S: “I remember someone telling me to
lose this rock-and-roll vibe. And I said,
‘Then what am I supposed to be?’ I was
never making jewellery for a specific
target market but it just comes with the
territory. I had actually started to believe
what he said but then I realised that it
was the wrong mindset to have. People
come to me because they like that I
exude that vibe in my collection. There’s
a spirit to what I am and what I do, and
if I take this away, it would disassociate
people from the brand.”F: Where does your inspiration come
from before you start designing?
S: “Recently, the ‘Fish Tales’ collection
goes all the way back to my childhood
days, while the ‘Jewels Verne’ collection
was based on Jules Verne’s book,
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Although
inspiration comes easily from places
I’ve visited, a particular story or just
something that I can build on – the
idea of this fantasy world and adventure
stories inspired me heavily.”F: Who is the ideal ‘Stephen Webster
woman’ to you?
S: “It’s every woman who has that
interest in wearing jewellery. When
you’ve been doing something long
enough, you eventually just start
embracing whoever comes along.”THE RULEBREAKER
FEMALE: What drives you to create
one-of-a-kind pieces for your brand?
Stephen: “Since establishing this
company 25 years ago, it has always
been centred on being unique, creative
and going against the norm – I felt like
this was my purpose. As a jeweller for
around 20 years, I told myself that I
could make and achieve anything, but
with a different yet creative approach.
Eventually, our business grew and
because we’re different and progressive,
that easily caught the attention of
many. Once you’ve achieved that, you
have to keep pushing boundaries and
move forward.”
F: How do you overcome the criticisms
while continuing to stay positive and
grow at the same time?
S: “I maintained a persistent mindset
where I told myself that I had to keep
doing what I do – and setting myself
apart from others helps. My wife was
very encouraging as well throughout
the early stages of my career and
would wear my pieces all the time. It
started when Madonna showed interest
in my pieces and bought my ‘Crystal
Haze’ ring, which caught the media’s
attention. Everyone from the press
wanted to write about it since she was
very influential at that time. If all of that
didn’t happen, it would’ve taken me a
lot longer to become established. It was
a breakthrough for me to keep breaking
the rules and I knew then this would be
my means of becoming successful.”
F: You’re known as a ‘rockstar’ in
this industry; how do you stay true
to yourself and inject that essence
into your pieces?
STEPHEN WEBSTER, BRITISH JEWELLER
AND FOUNDER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF
HIS EPONYMOUS LABEL IS KNOWN TO BREAK
THE BOUNDARIES OF FINE JEWELLERY.
ON HIS RECENT VISIT TO KUALA LUMPUR
FOR A COLLAB WITH HABIB JEWELS,
AMALINA ANUAR CHATS WITH HIM ABOUT HIS
INSPIRATIONS, CAREER BREAKTHROUGHS
AND GROWING IN A NICHE INDUSTRY.INTERVIEWING THE MAN HIMSELF‘DYNAMITE’
COCKTAIL RINGS‘RAYMAN’ LINK
BAR BRACELETFASHION INSIDER“I’d recommend the link bracelets
for the men, and as for the women,
the cocktail rings are what put
me on the map – I have more fun
making each one because it simply
suggests a party!”STEPHEN WEBSTER’S PICKS!PHOTOGRAPHYHABIB JEWELS