Everyday Luxury: Alinka Fine Jewellery

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After spending years as a certified public accountant, Alina Barlow shifted gears and applied her polished sense of style and rapport for all things elegant to the province of jewellery design. Named after her childhood nickname, Alinka was created to showcase her line of fine, exquisite bijoux – merging everyday aesthetic with precious stones and impeccable diamonds. We had a splendid talk with Alina about her career as a jewelry designer, her lines and advice for making it in this field.

Share with us a little about yourself.

I studied economics in St Petersburg, Russia and later moved to the University of Sydney to complete my studies. After graduating, I worked as a chartered accountant for several years. I loved the corporate world, working with multinational organizations in a highly quantitative role. I found it challenging and exciting, and I loved getting to grips with how businesses worked, what made them successful and profitable and helping to turn around organizations that were struggling. However, the more I worked with other businesses, the more I realized I wanted to run my own organization.

How did ALINKA come about?

I followed my passion for art and design. I have always been creative and used to design jewelry for friends and family. I started ALINKA in 2015, and through word of mouth, the business grew. In 2018, we opened our first boutiques in Sydney’s exclusive Double Bay and Harvey Nichols in London.

ALINKA works exclusively with black and white diamonds, producing elegantly timeless designs with a sculptural, daring edge. Every piece is made in 18ct white, yellow, and rose gold, and is designed for endless versatility, created to be layered and stacked, and mixed within the collection for a rebelliously modern look.

When did you first realize you wanted to get into jewellery design?

I started designing jewellery when I was in my teens. My father is an astrophysicist, and I would go into his study and borrow his colored wires and various colored strings, which I would then use to make friendship bracelets for my friends. That was a great creative outlet for me and a passion that stayed with me as I grew older. In a sense, I have always been involved with jewellery design.

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‘Black Caviar’ is your latest addition to the brand. Walk us through the process of its creation.

Beluga caviar is such a Russian delicacy, and it’s something that has become synonymous with celebrations and happy periods in my life. I was always intrigued by the Caviar casings. Over the past few years, I have been working on an innovative ALINKA diamond setting, and that is how Black Caviar came about. The diamonds are offset against each other in varying heights and sizes, creating the illusion of a just-opened Beluga Black Caviar casing. The Black Caviar edit, which we launched in October, includes a pendant, earrings, cuff and ring, and is available in black and white diamonds. The curved contours of the design convey a modern simplicity.

You have numerous outstanding collections that were met with success. Which one was the closest to your heart?

The first edit I designed now falls under ALINKA Classics. It includes our bestselling pieces like the Dasha earring, Katia Crossover Ring and the Stasia anklet. These pieces are some of the closest to me because they signify what the label stands for; they are pieces which you can wear from day to night, they are made using 18ct gold and quality diamonds, and they can be worn by themselves or stacked with other pieces for a maximalist look. I try and ensure that all ALINKA pieces have an element of intelligence design to them. I want them to be multi-functional. For example, the Dasha earring is designed in a way that you don’t need to have a piercing to wear it. The back of the earring has a hook that allows those without pierced ears to slide it through the lobe, while if you have pierced ears you can also wear it. Likewise, the earring can also be worn on the inside of the helix.

All of our earrings are sold individually, allowing for versatility when it comes to styling. We want our clients to be able to express their individuality through their jewelry, and we encourage all of our pieces to be mixed and matched. The Katia Crossover ring is named after a very close friend. I love wearing mine as a pinky, and I like to stack two of the Katia rings on top of each other for a decadently maximalist look.

What was your biggest fear when starting Alinka?

The fear of being too scared of not pursuing my dream. So many people told me reasons why I shouldn’t do it, and if I listened to each of them, I would have gone bonkers. I realized early on that you have to know who to seek counsel from, and sometimes you have to block all the other white noise out.

What do you want women to feel while wearing your designs?

I want them to feel extraordinary every day. I think jewellery is an extension of our personality; it allows us to shine as bright as the diamonds themselves. It is as important as adding a beautiful pair of heels to a suit or wearing bright lipstick. It can make us walk taller, feel more confident and add an extra dose of fabulousness.

Do you have a go-to strategy when it comes to your creative process?

Travel for me is the biggest source of inspiration. I love discovering new places and learning about their history and heritage. However, in the current climate under Covid, that is very difficult. However, I think this time has given us all an opportunity to look inwards and assess what is important in life. Sometimes, we take our surroundings for granted, and this increased time in Australia has allowed me to get to know this amazing country better.

I have traveled more throughout Australia than ever before; I have taken road trips with my family, and that has been incredible. Spending time together in a car, and seeing the changing scenery of this vast country – the coast to the desert to the rainforest. It has awed me. Over the past few months, I have also started ocean swimming, which is exhausting, but I feel it is a great way to clear my head. I started this in the middle of the Australian winter when the ocean was a mere 16 Celsius! Now as we go into the Australian summer it is far easier and warmer.

Where else do you find creative inspiration for your brand?

Russian art. We are incredibly spoiled for choice – Malevich and Kandinsky. I love brutalist architecture and often find inspiration in its symmetry. I love exploring the tension between minimalism and maximalism. At the forefront of any creative process is the idea that I want the product to be striking enough to sit on its own, but also give it the opportunity of being paired with multiple pieces of the same design for a maximalist aesthetic. This was the inspiration behind our bestselling Eclipse ring, for example.

Where do you see your brand in the upcoming future? What’s your vision?

We are looking at expanding our global footprint with more trunk shows across the world. Covid has put a damper on international travel for everyone, but when it is safe, that too will resume. We can’t wait to come back to the Middle East and will look to do more trunk shows and meet our loyal clients.

Lastly, what do you think of Middle Eastern women wearing your jewelry?

I love it! Middle Eastern women have such a fabulous sense of style and identity, it is so inspiring to see. I find that they have a particular appreciation for maximalism, which is one of the pillars of the ALINKA brand. I love seeing our clients play with our jewelry and have fun creating their aesthetic. Jewellery and styling should be fun and experimental. I try not to take it too seriously; it is essentially an expression of my mood.