over the years — is still with me. They're not contractors. They're my family in India. And nothing we make would exist without them.

Now that you know us — meet the work.

Every piece carries the story you just read.

Shop the Collection